UC Irvine Professor Mari Kimura Honored with Prestigious SEAMUS Award
The Claire Trevor School of the Arts at UC Irvine proudly announces that Professor Mari Kimura, a trailblazing violinist, composer and researcher, has been named the recipient of the 2025 SEAMUS Award. This prestigious honor, presented by the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS), recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of electro-acoustic music.
Dr. Kimura, a Professor of Music in UC Irvine’s Ph.D. program in Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology (ICIT), will accept the award at the 2025 SEAMUS National Conference at Purdue University, where she will also perform and present on her pioneering work.
"It is a tremendous honor to receive the SEAMUS Award, which has been given since 1987 to individuals who have shaped electro-acoustic music in the U.S.," said Kimura. "Looking at the list of past recipients—including my teachers and pioneers in the field—is truly humbling. Previously known as the 'Lifetime Achievement Award,' it caught me by surprise, as I still feel like I’m at the beginning of my journey. My first thought was, 'Wait a second—I have so much more to do!'"
A Visionary in Music and Technology
Hailed by The New York Times as a “virtuoso playing at the edge,” Kimura is widely recognized for her groundbreaking work integrating technology into musical performance. She is best known for her mastery of “subharmonics,” an innovative bowing technique that enables violinists to produce pitches an octave below the instrument’s lowest string without retuning. This discovery has expanded the expressive capabilities of the violin and influenced musicians and composers worldwide.
Kimura’s work extends beyond performance to the development of new music technologies. In 2020, she commercialized MUGIC®, a compact Wi-Fi motion sensor designed for interactive artistic expression. MUGIC® has since been embraced by musicians, dancers, and visual artists and is used at institutions such as Harvard University, UC Berkeley, and The Juilliard School. Her compositions incorporate motion-sensor technology, pushing the boundaries of contemporary music performance.
A Legacy of Excellence
Throughout her career, Kimura has received numerous prestigious accolades, including the Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fromm Commission from Harvard University, and residencies at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and IRCAM in Paris. She has premiered works by major composers such as John Adams, Luciano Berio and Tania León, and has performed with leading orchestras, including the Hamburg Symphony and the Tokyo Symphony.
Kimura has also been a dedicated educator, serving on the faculty of The Juilliard School since 1998 before joining UC Irvine in 2017. She is the founding chair of the Future Music Lab at the Atlantic Music Festival, a program dedicated to exploring the intersection of instrumental performance and emerging technologies.
Celebrating Innovation and Impact
The SEAMUS Board selected Kimura for her exceptional contributions to the culture of electro-acoustic music in the United States. In addition to her pioneering research and performance, her entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to advancing music technology have left a lasting impact on the field.
"Receiving the SEAMUS Award is a significant milestone for me, serving as a reminder of my responsibility to hand over the tradition of innovation to the next generation of artists in the field," said Kimura. "I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the SEAMUS board for this award and for recognizing my work. I am especially grateful to my family, and above all, to my husband, Dr. Hervé Brönnimann, whose unwavering support has enabled me to pursue my work while raising our two children. I also want to thank UCI for welcoming me to ICIT at CTSA in 2017. The support and opportunities I have received at UCI have been invaluable, fostering my growth and lifelong learning. Earning my Executive MBA at the Merage School of Business during the COVID shutdown was a transformative experience, and the network I built, along with the guidance and support I received through Applied Innovation (“The Cove”), has been truly indispensable."
With a career spanning performance, composition, research and entrepreneurship, Kimura continues to redefine what is possible in contemporary music. As she prepares to accept the SEAMUS Award, the UC Irvine community celebrates her achievements and looks forward to the innovations yet to come.
For more information about Professor Mari Kimura, visit her website at https://www.marikimura.com/