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Michiko Toyama (14 Feb 1908 — 3 Oct 2000) was a Japanese-American composer, recognized as the first Japanese recipient of an international compositional award and one of the early pioneers of electronic music. Born in California into a wealthy family from Osaka, she began her musical education with piano lessons in Paris in 1930 and shifted her focus to composition under the mentorship of a notable teacher in 1936. Encouraged by her mentor, Toyama submitted her work "Voice of Yamato" to a contest, winning at the 15th festival in 1937; however, the news of her achievement did not gain widespread attention in Japan, and the piece remained unperformed for nearly 60 years, finally being showcased at the Gendai no Ongaku-ten '93 exhibition. After marrying in 1937 and adopting the surname Muto, Toyama returned to Japan in 1948 to teach counterpoint and piano at the Osaka Academy of Music. She relocated to Europe in 1952 to further her studies at the Paris Conservatory and became influenced by Musique Concrète and electroacoustic experiments. In 1955, she received a scholarship to study with a prominent composer at Tanglewood, returning to the U.S. and also studying conducting at the Pierre Monteux School in Maine. In 1956, she enrolled in a program to learn electronic music with notable figures at a newly-established center, becoming one of the first women to

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