Yoko Reikano Kimura
CLASSIC AND CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FOR JAPANESE INSTRUMENTS
On Friday evening May 9th, 8:00PM, ARTS AT TENRI will continue its 2007-2008 season with a performance by Yoko Reikano Kimura, Yamada school Koto and Shamisen virtuoso. This program reveals the complexity, versatility and range of traditional Japanese instruments and features contemporary compositions as well as works from the Edo period. Reikano, whose vocal style is both forceful and dramatic, was trained in the Yamada School. The program includes guest artists Cathleen Ayakano Read on koto and voice (from the same school), and James Nyoraku Schlefer on shakuhachi. This concert is part of the monthly concert series presented by Arts at Tenri showcasing the chamber music traditions of Japan and the West.
Yoko Reikano Kimura, Koto, Shamisen,
and Voice
Cathleen Ayakano Read, Koto and Voice
James Nyoraku Schlefer, Shakuhachi
1 Yasou-kyoku / Nocturne (Takeshi Sasamoto) 1990
2 Kagerou-no-Odori (Kinichi Nakanoshima) 1925
3 Duo No.1 (James Nyoraku Schlefer) 2004
4 Suite for Sangen (Lou Harrison) 1996
5 Sarashi (Hukakusa Kengyo) Edo period
6 Miyako-no-haru (Yamase Shoin) Edo period
7 Mutsura-boshi / The Pleiades (Katsutoshi Nagasawa) 1978
Yoko Reikano Kimura graduated
from Tokyo University ofFine Arts and Music. After, she was elected
as a trainee by the Agency of Cultural Affairs. And also, she was
award first prize at National Koto Competition in 2003. Since 2004
she has joined the world tour of the musical theatre. She is currently
taking part in a wide range of activities including recording traditional
and contemporary music. She hopes to diffuse traditional Japanese
music and cross-culture music to people of all ages, all nationalities.
Ayakano Cathleen Read began studying
Yamada School koto music in 1969. She holds the urayurushi, nakayurushi
and okuyurushi certificates of performance ability. On January 7,
1974, she became the first non-Japanese to join the shachu (musicians’
guild) of Nakanoshima Kin’ichi and was given the performing
name Ayakano. Her teacher was Ichimura Ayano, a pupil of Nakanoshima
Kin’ichi. Ayakano has performed widely in the United States,
Japan, and Africa at museums, universities, and concert halls, on
radio and television. Ms. Read has a BA from Mount Holyoke College
and a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University. She is
Adjunct Lecturer in the Music Department of Tufts University.
James Nyoraku Schlefer is a leading
performer and teacher of shakuhachi in New York City. He has appeared
at numerous performance venues, including Lincoln Center, The Kennedy
Center, Tanglewood, on NPR’s All Things Considered, and the
Metropolitan, Brooklyn and Philadelphia Museums, in addition to
frequent appearances on the concert stage. He travels annually to
Japan to seek out and learn different styles of traditional shakuhachi
music, their history and lore, and to keep abreast of current trends
and performers. An active composer Schlefer sensei’s music
reflects his New York City upbringing and deep appreciation of western
classical music, rock, and traditional music of Japan.
The excellent acoustics and intimate gallery setting of the Tenri
Cultural Institute create a superb setting for listening to chamber
music, and ARTS AT TENRI offers audiences the rare opportunity to
hear both traditional and contemporary music from two cultures in
a setting similar to the music rooms of the courts and castles of
both Europe and Japan. Over 300 years of chamber music tradition
will be presented throughout this series. Piano trios and string
quartets from the great composers of Europe will alternate with
music from Japan’s Edo period written for the standard trio
of shamisen, koto and shakuhachi.
The Place
Tenri Cultural Institute
43A West 13th Street, New York, NY
(212) 645-2800
Tickets
$20
general, $12 students/seniors. At the door: $25 general, $15 students/seniors