Suzi (given name Suzuye) was born in Ventura, California, in 1926 to parents Kuraichi and Akimi Tamura. In the 1930's her family, including her older brother Nobu, moved to Montecito where her father worked as the caretaker of the All Saints by the Sea Episcopal Church. Suzi attended Montecito Union Grammar School and Santa Barbara Junior High School. She was introduced to the piano at an early age, playing most music by ear.

Her schooling was interrupted by World War II and the family was evacuated to Turlock Assembly Center, followed by Gila Rivers Relocation Center in Rivers, Arizona, where they lived for several years. While there, Suzi attended high school and took piano lessons. At the camp, it was discovered that Suzi could play piano, so she was called on to perform in recitals, play in a band, and make appearances at other internment camps.

After the war, her family returned to Santa Barbara, and she continued her music training with Henry Polk. When she auditioned for the Music Academy of the West, she was one of the first Japanese women to apply. Suzi was given a scholarship to attend the Music Academy over three summers in the 1950s, where she studied with Soulima Stravinsky, Gyorgy Sander, and Sir Reginald Stewart. With her training interrupted by the war, she was surprised to be selected and grateful to remain immersed in music.

Suzi continued her music education, earning a bachelor's degree in music at Santa Barbara State Teacher's College and her master's degree in Piano Performance at the University of Southern California (USC) under the instruction of Lillian Steuber. During her time at USC, Suzi played at local venues to make money to pay tuition, including at the prestigious Hollywood Bowl.

Soon after graduation, the Santa Barbara School District hired Suzi to teach music and piano classes throughout the City's elementary schools. A few years later, she also began teaching music at both Santa Barbara Junior High School and San Marcos High School. During this time, she trained the choirs, quartets, and directed several musicals including Flower Drum Song . For three summers she had the honor to serve as an Associate Conductor with the West Coast Symphony Orchestra. Throughout her teaching career she continued to provide private piano lessons to students in the area.

In 1966, Suzi was granted a sabbatical leave of absence for one year. She traveled internationally to make a comparison study of music education. During the last leg of her trip, her fiancé Jack Ochi met her in Tokyo where they were married in a traditional Buddhist wedding ceremony.

Jack and Suzi loved their life in Santa Barbara with Jack working for the City of Santa Barbara as a Civil Engineer and Project Manager and Suzi teaching music at schools including Westmont College. Over the years they enjoyed skiing, bowling, golfing, and spending time with extended family members. They became golf members at the Montecito Country Club. Suzi was one of the first Japanese members of the Santa Barbara Women's Club and participated in several programs at the S.B. Recreation Center.

Both Jack and Suzi have passed on, and their family has honored them by naming seats in their memory in the Music Academy's Hahn Hall. The family has also endowed the Academy's monthly Sing! Children's Chorus rehearsals, We are so grateful for Suzi's contribution to teaching thousands of Santa Barbara students the joy of music.