Dr. Kae Hashimoto Reed

Kae Hashimoto Reed is a diverse musician, active as a performer and educator. Dr. Reed is a percussionist, a native of Japan, and has decades of experience teaching and performing throughout Asia and the United States. Her performance and teaching philosophy is based on her multi-cultural experiences, emphasizing diversity and inclusion from an artistic perspective.

Dr. Reed has performed internationally in Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, China, and the United States. Her performances and clinics in America have taken place in Arkansas, New York City, New Jersey, Washington D.C., Massachusetts, Iowa, Wisconsin, Philadelphia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Hawaii, Mississippi, and Tennessee, with notable performance venues like the Merkin Concert Hall, the Kennedy Center and Cincinnati Music Hall.

Dr. Reed performs as a percussion soloist, bridging gaps between classical western percussion, world percussion, contemporary styles, and cross-cultural genres. She has worked in collaboration with theatrical groups (Samurai sword fighting, Off Broadway shows), dance troupes (tap, belly dance, and contemporary dance) and many others.

Reed has been a member of Middle Eastern music bands, a pop music groups, steel drum ensembles, and has worked on many contemporary music projects in New York City. Reed was also invited to perform traditional Japanese Taiko drums at numerous international events, including Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C., and an event hosted by the Consulate General of Japan in Nashville. Reed's discography includes the CD, Birds Light, and Dimensions (No Frills Music) and No Beginning, No End by Kenny Werner (Half Note).

As an orchestral timpanist/percussionist, Dr. Reed has performed with the Fort Smith Symphony, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, the Pine Bluff Symphony Orchestra, the New York City Summer Mahler Project, the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, the Russian St. Petersburg State Orchestra, and the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra.

Kae Hashimoto Reed received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Percussion Performance at the University of Memphis under Dr. Bill Shaltis and Dr. Frank Shaffer. She received a Master of Music Degree in Percussion Performance from New York University under Mr. Jonathan Haas and a Bachelor of Arts in Percussion Performance from Osaka Kyoiku University in Japan under Mr.Yasuo Kotani.

Dr. Reed served as the Percussion Instructor at the College of Music of Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand. She was also Principal Timpanist of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra. Dr. Reed founded the group Integrated Percussion Ensemble, and was the conductor/director of this group. She was appointed as Percussion Instructor for the Southeast Asian Youth Orchestra and Wind Ensemble conference (SAYOWE), Thailand.

Currently, Dr. Reed is the Principal Timpanist of the Fort Smith Symphony. She is on the drumline staff and a visiting lecturer in the Department of Music, as well as the Department of English and World Languages at Arkansas Tech University. Kae Reed is proudly endorsing JG Percussion, Korogi Marimbas, and Encore Mallets.