Pianist Miki Sawada, whose performance made The Boston Globe’s list “Best of the Arts 2021: The classical concerts that made me fall in love with live music again,” is known as a fearless musician who is taking classical music where others are not. Through her signature project  Gather Hear Tour , Miki is traveling the country state-by-state with a piano in a van to perform in community gathering spaces instead of concert halls. Miki’s mission is to connect with Americans across socioeconomic and political boundaries through music; Gather Hear attempts to find what unites us as humans in this nation of deep divide. Miki has given more than 60 free concerts in Alaska (2017), West Virginia (2018), Massachusetts (2021), Utah (2021), and Louisiana (2022), very often in rural communities where no live classical music is available.

Miki holds degrees from Yale School of Music (Artist Diploma), Eastman School of Music (Master of Music) with Natalya Antonova and Northwestern University (Bachelor of Music) with James Giles. Miki was named one of 22 Outstanding Women of 2020 by Eastman School of Music. Miki is an ultramarathon runner training for her first 100 mile race, and lives in Boston with her husband Kristopher Tong (Borromeo Quartet) and their rescue German Shepherd mix named Shakira.