Maki Mae

Maki Mae is a classically-trained violinist, concert pianist, and 13-language vocalist whose award-winning competition pieces have taken her on tour in America, Asia, and Europe. She has headlined stunning EDM and crossover performances in stadiums, arenas, and festivals such as EDC Las Vegas and Burning Man. She sang the national anthem at major sports arenas, sang in a Cannes Film Festival movie, performed on NBC’s America’s Got Talent and Special Olympics World Games, and appeared in major televised events.

Her recent Covid-19 relief concert featured pianist Ed Roth (Annie Lenox, Joe Walsh) and Jimmy Kimmel Live’s guitarist Toshi Yanagi. Promoted by iHeartMedia and Asian Hall of Fame, the live stream generated 716 million impressions and 243 media mentions in the United States, Canada, and Asia. It deployed 25,800 PPE to 71 organizations and prompted the Asian Hall of Fame and its parent philanthropy Robert Chinn Foundation to support her charity album Seasonal Songbook.

Seasonal Songbook represents Maki Mae’s most requested pieces and iconic collaborations with the likes of Robby Krieger from The Doors and Ed Roth. The album is saturated with sensual storytelling from samba-reggae chords of “My Favorite Things” to whispers of “O Holy Night”.

The hugely accomplished album features legendary Los Angeles-based artists and producers including Ringo Starr’s engineer Bruce Sugar, Toshi Yanagi, 7-time GRAMMY and 3-time Emmy-winning bassist Kevin Brandon (Aretha Franklin, Justin Timberlake), percussionist Leo Costa (Sergio Mendes, Herb Alpert), drummer Rock Deadrick (Ziggy Marley), Wu Tang-Clan’s engineer Michael Riach, and engineer Steve Valenzuela (Kelly Clarkson, Rod Stewart).

Maki Mae was born as a blue baby not breathing and months later was rescued from crib death. Complications resulted in 70% hearing loss. When Maki was five, her financier father became bankrupt and her mother worked three teaching jobs to support his mistress and son, his debts, and music lessons. Music became a safe haven. Her linguistics professor mother trained Maki’s lyrical diction, and Maki has performed in English, Latin, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Czech, Portuguese, Hebrew and also Chinese, Tagalog, Korean, and Japanese.

Maki Mae debuted the Beethoven piano Pathetique at 10-years old, Mendelssohn violin concerto at 14, and left home at 15 for Phillips Academy, Andover. While attending Johns Hopkins University, Maki was discovered by Berl Senofsky at Peabody Conservatory for her trifecta of violin, piano, and opera. Maki sings the highest note in the soprano repertoire and developed a vocal technique that integrates high pianissimo notes (cuperto) with no vibrato over a long sustained breath.

Maki Mae became known to non-classical audiences when her violin and vocal remix of “Kyoto” from Skrillex’s Bangarang made number one for five weeks on Los Angeles, U.S. and Global electronic music charts. Her electronic single “Burn On” generated a million streams worldwide.

In 2017, two deaths in her family prompted Maki Mae to perform more intimate songs. When she was honored as the California Senate Woman of the Year, she took her timeless classics on tour.

Maki Mae’s intensely personal Seasonal Songbook spans 200 years of music history from the original German “Ave Maria” to the contemporary “Hallelujah.” The album supports the Asian Hall of Fame Arts for All Program that helps trauma, war, and human trafficking survivors heal through art. Show less