Acclaimed as “a musician of great significance and profound musical expression,”* Ayami Okamura is an internationally recognized percussion and marimba artist, educator, arranger, and composer. Originally from Kyoto, Japan, and currently residing in Germany, she has captivated audiences across the United States, Europe, and her home country.

 

As a dedicated soloist, Ayami actively commissions and premieres new works, collaborating with renowned composers such as Julie Spencer, Peter Klatzow, Gordon Stout, and David Friedman. Her passion for arranging and composing seeks to broaden the repertoire for marimba, vibraphone, and percussion, drawing inspiration from a diverse range of genres, including classical, modern, traditional, film, and jazz. Ayami’s current solo projects are characterized by thematic storytelling and musical therapeutic qualities, with programs like “Poem of Color” and “The Scenes in Your Own Heart” receiving widespread acclaim in Japan.

 

Since 2015, Ayami has collaborated with percussionist Dan deSimone in the Shiki Percussion Duo, focusing on expanding the percussion repertoire through innovative arrangements and compositions. Their current projects include the publication of Georg Philipp Telemann’s “Twelve Fantasias for Viola da Gamba Solo,” transcribed for marimba solo, a fresh arrangement of Simeon ten Holt’s “Lemniscaat” for mallet ensemble, and the anthology project “Harmonize,” which aims to foster a more inclusive and multicultural representation of contemporary percussion music.

 

In 2024, Dan and Ayami founded the Detmold Percussion Group, an innovative ensemble that brings together kindred spirits from around the world, all connected by the Hochschule für Musik Detmold. Committed to artistic excellence, the group advances percussion’s evolution by connecting performers, composers, and audiences across cultures and generations. They have performed as guest artists at prominent German festivals, including FRAKZIONEN - Festival für zeitgenössische Musik (Bielefeld), KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen (Hannover), and Hörfest Neue Musik (Detmold).

 

In addition to her performance career, Ayami has appeared as a guest artist and faculty member at numerous acclaimed international events, including the Southern California Marimba Festival (California, USA), the Ivana Summer Percussion Festival (Samobor, Croatia), the Halleiner Schlagzeugfestival (Hallein, Austria) and the Zeltsman Marimba Festival (New Jersey, USA).

She has presented masterclasses at renowned universities and colleges worldwide, including ArtEZ University of the Arts in the Netherlands, the University of Michigan, the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University, and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee in the United States. She has also served as a judge for prestigious foundations, including the Filadelfia Festival, the Associazione Musicale Melody Marimba Competition in Italy, and the German Academic Scholarship Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes) in Germany.

 

Ayami holds a faculty position at Hochschule für Musik Detmold in Germany, where she teaches vibraphone, setup, marimba, and solo percussion. Her composition is published by Edition Svitzer (Denmark). As an endorser and artist, she proudly represents Adams Percussion, Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth Drumsticks and Mallets, and Balter Mallets.

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*Gordon Stout, Professor Emeritus at the School of Music, Ithaca College, composer, G&C Music/Full Circle Publications/StoutWorks, PAS Hall of Fame Inductee 2012