Japanese Music Summit II
Musicians to Convene at Old First Concerts
Old First concerts presents the second U.S. summit of Japanese music
on Friday, January 10 at 8 pm. Musicians representing disciplines
from traditional "hougaku" music to more contemporary music will
gather January 10 for a unique and extraordinary concert in San
Francisco's Old First Church.
Philip Flavin - shamisen, voice
Michael Hattori - koto
Shoko Hikage - koto
Tamie Kooyenga - koto
Brett Larner - koto
Miya Masaoka - koto
Shirley Muramoto - koto
Brian Mitsuhiro Wong - koto
Philip Gelb - shakuhachi
Robin Hartshorne - shakuhachi
Tim Perkis - electronics
Featuring traditional pieces as well as contemporary compositions by:
Tadao Sawai, Yuji Takahashi, Pauline Oliveros, Katsuko Chikushi,
Hyo Shin Na, Miya Masaoka, Brett Larner and others
This event, "Bay Area Japanese Music Summit 2003," will mark the
unusual gathering of artists from different schools of Japanese music
performing together in the bay area.
The concert will take place Friday, January 10 at 8 p.m. at the Old
First Church located at 1751 Sacramento Street, at Van Ness.
The history of Japanese traditional "hougaku" music (traditional
music, including koto, Japanese zither; shakuhachi, bamboo flute;
and shamisen, Japanese lute) in the United States began when the
Japanese started to immigrate in the late 1800s. During World War
II, a few of the Japanese and Japanese-Americans interned in
relocation camps would play Japanese instruments discreetly amongst
themselves, as practicing Japanese arts was either discouraged or
forbidden. Starting in the 1960's, Americans that are not of Japanese
descent have also begun playing and mastering traditional Japanese
instruments!
Musicians will include shamisen player Philip Masashi Flavin, koto
players Shoko Hikage, Tamie Kooyenga, Brett Larner, Miya Masaoka,
Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto, and shakuhachi players Philip Gelb and Robin
Hartshorne and other guests.
For further information, contact Old First Concerts at 415/454-1608
or phil@philipgelb.com
Media Advisory: Attention Music and Cultural Editors
What: Old First Concerts presents the "Bay Area Japanese Music
Summit 2003", a concert of tradition and contemporary Japanese music.
This event brings together artists from different schools of Japanese
music to perform on the same stage.
Where: Old First Church, 1751 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, CA
94109, 415/474-1608
When: Friday, January 10, 2003, 8:00 p.m.
Who: Performances by:
Philip Masashi Flavin, past winner of the Eisner Prize for
Creative Achievement in Music Performance and a graduate of the Seiha
Conservatory of Music in Tokyo, Flavin is a Ph.D in the field of
Ethnomusicology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Michael Hattori began musical studies at the age of six,
wanting to be a concert pianist. After a year in Japan in 1979
changed he became interested in the koto, and entered the Seiha
Conservatory for Classical Japanese Music.
Shoko Hikage, a highly innovative player of new music is
koto instructor at the Japanese Community and Cultural Center of
Northern California, located in San Francisco's Japantown, and
earned a shihan from the Sawai School of koto music. She is very
active as a peformer of new music. http://www.shokohikage.com
Tamie Kooyenga is a classical koto player who holds a
prestigious title of "kouto" from the Todo Japanese Music Institute.
She is a past winner of the NHK (Japan Broadcasting Network) award
for vocal talent. Tamie was born in Hiroshima and lived through the
atomic bombing and currently teaches koto in Walnut Creek and in the
south bay.
Brett Larner is currently working on a MA in composition from
Mills College. He holds a shihan from the Sawai koto school.
http://www.japanimprov.com/blarner
Miya Masaoka works simultaneously in the varied musical worlds of
jazz, Western classical music, electronic music, traditional
Japanese music and free improvisation. She has been performing
throughout Europe and North America the past several years.
Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto holds a daishihan from the Chikushi
School. She first studied koto with her mother who learned koto while
in the internment camps during world war 2. She is director of the
Murasaki Ensemble, a local jazz world fusion group and teaches
traditional and cotemporary koto styles to students at UC Berkeley.
http://www.murasakiensemble.com
Shakuhachi player, Phillip Gelb is known for his innovative
approach to bringing shakuhachi into new and experimental music and
is one of the most active shakuhachi players and teachers in the
United States. He runs the "Bay Area Shakuhachi School" which now
has over 20 students enrolled. http://www.philipgelb.com
Robin Hartshorne, co-director and founder of the Bay Area
Japanese music group, Rei In Kai, has been teaching and performing in
the Bay Area for the last fifteen years. He is Professor of
Mathematics at the University of California at Berkeley. His home in
Berkeley has been a focal point of the bay area hougaku community for
many years.
-- Philip Gelb phil@philipgelb.com http://www.philipgelb.com ____________________________________________________
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