HIROSHIMA DAY 2026 Los Angeles | Pianist Makiko Hirata Presents Peace Prayer Piano Concert at Pasadena Presbyterian Church Wednesday, August 5 at 12:10PM
PASADENA, CA — Pianist Makiko Hirata will present a free 30-minute concert on Wednesday, August 5, at 12:10 PM at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. The performance coincides with the anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing in Japan, and Ms. Hirata—who is the granddaughter of a hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor)—will dedicate the concert as a prayer for peace. The event is open to the public and all are invited to attend.
- Event Title: Makiko Hirata Peace Prayer Piano Concert (Free)
- Presented by: Music at Noon Concert Series (https://www.ppc.net/musicatnoon)
- Date & Time: Wednesday, August 5 | 12:10 PM–12:40 PM
- Location: Pasadena Presbyterian Church, 585 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
- Parking: Paid parking is available adjacent to Madison Street. Metered street parking is also plentiful.
- Program Highlights: Frédéric Chopin’s “Raindrop” Prelude, Claude Debussy’s “Clair de Lune,” and Kôsaku Yamada’s “Reimei no Kankyô” (Dawn Invocation) among other selections.
“As the granddaughter of a hibakusha and as a global citizen, I wish to dedicate this performance to the memory of those affected by the atomic bombing and to offer music as a prayer for peace,” said Makiko Hirata. The short lunchtime recital seeks to provide a reflective moment for listeners and to promote awareness of peace and reconciliation.
Makiko Hirata is a Japan-born, Hong Kong-raised pianist currently based in the United States.
Since 2017 she has been a fellow in the U.S.-Japan Foundation’s leadership program. Her interdisciplinary work includes collaborative research with neuroscientists to quantify music’s therapeutic effects, and initiatives with environmental scientists and social psychologists to harness music’s social impact for environmental action through a project called Tempo: Music for Environmental Action.
She is also a lecturer for Stanford University’s SPICE program (Study of Practice in International and Cross-cultural Education), a member of the Piano and Wellbeing Research Institute at Shizuoka University, and a Shigeru Kawai artist.