Amy Mitani

Professional Classical and Jazz Pianist, Educator

It's time to discover, learn, and play jazz piano with professional classical and jazz pianist Amy Mitani.

Amy Mitani was born and raised in Sendai, Japan, and started piano studies there. She came to the USA and acquired her Bachelor of Arts in Piano Performance from the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. While there, she studied piano performance and pedagogy with Dr. Ann Gipson and was an alternate winner of OMTA Collegiate Piano Competition. Later, she earned her Masters in Music from Portland State University and studied solo, duo, and ensemble performances under Dr. Carol Rich, a former pianist for Oregon Ballet and Oregon Symphony. She also studied piano pedagogy under Professor Mary Kogen and taught several
college courses for music majors.

After receiving her music degrees, she taught at Joyful Melodies Music School in Cupertino, California and received the “Most dedicated teacher” award. She also became an adjudicator for the Certificate of Merit Exam. She performed in the orchestra pit for Palo Alto Players and piano duo works with Palo Alto Two-piano Club.

At the same time, she became fascinated with Latin rhythms and Jazz harmonies, so she studied with Grammy-winning Latin Jazz pianist Christian Tumalan in San Francisco, a founder of Pacific Mambo Orchestra, who inspired her to perform with various Latin bands in California.

She moved to Dallas, Texas, with her husband and continues performing and teaching. Since then, she has earned several awards as an educator: Steinway & Sons Top Music Teacher and Kawai Medallion Educator, to name a few. She is currently an adjudicator for local festivals and competitions and also a certified accompanist for Plano Independent School District. She has
been performing in the Steinway Soirée Concert series and just gave the 6th annual concert performing Gershwin piano duo pieces.

Her passion is collaborating with other musicians from diverse backgrounds in various cultural experiences: Broadway musical productions, ensembles, piano duos, accompanying soloists, and touring and gigging with Latin Jazz, Salsa, Cumbia, and Reggae bands. She is currently further exploring various types of music and performing with Latin bands and piano
duo works.

Ms. Mitani is a performer, educator, and adjudicator who guides young and adult students to become well-rounded musicians who can express themselves through music in a unique, creative way to enrich their lives and give a voice to which they have no words. She maintains her Mitani Music studio, giving online and in-person lessons from all over the globe to achieve their goals and experience the joy of music.