Biography
Mitch Iimori, (Shamisen)Michinobu Iimori, Mitch, grew up in Tokyo, Japan. To this date, he has not found an instrument he doesn’t want to learn to play, but banjo has been a passion since his father, an executive for Sony, brought home records of American music. Banjo was his first instrument and first love, but it wouldn’t get him a scholarship to study in the United States, so he followed his older brother’s advice and took up the oboe, which netted him a scholarship to the Eastman School of music in Rochester, New York. He makes his living teaching at Lewis and Clark College, George Fox University, Willamette University and Concordia University. He performs in The Salem Chamber Orchestra, chamber groups and substitutes in several regional orchestras, and for stage shows. Some of the instruments he plays in this capacity, besides oboe, are clarinet, bassoon, tenor saxophone, folk whistles, and sitar.
He received his Bachelor of Music in oboe performance and minor in Chinese from Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY in '93. Mitch is active as a multi-instrumentalist, instructor, woodwind repair technician and Japanese voice talent in the Portland area. Recent musical appearances include the Portland Taiko (Flute, Oboe, Banjo, English Horn, Suona) and Oregon Symphony (Hammer Dulcimer).