Re: 1998 International Shakuhachi Festival in Boulder CO
I have been working with the organizers of this event in Japan and Boulder
since last year and remain in touch. At the moment, some important last
minute details are yet to be worked out. The organizing committee requested
that public announcement be held off until all aspects of planning for this
event are in place. I'll post all the details on this list when available.
Check my web site which will contain up to minute changes. Meanwhile, here
is the basic info. More later.
DATES: Sunday, July 5th through Friday, July 10, 1998
FEES: To be announced.
ACCOMMODATIONS: To be announced.
FESTIVAL SITE, SPONSOR, & SUPPORT :
Site: College of Music, University of Colorado at Boulder and local music
venues, Boulder, Colorado, USA .
Sponsor: Executive Committee for the Boulder International Shakuhachi Music
Festival '98, College of Music, University of Colorado at Boulder, 18th and
Euclid, Campus Box 301, Boulder. CO 80309-0301
Representatives: U. S. A: David Wheeler (shakuhachi artist & musicologist),
Cory Sperry (Doctor), Japan: Christopher Blasdel (shakuhachi artist &
musicologist).
Support: Japan Foundation, Asian Cultural Council, Private Corporate
Support, others.
MISSION STATEMENT
The Boulder International Shakuhachi Music Festival '98 is bringing to
Boulder Colorado the mysterious world of the shakuhachi, Japan's vertical
bamboo flute. Used for centuries as a path to spiritual development and
self mastery, its timeless sound continues to resonate with the yearnings
of the modern world, through a growing international popularity. The
Boulder International Shakuhachi Music Festival '98 will gather
professional and amateur performers, scholars, and lovers of the shakuhachi
from around the world in an intensive academic and musical congress
including lectures and symposiums. workshops, performances, instruction
sessions, and other activities for a period of six days in July, 1998. This
festival will promote international awareness and understanding of the
shakuhachi and its music. It will also reach beyond the scope of the
conventional music festival through the exploration of peripheral themes,
including cultural exchange on the individual level, publication of CD
recordings, articles, TV and video documentary projects.
FESTIVAL PARTICIPANTS (proposed): Total direct participation: approx. 500
persons
Special Guest Artists (5-6 persons of or near living National Treasure level)
(T-Tentative, C-Confirmed,)
Goro Yamaguchi, Reibo Aoki (C), Katsuya Yokoyama (C), Hozan Yamamoto (T),
Junsuke Kawase (C), Kodo Araki(T)
Invited artists: (10-15 persons from the following list.:
Masayuki Koga, Ralph Samuelson, Laurie Kasyas, Riley Lee, Ann Norman, John
Neptune,
Ronnie Seldin, Marco Linhard, Ichiro Seki, Teruo Furuya, Akikazu Nakamura,
Seizan Sakata, Kifu Mitsuhashi, John Singer, Kuniyoshi Sugawara, Kinya
Sogawa, Komei Tanaka, Komei Takemura, Jumei Tokumaru, Takashi Tokuyama,
Retsuzan Tanabe, Shozan Tanabe, Taizan Kawamura, Yoshizaku Iwamoto, Andreas
Gutzwiller, Clive Bell, Kazu Matsui, Yoshio Kurahashi
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Re: Kikusui Kofu and posts by Ronnie & Adam
Again, my familiarity with Kikusui Sensei is largely ancedodal. In 1971
when my article on shakuhachi appeared in the Last Whole Earth Catalog, I
received a response from Steve Mindel (aka Shakuhachi Steve) who lived in
Kyoto and studied with Kikusui. Steve was one of the first Americans to get
into shakuhachi in Japan during that era. He came to Willits for a visit
during the Summer of '72 carrying with him a gift "for the shakuhachi maker
in America" from his teacher. I still have this PVC shakuhachi emblazoned
in gold with the calligraphy MU beautifully rendered by Kikusui's hand.
What a shock it was to discover that this master player and maker created
shakuhachis from plastic plumbing pipe! Steve told the story of first
meeting Kikusui who lived in a small room at a zen monestary. Strapped to
the ceiling of his cell were all lengths and diameters of PVC pipe. Takes a
bit away from the mystique, no?
Around this same time, in my searches for shakuhachi music, I came across a
French produced LP of honkyoku and sankyoku played by Kikusui. On the
cover is a photograph of two enormous shakuhachi. As poor as my high school
French is, I was able to discern that these instruments were made by
Kikusui of palownia branches (the same wood kotos are made from), carefully
bored out with bamboo roots glued on the ends. On the back of the album
(which I still have) is a photograph of Kikusui's flutes, some of which are
clearly made of plastic.
The piece Ajikan on this album is exactly the same recording found on
Japanese Masterpeices for the Shakuhachi (Lyrichord 7176) which was the
first shakuhachi I had ever heard and quite possibly played on a plastic
flute. So, the "true spirit of bamboo" is indeed a mystery of many facets.
Monty H. Levenson
Tai Hei Shakuhachi Flutes
P.O. Box 294
Willits, CA 95490
Tel.:707-459-3402
FAX: 707-459-3434
e-mail: monty@pacific.net
Web Site: http://www.pacific.net/~shakuhachi
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