On February 28, three accomplished shakuhachi players calling themselves
TAKENOMORI (Bamboo Forest), joined together to play shakuhachi trios at the
Tenri Cultural Institute in New York City. They were James Nyoraku
Schlefer, Alan Nyoshin Steir and Jeffrey Lependorf, all former students of
Ronnie Nyogetsu Seldin. The program included Minouri Miki's "Sonnet", which
is a beautiful work for 2.4, 1.8 and 1.6 shakuhachis; Kinea Seiho's "Fudo",
a dramatic, difficult piece; two pieces of Hozan Yamamoto in very different
styles; John Neptunes "Roots and Branches"; and three original works by
Jeffrey Lependorf.
This was an inspiring and challenging program to put together. Some of the
technical challenges were intonation (you thought it was hard to play one
shakuhachi in tune!), articulation and interpretation. We found that with
a lot of focused rehearsal time and individual work on the parts, we could
meet these challenges and get to the music. The performance was well
received and well attended. -James Nyoraku Schlefer
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