Aenea Mizushima Keyes

Pre-College
  • Chamber Music
Continuing Education
  • Violin
Aenea Mizushima Keyes headshot

Contact

Departments

Pre-College
Continuing Education

Courses Taught

Violin Lessons

Chamber Music

Education

M.M. National Academy of Music, Bulgaria

B.A. Sarah Lawrence College, USA

Ensembles

Del Sol String Quartet (2000 - 2002)

Q&A

What is your hometown?

San Francisco, California

What are you passionate about outside of music?

swimming, chocolate, books, languages, baking

Who were your major teachers?

violin with Dorothy DeLay, Guinka Guichkova and Daniel Phillips

composition/improvisation with Meyer Kupferman

What is a favorite quote that you repeatedly tell students?

"Genius is 1% talent and 99% hard work." - Albert Einstein
"As in music: as in life." - Anonymous

What question do you wish students would ask sooner rather than later?

I encourage students to ask as soon as they have a question.

What was a turning point in your career?

My ability to be musically expressive, and to understand new/contemporary music, grew exponentially after I learned how to compose and improvise. Later, these skills opened the door to collaborating with artists from other musical genres ...as well as with visual art, dance and film.

If you weren't a musician or teacher, what do you think you would be doing now?

Hmmm: if I weren't a musician I may have pursued dance, writing, photography, languages... or making fine chocolate(!)

What do you think makes a concert experience unique?

The energetic give/take between a performer and an audience is what I love about live/in-person concerts.

Please list your most important collaborations.

SFMOMA podcast of "Picasso Suite", created for SFMOMA's "Picasso and American Art" exhibit, as violinist and composer with Miles Graber, piano

"Point, Line, Space" collaborative performance as violinist and composer, with Kaz Tanahashi, Japanese Calligrapher; presented at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco

"Hikaru" collaborative performance as violinist and composer; with choreographer/dancer Michiyo Sato; presented at London's British Museum, UK

What recordings can we hear you on?

CD-recordings on the Kagami Productions label include:

"Seasons, a musical dialogue" with MusicAEterna
Astor Pizzolla's "Seasons" for piano trio are performed alongside
Aenea's "Seasons of Monet" inspired by Monet's paintings
Performed by MusicAEterna artists:
Aenea Mizushima Keyes, violinist and composer; Michael Graham, cello; Miles Graber, piano
produced by Leslie Ann Jones and edited by Mark Wilsher; recorded at Skywalker Sound

"At the Museum" with MusicAEterna
Aenea Mizushima Keyes, violinist and composer; Michael Graham, cello; Miles Graber, piano
Music inspired by museum walks in the USA, Japan, the EU and UK
recordings at the Santa Sabina Center and Potrero Post Studios

"Prayers of the Earth, Places of the Heart" for solo violin
composed and performed by Aenea Mizushima Keyes
original improvised-compositions inspired by sacred sites of Japan, the USA, the EU and UK
produced by Buddy Saleman; recorded at Potrero Post Studios

Biography

SFCM coach and instructor, Aenea Mizushima Keyes, brings over 20 years coaching experience to her work with students and professionals. Her international performances include innovative work as a soloist, chamber musician, and violinist-composer, as well as tours in Europe, the UK, Russia, Japan and the USA. Premieres of Aenea’s improvised compositions, often inspired by visual art, have been showcased by the SFMOMA, the Asian Art Museum, the Oakland Museum, and London’s British Museum. As a founding member and violinist for the piano trio, MusicAEterna, Aenea developed MusicAEterna's collaborative performance style and created CD recordings, such as “Seasons” and “At the Museum”, featuring MusicAEterna’s signature ChamberImprov within her original compositions. Aenea has also premiered works in Carnegie Hall and at Lincoln Center, such as Carman Moore's “Mass for the 21st Century”. Film score recordings include the Sundance Jury Prize winning documentary, ”Señorita Extraviada”. Collaborations with renowned world musicians include CD-recording “Naked Vision” and Chamberjazz at Yoshi’s. While Aenea was a violinist for the Del Sol String Quartet, she performed Mendelssohn’s Octet alongside the Alexander String Quartet. violin with Dorothy DeLay, Guinka Guichkova and Daniel Phillips composition/improvisation with Meyer Kupferman Teaching method: " As ENSEMBLE students explore advanced rehearsal techniques, they learn to create unified ensemble interpretations as well as artistic chamber music performances. While studying technique, performance repertoire and efficient practice methods, VIOLIN students explore mindful awareness and joyful, artistic expression.”

Accepting intermediate and advanced students.

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