Meet Michael Murata | Scientist, Musician, and Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael Murata and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
“This is water.” – David Foster Wallace

Out of context, this quote by itself carries very little meaning, but it comes from a commencement speech that David Foster Wallace gave to Kenyon College back in 2005. He argues that to fish, water is so ubiquitous that it can be easily overlooked. It is literally all around, constantly. The same can be said for us where the routine, monotony, or simply the paralyzing overstimulation of life can so often and easily lull us into living unconsciously or without active thought. This quote is a reminder to me to live with awareness and intention and that I can and should dictate the nature of my thoughts and my perspective on everything around me. When I feel frustrated or offended by someone, I choose to consider that this person knows something that I do not and that I can learn from them if I have enough of an open mind. Living with awareness of how inter-connected our lives are helps me to feel gratitude for the life that I am able to live. To me, this quote reflects the stoic philosophy that our thoughts are crucial to our own happiness and that who we are begins with how we think. Our thoughts become our actions, our actions become our habits, and our habits characterize who we are and how we are perceived. I have strived to live my life with intention of thought and it is a journey that I’ve been on since I first heard this speech by David Foster Wallace nearly 20 years ago.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Music to me will always be my hobby, albeit one that I pursue very aggressively. To be honest, I never imagined that I would be performing publicly as much as I have been. No stage is too big or too small for me because no matter where I am, I will always be that kid playing piano in his room without an audience just enjoying the music. My attitude toward performing has always been rooted in staying true to finding joy in playing and if someone out there enjoys it as well, then I am happy to share. I’ve been fortunate that so many people have resonated with my playing that they’ve asked me to perform at their events from weddings, celebrations of life, and private dinners to concerts, cultural festivals, and community gatherings.

I’ll be upfront about this. There are way better musicians than me out there. Not just a few, tons of them. They have greater technical ability, knowledge of music theory, or creativity in artistic expression if not all of the above. I am not even that entertaining as a performer. I am more or less motionless on the stage while playing and though I am getting better, I am quite uncomfortable having to speak to an audience. It’s a wonder that I’ve been asked to perform more than once in my life. However, though I may not show it, each and every time I perform, I am having the time of my life and perhaps that comes through in my playing. I simply love to play music and it isn’t any more complicated than that.

If there is anything that sets me apart from others, it is what I do when I am not performing. During the day, I work at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center as a cancer research scientist. I have a PhD in biomedical engineering and I use that to study the genetic abnormalities that lead to breast and prostate cancer. Currently, my research group is trying to develop a blood test to characterize and diagnose these cancers very early on using a combination of molecular biology, DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, and artificial intelligence. On the weekends or evenings when I am not performing or rehearsing, I volunteer in the community having served on the board of directors for several non-profit organizations. I also produce a cultural cooking show called the Shokudo series where we explore our Asian- and Japanese-American identity using food as a vehicle for initiating conversations. We just had our first large-scale fundraising event, which I am happy to report was very successful.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Obviously, what constitutes the best time ever for someone depends on what they enjoy and I would try to think what we would both be able to appreciate. I think for many people, that includes food or drink of some type. As a coffee lover, I would definitely recommend visiting Reverent in Palos Verdes and Jameson Coffee Roasters in Pasadena. They are on opposites sides of Los Angeles, but each are worth a visit. Maybe after visiting Reverent, I would spend some time hiking around in Palos Verdes, which has some of the most beautiful views in Los Angeles and some secret trails. Having lived in Long Beach, my favorite bakery is probably Colossus and walking around the nearby Naples canals is always a good time. One of my favorite Italian restaurants is also in Long Beach called La Parolaccia Osteria. I love sports and would insist on playing pickleball since it is a sport that pretty much anyone can play with a relatively low barrier to entry. However, my true love is playing basketball, but I am down for pretty much any sport involving a ball of some sort. As a fourth generation Japanese American, I’ve spent a lot of my time in Little Tokyo and it seems there is something interesting going on there every weekend, which I would also recommend checking out.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The person that I am today begins with my family. My parents have supported me in all of my endeavors from giving me music lessons, creating opportunities for higher education, and showing up to all of my various activities. Not only have they provided for me and laid a foundation for success, they set an example of who to be and how to treat people. I am also grateful for my brother and his family and my wife for their support and encouragement. I truly believe that I have been able to so fearlessly pursue everything that I do because I know that I have all of these people rooting for me.

I’ve had the privilege of having many mentors and inspirations for my career in music. My piano teachers Mary Jane Schultz and Virginia Ludwig taught me everything that I know about navigating around the keyboard and encouraged me to pursue music beyond my classical upbringing. My saxophone teacher Dominic Mumolo showed me the joy in playing all types of horns and woodwinds and my high school jazz band teacher Fred Steiner helped define my taste in music. My church bandleader Rick Izumi gave me the courage to perform and showed me ways that I could use music beyond just entertainment. More recently, I have had the pleasure and honor to learn from and play with several community artists including Scott Nagatani, Danny Yamamoto, and Lisa Joe. Lastly, I am motivated to continue with music because of my friends and fellow musicians Miko Shudo, Emily Imazumi, Lisa Orpilla, and Aimee Angeles.

Website: https://michaelmurata.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelmurata12/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/shamoji12

Other: https://ko-fi.com/michaelmurata

Image Credits
Khanh Ly, Jon Kenzo Okeya