Akiko Konishi received her early musical training in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, and completed her undergraduate studies at Rice University as a double major in music and English. She continued her graduate studies at Yale University and the University of Houston, under the guidance of renowned pianists Peter Frankl and Abbey Simon. She performs extensively in guest artist venues across the United States, and recent notable engagements include a recital at Oberlin College as well as repeat concerto appearances with the Chicago Federation of Musicians Orchestra. Dr. Konishi is Assistant Professor of Music at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. She is a recipient of the Lenfest Grant, a summer research opportunity for faculty to pursue a project of a pedagogical and scholarly nature. Through this support, she will present a new course about the popular music genre in the upcoming academic year.