2015 / Versatile artist Angela Aki to be featured at annual benefit concert, Oct. 18

The Aurora Foundation in Los Angeles which has held benefit concerts to raise funds for scholarships and grants programs in Japan every year since 1998, introduced Wednesday Angela Aki to Japanese press as the featured artist for the Aurora Benefit Concert 2015 which will be held on Sunday, October 18 (new date), 2015 at Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center in Redondo Beach.

As a versatile musician / singer-songwriter, Angela Aki has a stellar recording and performance career in Japan.

Angela Aki has always performed as solo with playing piano on television, in videos and commercials, as well as in concert throughout Japan, including at the renowned-14,000-seat Nippon Budokan in Tokyo every year from 2006 through 2014. She is most known for her signature black glasses, and casual attire that she wears for her concerts.

Born in September 1977 as Kiyomi Aki in Tokushima, Japan, to a Japanese father and an Italian-American mother, Aki went to a middle school in Okayama, and a private college preparatory school in Honolulu, and she graduated from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. with major in political science.

In spite of spending years in a prestige university, her heart was always attracted by music, and Aki started professional music activities in Washington D.C. after the graduation of the university

After releasing indie albums in the U.S., in 2003 she returned to Japan. In 2005, Aki was selected as the singer for the theme song “Kiss Me Good-Bye” of the bestselling video game “Final Fantasy XII.”

In 2009, Aki composed a piece called “Tegami” (Letter To My 15-Year Old Self) for the NHK All-Japan School Chorus Competition. When released as a single, “Tegami” remained on bestselling lists for 80 weeks. The lyrics of “Tegami” have also been incorporated into social studies textbooks in schools throughout Japan to encourage discussion of emotional psychology that could lead to bullying, depression or teen suicide.

In November 2013, at the peak of her career, she announced an indefinite hiatus of her music activities after August 2014, and a plan to study at a music college in the U.S. starting in Fall 2014. Currently Angela Aki is living in Los Angeles with her husband and a son. The Wednesday press event was set because she recently finished her first year at a music college in Los Angeles.

Angela Aki Aurora Benefit Concert in LA will be held on Sunday, October 18, 2015 at 5 pm at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd, Redondo Beach, CA 90278. All reserved seats. Tickets are $125, $100, $75, $55, and $35.

Benefit Awards Dinner & Auction Gala Celebration will be held on Friday, October 16, 2015, at 5 pm at DoubleTree by Hilton Los Angeles, 120 South Los Angeles Street, CA 90012. Tickets are $100 per seat and $1,000 per table.

For tickets of both events, contact Aurora Foundation at (323) 882-6545 or email AuroraFoundation@usa.net