KAI HIRAYAMA is a New York-based clarinetist, improviser, educator, and recording musician. An active member of the local freelance musician community, he is a frequent substitute with many local groups including the Albany Symphony Orchestra, and is a member of the contemporary music ensemble, PinkNoise. A passionate teacher as well as performer, he is a faculty artist at the Icicle Creek Chamber Music Festival (WA) and has served as substitute clarinet faculty for the Juilliard School Pre-college Division. Kai is an avid champion of new music and a strong believer in its necessity for a culturally relevant musical future, having worked with composers Igor Santos, Conrad Tao, Amy Beth Kirsten, Simon Kanzler, Alan Hankers, David Sanford, and more to create and perform new works of clarinet solo and chamber music. Dr. Hirayama received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Stony Brook University (NY) under the guidance of Alan Kay (Orpheus Chamber Orchestra).

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