Alumni

Seiichi Yamaguchi headshot

Seiichi Yamaguchi

Gabelli School EMBA Alumnus, Seiichi Yamaguchi, Champions Music Education With a Groundbreaking Exhibit at The Met
Seiichi Yamaguchi, GABELLI ’03, managing executive officer of Yamaha Corporation, met architects Mishi Hosono and Adam Weintraub of the New York-based architecture firm KOKO Architecture + Design, during a chance encounter. “Our daughters shared a dorm room at college, and we became friends over dinner and a bottle of wine. It was then that they told me about the 81st Street Studio. I knew that Yamaha should be a part of it, so the Yamaha Design Laboratory started working with their firm to create first-of-their-kind musical instruments for the Studio,” he recalled.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) opened its 81st Street Studio in September 2023, with Yamaha playing a major role. The art and science discovery and play space was designed for kids ages 3–11 and their families, and the “Yamaha at The Met” musical station, which was the result of the collaboration between Yamaha and KOKO Architecture + Design, added a whole new dimension to the learning experience. It uses a variety of materials to introduce children to unique sounds and demonstrates how different materials influence those sounds.

Kids love the exhibit and its larger-than-life instruments, which include standing guitars, a bird chime, a castanet wall, a marimba window, sound surfboards, and an 11-note bellows pipe organ—all playable and all designed to inspire creativity and spark the imagination.

His involvement and the amazing talent at Yamaha helped us to … create an environment that supports learning and growth, while connecting children to the expansive collection of art at The Met.”

—Adam Weintraub, Co-founder,
KOKO Architecture + Design
In addition to drawing visitors in through the sounds being made, the design of the space evokes the textures and colors of art in The Met’s permanent collection.

Although the project was a collaborative effort, according to Hosono and Weintraub, it was Yamaguchi’s vision, leadership, and determination that were the driving forces behind shepherding the project from its early conceptual phases to reality. Yamaguchi thought of every detail and worked to ensure that the project was executed flawlessly.

Team members from Yamaha and KOKO worked tirelessly under tight deadlines and often under constraints and limitations, such as restrictions on importing specific types of wood from Japan, to create the instruments and the setting in which they were placed. Pandemic-related shipping delays also caused unexpected obstacles.

“Seiichi Yamaguchi was instrumental in making the material orchestra happen, even when we faced many challenges. He mobilized the engineers and designers at Yamaha to create these beautiful, one-of-a-kind instruments that are part of the multisensory experience the Studio offers,” Hosono noted. “His involvement and the amazing talent at Yamaha helped us to fulfill the project’s objective—to create an environment that supports learning and growth, while connecting children to the expansive collection of art at The Met,” Weintraub added.

little girl hitting wooden xylophone
children sitting and standing at circular activity tables
Courtesy of The Met
It is no surprise that Yamaguchi played such an integral role in the project’s success. His professional achievements include building a career with the Yamaha Corporation that has spanned the globe. He has held positions at the company’s offices in the United States, Sweden, and China, as well as in Japan where he currently works and lives. His many accomplishments are underscored by his keen business acumen and his willingness to always be open to learning new things. In 2003, he earned an Executive M.B.A. at the Gabelli School of Business in order to gain a more thorough understanding of Yamaha’s business, and to prepare him to advance into a higher level of leadership. The experience also taught him about the value of collaboration at the executive level.

Over the years, his vast experience and business knowledge have helped Yamaha to become a global leader in the manufacturing and distribution of traditional and digital musical instruments and audio equipment. His leadership skills and appreciation for the power of collaboration also have provided entrée to important partnerships, including the one with KOKO Architecture + Design.

“Yamaha at The Met” reflects Yamaguchi’s deep commitment to utilizing his leadership skills, creativity, and gift for collaboration to fulfill his company’s brand promise to “make waves” through the transformational power of sound and music.

—Michelle Livingston and Paola Curcio-Kleinman