StarCitizen:Mariko Muranaka
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Mariko Muranaka (Japanese: 村中 麻里子 / むらなか まりこ) is an Acoustic/Electric Cellist who worked with Pedro Camacho on the Star Citizen music for patch Alpha 4.3 Dark Territory.<ref>"[...] @Mari_cello in the wonderful cello [...]." @pedrocamacho, Twitter, Aug 17, 2025</ref>
Other Works
She plays classical, rock, cinematic and worldwide genres, often blending acoustic and electric cello techniques.
While at university, she started to work as a musician in classical concerts, musicals such as Les Miserables, recording and TV shows. She formed the group VanillaMood with other students from her university and they appeared in NHK's national television show, performing live regularly money to friday, going to the TV studio at 6am or 7am, doing rehearsals, and doing the show around noon, then going to study at the university after work, then going back again to the studio to prepare for the next day, all while also doing their own CDs, for a year and a half. Over the next 3 years, they played live every day on PON! by Japan Television, Ohirudesuyo Fureai Hall by NHK shows, and one year and a half as a regular DJ on Nippon Broadcast. She also released 4 CD/DVDs from avex. One of them being a collaboration with the South Korean online [[StarCitizen::Category:Video games|game]] Tales Weaver, the original score being used in the game. As a band, they arranged and played nearly 1,000 songs in several years. In 2012, she released her original solo album Feelin' the Sky, with the titled song being used as an ending theme song in Nippon Shoku Kikou by Nippon Broadcast every Friday. That same year, she also became ambassador for Paesold, a string intrusments brand, becoming the face of their cellos and bows music instruments stores across Japan.<ref name=":0" />
In 2013 Cirque du Soleil was looking for a cellist for the Michael Jackson World Tour and she was selected, staying for a year and a half. From 2014 to 2018 she played for the US and European world tour of the rockband Starset. Since 2015 she's also in Zumanity, a resident show in Las Vegas which prompted her to move there to live. In 2016 she performed a Prince tribute with Madonna, and in 2019-2020 she performed again with her on the Madame X Tour. In 2020 during the pandemic, she performed for Karol G at the Latin Grammy awards. During the pandemic she also performed for Adele's resident show in Las Vegas. In 2021, She played in the orchestra for the rockband Journey.<ref name=":1" /> She also performed with Amber Liu, Thomas Rhett, Carry Underwood, Eagles.
She has been a featured soloist on prominent tours such as Hans Zimmer Live , the World of Hans Zimmer, Two Steps From Hell live shows like the Wacken Open Air metal music festival.
She also performed for movies like Dune part 2, for documentary movies, for animes like Attack On Titan.<ref>Mariko Muranaka, imdb</ref><ref>Mariko Muranaka, vgmdb</ref><ref>Mariko Muranaka, Anime News Network</ref>
Besides cello, she also tours as a violinist, and produces her own projects.<ref name=":0">About, marikocello.com</ref>
Early Life
She was born in Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan, but after a few months her dad got promoted so they moved to Nagoya, where at age 3 or 4 in maths class she met a girl who was playing violin, and as she was reading a children's book where a bear was playing the Cello, she told her mom that she wanted to do this instrument, thus starting to play the violin at the age of four, as well as the piano as her teacher had told her that it was a fundamental instrument.<ref name=":1">Mariko Muranaka (Accomplished cellist. Hans Zimmer, Cirque du Soleil, Madonna, Adele, Journey, etc.), Fairfaxcitymusic, Youtube, 22 February 2025</ref>
When she was 6 years old they moved to Tokyo and aged 8 she told her family that what she really wanted to play was Cello and started learning it as well. When she was 8, she played the violin on the big stage of Budo-kan with Kryzler & Kompany led by Mr. Taro Hakase, which left a strong impression for her and of which she still remembers the view from the stage.<ref name=":1" />
At 15 under the influence of her family who was telling her that one couldn't make a living from it and that she should focus on her studies but could keep playing music as a hobby, she dropped the violin but kept learning cello. At 17 she went to high school and wanted to be a lawyer to help people, and she took a master class which changed her life as she really learned that every note has a meaning and now wanted to have a given reason to play a given note. She decided to study music and went to the Tokyo University of the Arts.<ref name=":1" />