Diego Coy is originally from Santiago de Cali, Colombia. He is the former musical director of Fundacion Viva La Musica and Fundacion Funmusica in Cali, Colombia where he taught Colombian folk music. He began his musical career in 1986 at the “Instituto Popular de Cultura de Armenia” in Quindio, Colombia. In 1990 he furthered his musical studies at Colombia's Universidad del Valle in Cali. After that, Diego began his years of journey, traveling to Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Argentina to learn the musical traditions and various wind instruments of native Andean cultures. It was during this time that he mastered the quena and the zampona, and learned to handmake his own instruments. To this day, it is not uncommon for Diego to make his own instruments and then teach himself how to play them.
In 1997 he and “Grupo Juglares” were invited to represent Colombia at the “Fiesta Latina” music festival in South Carolina. That same year he played together with his new band members of “Viva la Musica” in Hiroshima, Japan at the famous Flower Festival. He also performed with “Viva la Musica” as member and director at the Festival of Tolerance in Prague, Czech Republic. Diego has since played in Italy, France, and various cities across the US.
Since coming to Seattle in 2003, Diego has been performing at Seattle Folklife Festival, Washington Flute Circle, University of Washington World Series, Seattle Symphony Educational Program, Seattle Rhythm Festival, Seattle Fiestas Patrias, Seattle Sea Fair, and more. Diego has received a recording grant from the King County 4Culture Special Project and “Quinbaya Award” from Centro Cultural Hispano Americano Organization in Washington.
Miho Takekawa is originally from Tokyo, Japan and currently resides in Seattle, Washington. She is a percussion lecturer at Pacific Lutheran University where she directs percussion and steel pan ensembles. Miho is also a doctoral candidate in percussion performance at the University of Washington as well as the Japan Tour Coordinator and Activities Liaison. She has been actively encouraging cultural awareness in youth from Washington and Japan by coordinating and leading educational trips to both countries with such groups as the Husky Marching Band, the University of Washington Wind Ensemble, Musica Grato Himi, and Tamana Girls High School Band.
Miho’s performance skills have been honed on the piano since she was 3 and playing percussion since she was 13. She graduated from Kunitachi School of Music in both percussion performance and music education in Tokyo. She is a member of the Pan Leggo Steel Drum Ensemble, Pan Duo, and cofounded the marimba & Andean flute duo the Miho & Diego Duo.
Her music has been heard at Benaroya Hall, Sound Bridge, Seattle Center, the Moore Theater, Meany Hall, Town Hall, University of Washington Ethnic Cultural Theatre, Walla Walla University, Pacific Lutheran University and other venues in Washington. She has been supported/sponsored by the King County Public Library System, the Seattle Public Library Immigrant & Refugee Programs, Kansai Band Association, and KUOW 94.9FM and KBCS 91.3FM. In Japan she formed the North Rainbow Steel Drum Group in Sapporo, and was an arranger for the Hirosaki University Steel Pan Group.
Miho has won numerous awards, including the highly competitive Boeing Scholarship, and was a 2006 Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship recipient, the King County 4Culture Special Project grant in 2007/2008, and Artist Trust Centrum Artist Residency in 2008. She is co-author of A Composer's Insight: Thoughts, Analysis and Commentary on Contemporary Masterpieces for Wind Band.
Reviews:
I am pleased to recommend most highly the wonderful ensemble of my colleague Miho Takekawa, the Miho & Diego Duo. Ms. Takekawa plays marimba along with her collaborator, Diego Coy on Andean flutes. The duo presents a wide range of ethnic and jazz-influenced music. Their presentations enlighten as much as they entertain. The infectious rhythms, tight ensemble, shared lyricism and obvious joy of their collaboration bear the audience along on a journey of excitement, nuance and beauty. The Duo’s performance here this spring was one of the highlights of our musical season.
