Described as “mold-breaking” and “vital” by The New York Times and as “a young composer to watch” by The LA Times, Andy Akiho is an eclectic and contemporary composer/performer whose interests run from steel pan to traditional classical music. Recent engagements include a commission by Carnegie Hall premiered by Ensemble ACJW, a world premiere commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, a performance with the LA Philharmonic, a tour in Taiwan for the 2012 International Drum Festival, and three shows at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC featuring original compositions. His rhythmic compositions continue to increase in recognition: selected from an initial pool of over 500 applicants, Akiho won the grand prize for the 2011 MakeMusic National Composition Competition hosted by the Grammy-winning ensemble eighth blackbird and, in 2012, he won the Carlsbad Composer Competition to write a piece for the Calder String Quartet. Other recent awards include a 2012 Chamber Music America Grant with Sybarite5, the 2011 Woods Chandler Memorial Prize, a 2011 Music Alumni Award, the 2010 Horatio Parker Award at the Yale School of Music, three ASCAP Plus Awards, and an ASCAP Morton Gould Award. Akiho has also recently been featured on PBS’s “News Hour with Jim Lehrer”.