Biography

Monica Ohuchi’s “commanding pianism”, performing “with beauty, clarity and drive…[offering a] warmth…expressiveness [that’s] irresistible and deeply moving” allows her an active international career as a piano soloist, chamber musician, and pedagogue. Her "scintillating" playing, combined with “an overt virtuosity [and] deep sensitivity that makes her lines sing” has taken her around the globe, from Lincoln Center in New York City, to the remote village of Kovachevitsa, Bulgaria, the coastline in Gijon, Spain, the Banff Centre of the Arts in Canada, and multiple concert halls across Japan.  

A pianist “dutifully and gracefully” attentive to musical depth and detail,  Ohuchi is a frequent soloist with orchestras; recent engagements include the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and the Marin Symphony Orchestra.   Locally in her hometown of Portland, Oregon, Ohuchi performs with the internationally acclaimed artists of Chamber Music Northwest, is a frequent artist on All-Classical Portland radio, and enjoys soloing with regional orchestras. 

Ms. Ohuchi is the pianist and Executive Director of the new music ensemble, Fear No Music, “…a classical ensemble with unimpeachable performance credentials, a love for local and contemporary composers, and a mature sense of social justice and responsibility.” Co-directed ogether with her Artistic Director husband, Kenji Bunch, the ensemble’s annual concert series is defined by bold and innovative programming, making an impactful contribution to the classical music landscape of Portland.

Since capturing first prize at the Chinese International Piano Competition at the age of five, Ms. Ohuchi has been awarded top prizes in over twenty national and international piano competitions, including the William Garrison International Piano Competition, the Wayne Nadeau International Piano Competition, and the Dorthy A. Anderson International Piano Competition. Ms. Ohuchi is two-time U.S. national champion of the Music Teacher’s National Association Piano Competition, and a New York Steinway Hall Recital Award Recipient, as well as the Artist International Presentations Carnegie Hall Award Recipient.

Ms. Ohuchi performed the world premiere of Kenji Bunch’s Piano Concerto with the Colorado Symphony, conducted by Jeffrey Kahane, to critical acclaim. Of these world premiere concerts, Kahane describes Ms. Ohuchi as “…a pianist of the first rank… possesses a ravishing palette of color and who dispatches the most difficult passages with effortless grace.” 

Ms. Ohuchi's debut album, titled Monica's Notebook was released on Helicon Kleos Classical Records in 2011. A set of twelve performance etudes written especially for her by Kenji Bunch, each etude in Monica’s Notebook examines a particular facet of contemporary piano technique, including the stylistic inflections of vernacular idioms, such as jazz, blues, and rock all the while paying homage to the rich tradition of performance etudes in the classical cannon. Ms. Ohuchi has also recorded for the Navona and Pentatone labels.

Strongly committed to music education, Ms. Ohuchi is a much sought after piano pedagogue. She is currently the Director of Music Performance at Reed College, where she also teaches Piano and Chamber Music.  She is a frequent guest clinician and competition adjudicator.

Ms. Ohuchi began her piano studies at the age of two with her mother, Sumiyo Ohuchi. Ms. Ohuchi holds advanced degrees in Piano Performance from The Juilliard School where she studied with Julian Martin. Her past teachers include Marc Durand, Martin Canin, Bela Siki, and David A. Brown.

Ms. Ohuchi currently resides in the lush green forests of Portland, Oregon with her husband Kenji, their two children, and two pitbull-mix rescue dogs. In her spare time, she can be found running in the rain, devouring her daughter’s culinary creations, spending endless hours cheering on her son’s soccer games, and dancing in her kitchen.  

Press Footnotes:

1. The New York Times, Anthony Tommasini

2. The Times Argus, Vermont

3. The Arts Desk, United Kingdom, David Nice

4. Rutland Herald, Vermont

5. San Francisco Classical Voice

6. Oregon Arts Watch