Brenda Wong Aoki / Mark Izu
performing stories and music of people living between worlds
Izu Composer
Winner of a Northern California Regional EMMY award for his film score for the documentary Bolinao52, Mark Izu is available for commissions.
Silent Film Trilogy Project
“The Dragon Painter” is the prototype for a silent film project by Mark Izu, featuring live performance with an original score to films that have been until now, undiscovered treasures.
Mermaid Meat & Other Japanese Ghost Stories
Originally commissioned by Kent Nagano, the conductor of the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, “Mermaid Meat” is accompanied by an original score by Mark Izu.
Uncle Gunjiro’s Girlfriend
The TRUE story of the first Japanese/Caucasian marriage in California. Brenda Wong Aoki is accompanied by award-winning composer and musician Mark Izu with original score.
Aoki Mountain
“Aoki Mountain” represents the final installment in the trilogy of plays about Brenda Wong Aoki’s mixed-race Japanese American family and Japanese ancestors.
The Legend of Morning Glory
The haunting love tale, based on a story from the Kabuki, tells of a girl, the daughter of a powerful samurai, who meets and falls in love with a boy from a poor family.
Songs for My Sensei
In 1978, Mark Izu began studying “sho” with Sensei Togi Suenobu, a musician in Japan’s Imperial Court who is a consummate master of both Gagaku and Western orchestral instruments.
Mermaid Meat Video
The haunting eloquence of Brenda Wong Aoki’s ghost stories masterfully performed in concert with Asian Jazz pioneer Mark Izu and the thunder drums of Japanese Taiko.
Dragon Painter DVD
Mark Izu’s score has been performed with the “Dragon Painter” at the Walker Art Center , Asia Society, San Francisco Silent film Festival, the Pacific Film Archives. The DVD was released in 2005.
The Dragon Painter Video
In the “Dragon Painter,” filmed in Yosemite, Sessue Hayakawa plays a mad artist in search of his beloved who has been transformed into a dragon. The film is infused with the incomparable sound of Mark Izu, and his Asian Jazz ensemble.
Order CDs and Books!
Silent Film Project
Silent Film Trilogy Project
“The Dragon Painter” is the prototype for a silent film project by Mark Izu, featuring live performance with an original score to films that have been until now, undiscovered treasures.
Songs for My Sensei
Songs for My Sensei
In 1978, Mark Izu began studying “sho” with Sensei Togi Suenobu, a musician in Japan’s Imperial Court who is a consummate master of both Gagaku and Western orchestral instruments.
Uncle Gunjiro
Uncle Gunjiro’s Girlfriend
The TRUE story of the first Japanese/Caucasian marriage in California. Brenda Wong Aoki is accompanied by award-winning composer and musician Mark Izu with original score.
Morning Glory
The Legend of Morning Glory
The haunting love tale, based on a story from the Kabuki, tells of a girl, the daughter of a powerful samurai, who meets and falls in love with a boy from a poor family.
Aoki Mountain
Aoki Mountain
“Aoki Mountain” represents the final installment in the trilogy of plays about Brenda Wong Aoki’s mixed-race Japanese American family and Japanese ancestors.
