Yuri Sakiyama holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Piano Performance from Northern Illinois University. 

 

She studied at the Music Institute of Chicago under Emilio V. Del Rosario, Constance Hughes, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under Dr. William Heiles, and Piano pedagogy under Dr. Christos Tsitsaros. Upon graduation, Yuri has been employed as a private piano instructor, group theory instructor, and piano accompanist for students of all ages in Orchepia Music School. Also, Yuri has teaching experience at Illinois State University and Northern Illinois University before she relocated to California. 

 

Yuri organized and directed special musical events and recitals annually for students. She is also a member of MTAC (Music Teachers Association of California). Her students have been a winner at the Music Theme Festival, and competitions. 

 

Yuri performs in both solo and collaborative recitals in California and Japan and won many piano competitions such as PTNA Piano competitions in Japan and MTNA Competitions in Illinois. 

 

Yuri enjoys playing tennis, hiking, and traveling. She also loves animals and volunteers at an animal shelter on the weekends.