Motoko, story-teller, and Masayo Ishigure, koto
I joined Masayo Ishigure of the Sawai school on koto (the Japanese zither in lower left of poster) playing E mu (Dreamscape) by Hideaki Kuribayashi. E mu is made up of shakuhachi and koto solos interspersed with closely metered western style ensemble parts, which speed up at the end. As in most of the early modern pieces influenced by western music, it is sweet and lyrical.
I am writing after the fact: this concert consisted of two shakuhachi solos which I played, Nesting Cranes (Sokaku Reibo) and Distant Call of Deer (Shika no Tone); followed by an 8 minute portion of Song of the Plovers (Chidori no Kyoku), to which the nihonbuyo dancer Kurata Michiko had conceived a dance.
Also present were the guitarist Aaron Larget-Caplan, Chorus Boston, and Matt Samolis‘s Bowed Metal Music. It was a sweltering night, but the acoustics in the library space of the Advent Church are very good, and the crowd was large and receptive. See https://www.facebook.com/events/403419069861870/ for a taste of the event. I will post further photos or video should they become available.
I will be playing a duet with Elizabeth Erenberg on flute written by Jeannette Chechile called “Spring Flute Duet”. To find out more about the album this concert celebrates, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67T2j19SCi4
All are welcome and wine and cake will be served afterwards. See you there!
For more information, go to Flutistry.
Closest T stops are Mass Ave on the Orange Line, and Symphony on the Green Line E train.
This is the last concert of the year for Tufts composers, and I will play a new piece called “A Tale” by Cagdas Donmezer. The first part of the piece looks promising, and I’m waiting to see the rest on Thursday (tomorrow)!
For more information, follow the link above.
As usual, free and open to the public.
If you are feeling in a mood to hear more shakuhachi in March, save Friday, March 27th at the All Night Music Festival at Tufts, Distler Hall, to hear me play a single long piece, “Mukaiji Reibo”, or “The Sound of a Flute from the Mist-Shrouded Sea”, a companion to “Koku”, above. Check back for the posters.
See: http://as.tufts.edu/music/musiccenter/events/calendar.htm
This event is free and open to the public
Left to right: John McDonld, Aaron Larget-Caplan, Elizaneth, Martin Max Schreiner, Jeannette Chechile, Jeffery Shivers. Photo: Catherine Larget-Caplan
Taken after the March 10th concert in Distler Hall, Tufts Uiversity, with fellow performer Aaron Larget-Capllan, and composers John McDonald, Martin Max Schreiner, Jeannette Chechile, and Jeffery Shivers.
Photo: Catherine Larget-Caplan
Elizabeth plays Koku (The Sky) during the concert at Distler Hall.
This will be a concert of newly composed duets for shakuhachi and classical guitar with Tufts performance faculty Elizabeth Reian Bennett and guest artist Aaron Larget-Caplan, and a variety of shakuhachi and guitar solos.
It will at Distler Hall, Tufts University, 20 Talbot Ave, Medford, MA 02155. Tel: (617) 627-3679
The core of the program will be pieces composed for shakuhachi and guitar by Martin Schreiner of Harvard, Prof John McDonald of Tufts, and composition graduates Jeffrey Shivers and Jeannette Chechile.
The solos I will be playing are another new piece by John, and a new favorite, called “Three Corner Melodies”; a classic Kinko style piece, “ Koro Sukagaki” and one of the earliest Myoan style pieces, “Koku”, or The Sky.
This event is free and open to the public.
What’s New in Bamboo
http://as.tufts.edu/music/musiccenter/visit/directions.htm
As an experiment, Tufts University’s Music Department will have an all-night round of concerts on Friday, March 28th, and this is one. In Japan, Sokaku Reibo, or Nesting Cranes, is usually played in ten to twelve minute excerpts culled from the main piece, as it lasts 45 minutes when played in its entirety. Multiple repetitions are skipped, as well as major parts of the composition, and the whole nature of the original is essentially unknown. Tufts’ Elizabeth Reian Bennett, shakuhachi Grand Master, will present a first full performance of this piece since the 19th century.http://www.arkive.org/japanese-crane/grus-japonensis/video-09f.html
elizabeth reian bennett 