Grace Nikae

Who is Grace Nikae?

Grace Nikae is an American classical pianist. At the age of 3 months, she moved to Honolulu, Hawaii and grew up in ʻAiea. She was raised by her mother, Kazuko Hashiguchi, who is a teacher. Her uncle, Kosaburo Hashiguchi, is a Japanese mathematician who solved the remaining star height problem.

A child prodigy, Nikae started to learn the piano from her mother at nine months old, and performed her first public performance at age three. At the age of four, she was featured on television performing a concerto by Haydn. Her debut with orchestra came at age eight, when she performed Mozart's Concerto No. 14 KV 449 with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. She made her international recital debut in Japan at the age of thirteen.

Upon graduation from Iolani School, Nikae moved to New York City. She continued her music studies with Martin Canin of the Juilliard School, and with Alexander Slobodyanik. She also pursued undergraduate studies in European history at Columbia University. Her awards and prizes include the 2005 Hawaii Music Award in Classical Music, first prize in piano at the 2002 Sorantin International Young Artists Competition, and the 1995 Sterling Scholar Award in Music.