Kana Funayama is a Japanese percussionist, marimbist, and arranger whose performance career sees her in a wide range of engagements as soloist, ensemble player, and collaborative artist.

As a soloist, Funayama has presented solo recitals in major venues including in Tokyo, Sendai, and Fukushima in Japan, as well as Rochester, New York, and Los Angeles,  California. Her solo recital at Yamaha Sendai in 2021 as a celebration of her departure to the US was sold-out, resulting in the addition of two more encore performances of the entire recital on the same day. She has been featured as a soloist at numerous concerts including at La Folle Journée TOKYO, "Geisai" in Tokyo, Chosen Vale International Percussion Seminar, Eastman Percussion Ensemble, and more. Funayama has performed concertos with the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra in Japan, Walla Walla Symphony in Washington, and Cairo Opera Orchestra in Egypt. 

Recent highlights as an ensemble player include a world premiere performance of Otherworlds by Inti Figgis-Vizueta with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Funayama has also performed with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Tokyo Geidai Philharmonia, Tokyo Film Orchestra, Tokyo New Music Ensemble, and many more. She was a member of a new music ensemble the Musica Nova Ensemble under the direction of conductor Brad Lubman from 2021-2023. As a member of the Eastman Percussion Ensemble, she was a featured performer at PASIC 2022 and a winner of the 2022 Percussive Arts Society Percussion Ensemble Competition. 

Funayama is an active collaborator with instrumentalists and composers, appearing in collaborators' recitals, album recordings, short films, and premiere performances. She has been involved in premiering a wide repertoire of works including by award winning composer Billy Childs. She actively runs commission projects with composers and is dedicated to expanding and diversifying marimba repertoire in a variety of music styles and genres, leading to the promotion and popularization of the instrument.

As an educator, Funayama coached the Chamber Percussion Ensemble at Eastman School of Music from 2021-2023, and was invited to present at Eastman Online Percussion Festival 2021 as a guest artist. She has visited over 30 schools all over Japan including Miyagi, Kumamoto, and Tokyo to perform and teach younger percussionists in private lessons and band coaching. 

Funayama holds her Bachelor of Music from Tokyo University of the Arts, the most prestigious art school in Japan, and her Master of Music from Eastman School of Music with the esteemed Performance Certificate and Milton Schlesinger Percussion Prize. She is a candidate for Artist Diploma at the USC Thornton School of Music.