"Our colorful, playful personalities just made sense with each other," says Rachel Woolf ('18 D.M.A.), referring to meeting Makana Jimbu ('19 M.M.) at the College of Music in the wind ensemble. "We became instant best friends."

Both Woolf and Jimbu enrolled at UNT in 2013 but came from opposite ends of the world.

While Woolf was finishing her master's degree in music performance with a flute concentration from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, Jimbu was wrapping up her undergraduate degree in percussion from Senzoku Gakuen College of Music in Kawasaki, Japan.

It didn't take long for the two to become friends as they frequently crossed paths on campus.

On a whim, Woolf and Jimbu decided to sight read and practice together. Instantly, they clicked.

"It was like our brains were melded together," says Woolf, who earned her doctorate at UNT. "Like we knew instinctively what the other was going to do."

From that moment on, the pair continued to play and laugh together even after graduating -- later forming a music duo.

With help from countless video calls and voice memos over the last two years, their act -- named Duo 彩 AYA, meaning bright colors or vibrancy in Japanese -- released their first album, Cycles, in April under the label Neuma Records. They recently won a gold medal from the Global Music Awards.

Collaborating Across Continents

"When I moved back to Japan in July 2020, my life changed," says Jimbu, who earned her graduate artist certificate and a master's degree in music at UNT. "I began teaching group music classes for 6-month-olds, taught private lessons and started giving marimba recitals."

Back home and busy with her career, Jimbu was pleasantly surprised when Woolf called her about starting a duo and recording a record.

The idea came about in early 2023.

As part of her tenure-track position as an assistant professor of flute at the University of Texas at San Antonio, Woolf is required to pursue creative endeavors. Reflecting on her time at UNT, she knew there would be no better person to experience a musical adventure with than Jimbu.

"Marimba is a wood instrument and flute is a silver/gold instrument," Jimbu says. "Wood and metal match perfectly."

Between the spring and fall of 2023, Woolf and Jimbu navigated time zones and rehearsed over voice memos to arrange a program for 13 performances scheduled at UNT and other locations in Texas, North Carolina and California.

Working with several composers on existing and original compositions, they put together Cycles in just a few months. When Jimbu arrived back in Texas for the tour, songs were still being finalized and practice time was minimal.

Despite not practicing in person for years, Woolf and Jimbu played like no time had passed.

"It really speaks to not only our friendship but the level of trust we already had in one another," says Woolf. "We immediately locked in."

"We are both very silly and fun people, but when we get on stage -- we still have that energy but also change to very serious performing artists who mean 100% business," Jimbu says.

Once their tour was over, they began a recording session at Village Studios in Los Angeles, where Woolf and Jimbu worked with recording engineer Christian Amonson to record their debut album.

A Perfect Project

The next year was spent in post-production, with Jimbu in Japan and Woolf in Texas, sending edits back and forth to one another, perfecting their project and creating the physical album package.

Kelsey Overstreet, abstract artist and friend of Woolf's, let the duo use her art for their cover.

"It has our vibrant colors," says Woolf. "It visualizes in physical form the sonic representation of what we're going for."

Cycles contains nine tracks, each bringing the voice of the composer to life and representing Woolf and Jimbu as musicians. For example, the title track -- an original composition by Evan Williams -- is influenced by African bell patterns and Afro-Cuban rhythms.

"We're similar in that we play a lot of different musical styles, and you can hear that on this record," Woolf says. "I want to continue to find a repertoire that speaks to that."

To celebrate their album release, Woolf traveled to Japan for the first time in May to reunite with Jimbu. They played a few shows and are planning to add more in the near future.

"Every element of this process has been so incredible," Woolf says. "It's a lot more fun to do it with your best friend."