Kai Hirayama

Clarinetist KAI HIRAYAMA is a performer, improviser, and recording musician devoted to the music of now. An avid champion of new music and a strong believer in its necessity for a culturally relevant musical future, he has worked with many composers including Igor Santos, Conrad Tao, Amy Beth Kirsten, Alan Hankers, David Sanford, and more to create and perform new works of clarinet solo and chamber music. An active member of the NYC/NY freelance musician community, Kai is a frequent substitute with many local orchestras, including the Albany Symphony, so&so NYC, and the US Broadway premiere of “Gwangju - the Musical”. A passionate educator as well as performer, he maintains a large private studio of clarinet and saxophone students, has served as substitute clarinet faculty for the Juilliard School Pre-college Division, and is on the faculty of the Icicle Creek Chamber Music Festival in Leavenworth, WA. Kai has performed internationally, with concerts around Europe, Australia, and North America. He completed his doctoral studies at Stony Brook University under the guidance of Alan Kay.