David P. Robbins, Chair/Professor of Music, Pacific Lutheran University
Quenarimba
It is remarkable how the two very different instruments blend so well together, the warm, woody sound of the quena balanced with the rich, resonant tones of the marimba. The variety of musical selections on their CD, including original compositions, Latin American, jazz, and Japanese pieces delight the ear and showcase the virtuosity of the musicians. In short, I love this recording and keep it in high rotation in my CD player.
Teruyo Koshimiya -Celtic harpist & Japanese Paper “Soy Source” editor (Seattle, WA)
"Miho and Diego got the whole audience involved!" "The instruments were as much a part of the program as the performers! This was a wonderful program."
Valerie Wonder
Immigrant & Refugee Programs Manager
Seattle Public Library
Experiences:
Flute Quest Festival 2006 in Kenmore, Festival Latino 2006 in Auburn,
White Center Music Night Series in White Center, Redmond Senior Center,
Columbia City Art Walk in Columbia City, Hispanic Heritage Month Event in Olympia,
Seattle Fiestas Patrias in Seattle Center, Country Village in Bothell, Guillermo’s (Palm Desert),
Pena Pacha Mama (San Francisco), Jubilante, Mi Tierra (Monroe), Egan’s Ballard Jam House,
El Pechugón, Seattle Public Library Immigrants and Refugee Program, Pacific Lutheran University
University of Washington Ethnic Cultural Theatre
Live performance at KBCS 91.3FM, Sabor, KBCS 91.3FM, El Lado Latino
Washington Hispanic Festival (Centralia), Eastside Hispanic Leadership Forum, Microsoft Auditorium, Seattle City Hall, Costco (Woodinville), Everett Community College, Kobe International Junior & High School, University of Washington Brechmin Auditorium, Seattle University Xavier Global House, the King Country Public Library System, Centralia Washington Hispanic Festival, Beneroya Hall Garden of Remembrance, Northwest Folklife Festival, Seattle Rhythm Festival
The Miho & Diego Duo has been boldly blending Latino, Japanese, African and American musical traditions since 2006. Both accomplished musicians in their own right, Miho Takekawa and Diego Coy came together after years of admiring each other’s work and discovering that their sounds could be combined to make something genuinely new and unique. Fittingly, the title of their debut CD, "Quenarimba", combines the names of their primary instruments, the quena, a traditional Andean flute, and the marimba. "Quenarimba" showcases their distinctive combination of warm, natural wood sounds and takes the listener on a musical trip from Japan to South America. Playing a brand of music that is truly their own and not easily categorized, the Duo’s repertoire covers an amazingly wide range of styles with an innovative approach. They play from an extensive catalog of Andean, traditional South American folk, Brazilian, Japanese, jazz and Latin jazz compositions, as well as original compositions. The Duo has been invited to perform at festivals and venues all over Washington and California. The Duo received their first invitation to “Japan Tour” in October, 2007, where they performed in Tokyo, Kobe, Himi, Izumo and Kumamoto. The Duo is going to return to Japan to play music again in October, 2009.
The Miho & Diego Duo’s music has been heard at Benaroya Hall, Sound Bridge, Seattle Center, the Moore Theater, Meany Hall, Town Hall, University of Washington Ethnic Cultural Theatre, Everett Community College, Green River Community College, John Stanford International School, University of Washington Tacoma, Microsoft and other venues in Washington. They have been supported/sponsored by the King County Public Library System, the Seattle Public Library Immigrant & Refugee Programs, Kansai Band Association, KUOW 94.9FM and KBCS 91.3FM.
The Miho & Diego Duo makes it a primary goal to encourage cultural understanding through music. To achieve this goal they developed a program that has been presented in Japan and the King County Library System that introduces youth to Japanese and South American folk music using involvement and participation. They also hold lecture recitals that combine both the educational and musical aspects of South American music, history of marimba and Japanese music.
The Miho & Diego Duo greatly respects the elders who gave them their music and they strive to take their music to the next step, to make it their own. The Miho & Diego Duo is a recipient of the King County 4Culture Special Program Grant 2007/2008.
