MAiSA first picked up the Violin at age 4.  Her mom was a talented piano player who wanted MAiSA to learn the piano, but MAiSA thought the violin looked cooler.  MAiSA played only classical music until in her teen years she discovered Hans Zimmer, and she fell in love with his film compositions.  She started to compose and arrange and wanted to study both in college, but was pressured to stay the classical course.  She studied at Toho Garden College of Music in Tokyo, Japan where she honed her Violin skills.

MAiSA was awarded the “Best Student” award of the Vienna International Violin Materclass in Asahikawa which granted her a scholorship from Asahikawa city to attend Mozarteum International Summer Academy in Salzburg.  She was also awarded the highest prize award in the Bled International Music Competition in 2011.  She was chosen by the Ota ward to perform at Aprico Tea Salon Concert.  She has performed twice at Suntory Hall (2009 and 2014) for the Violin Festa Tokyo, and was the featured soloist for the Saitama Center Philharmonic Orchestra in 2015.

​

As MAiSA became a great classical musician, she never felt like she was in the right place musically.  She spoke with her professors and mentors about it and they all advised her to “stay the course” and “work on finding a husband” instead of exploring other music.  MAiSA hated that female Japanese musicians were forced into such tight boxes and stereotypes, and was really struggling with the industry until she came accross a song on the radio that would inspire her to stand up for herself and change her musical path.  That song was “Master of Puppets” by Metallica.  For the first time, MAiSA found music that spoke to her fully, and she dove into the world of Heavy Metal, and fused her classical training and her love for Heavy Metal into her own arraging and compositions.  Around the same time she met a fellow non-conformer; Jacob Koller.  Jacob is an amazingly talented pianist who immediately noticed MAiSA’s passion when playing, and the two teamed up to give MAiSA the platform to create and be herself.

MAiSA brings the wonderful blend of a lifetime of classical training and the love of rock music and the spirit of a human who insists on pushing the limits of her craft to create stunningly moving and exciting arrangements that have to be experienced and heard.