Josu Okiñena devotes his professional activity to research and interpretation as a scientific activity from a transdisciplinary approach. He holds a doctorate from the University of Valladolid and, after winning first prize in piano and chamber music at San Sebastian Conservatory, he studied with Félix Lavilla and won the end-of-degree honours prize at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid, plus the Andrés Segovia and José Miguel Ruiz Morales prize in Santiago de Compostela. He studied at the Julliard School with Oxana Yabloskaya and in London received master classes from Krystian Zimmerman, Bruno Leonardo Gelber and Ivo Pogorelich, studying five years with Maria Curcio. This personal style led him back to Donostia to support creating Musikene in 2001. He has taught postgraduate courses in Spain, Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Bolivia and participated in research seminars at the University of Florida, University of Warsaw and CUNY. Okiñena has performed in prestigious halls, international festivals and collaborated with renowned orchestras. In 2006, he premiered Ignacio Tellería's 'Concert for piano and orchestra' with the Euskadi Symphony Orchestra. His recordings include the complete works for voice and piano by Félix Lavilla (with Cecilia Lavilla Berganza) and Padre Donostia (with Almudena Ortega). In March 2011, he received the research award from the University of the Basque Country and the Orfeón Donostiarra for his work on Padre Donostia.

In 2013, he recorded a CD for Sony Classical with piano compositions of Aita Donostia, being named revelation pianist of the year. He toured the US in 2014 (New York, Reno, Chicago, Miami) and recorded works by Erik Satie for Sony Classical in 2015. In January 2018, he published his pioneering essay “La interpretación musical. Fundamentos científicos para su Desarrollo”. In June, he published the CD “Xuxurlak, whispers” (Sony Classical), promoting it through an international tour including Carnegie Hall, Tokyo, Santiago de Chile, Montevideo and Rome. In 2019, he edited “History of Basque Music” at the University of Reno. In 2020, he published “Les introuvables” (Franz Liszt), praised by the Ferenc Liszt Research Center. In 2021, he compiled “Aradak, echoes”, recovering unpublished Basque and Navarrese heritage. Throughout that year, he presented his book “La interpretación musical como proceso artístico y científico: dos dimensiones complementarias” (University of Deusto, prologue by Teresa Berganza), basing artistry on quantum physics, and recorded with cellist Pavel Gomziakov. In 2023, he became a full member of the Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del País, performing his entrance lesson with Gomziakov.