Classical pianist Futaba Niekawa seeks true expression in music through her artistry as a versatile pianist, chamber musician, teacher, and mentor. Her performances have taken her across the globe from North America, Europe, and Asia. To date, she has released five recordings encompassing solo, four-hands, duo and chamber music from classical to newly composed works.

Praised as “a beautifully balanced duo” by Gramophone Magazine, duo526 is a shared passion for Niekawa and violinist Kerry DuWors, since 2011. Her love of collaboration led her to performances with Atar Arad, James Campbell, Charles Castleman, Mark Kaplan and members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, among others. She has served on faculty as a collaborative pianist at the Banff Centre, New England Conservatory, Meadowmount School of Music, Indiana University’s Summer String Academy and the Perlman Music Program. 

Her passion for pedagogy and mentoring is shown through her appearances as a guest teacher and performer at universities across North America as well as at duo526's Sonata Seminar. From 2015-2025, she taught and served as a Lecturer in Chamber and Collaborative Music at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.  Her students have pursued further studies at the Julliard School, New England Conservatory, the University of South California, the University of Colorado-Boulder and more. Since fall 2025, she has been appointed as an Assistant Professor of Collaborative Piano at the University of Maryland School of Music and director of collaborative piano.