Past
WOMEX 2011
Thursday, October 27
Shunsuke Kimura x Etsuro Ono will showcase at WOMEX 2011 ( Copenhagen, Denmark)
Opera North Twilight Concert “Love in the time of Genji”
Howard Aseembly Room Sat 17 September at 5:45pm
‘Is my lord aware
Of an agitated heart
Unsteady as the rope
Slackened when our vessels halts
Charmed by the sound of a koto?’
(The Tale of Genji)
Musicians Melissa Holding and Clive Bell bring classical Japanese music to life in a free early evening concert using traditional Japanese instruments. A 13-stringed koto and a shakuhachi flute feature in music that evokes the long lost Heian-era of 11th century Japan.
This twilight concert includes short extracts from The Tale of Genji, a vividly written Japanese court epic by noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu, sometimes considered to be the world’s first novel. Written shortly after the year 1000, the book centres on the romantic adventures of its hero, Genji, the son of the Emperor and his favourite concubine, revealing the life of the Japanese court a thousand years ago.
Love in the Time of Genji is a free event programmed to accompany Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, which opens on the Opera North mainstage later on the same evening.
With readings from The Tale of Genji by Yuka Oeda. Yuka is a Teaching Fellow in Japanese at the University of Leeds.
Opera North in Association with mu:arts
FMM Festival 2011
Thursday, July 28
Shunsuke Kimura x Etsuro Ono (Japan), 18:45, Castle
The Tsugaru-shamisen is a string instrument with a special place in the culture of Japan. Kimura and Ono play it with the imagination of jazz and the energy of rock.
FMM Sines – Festival Músicas do Mundo is a music festival held every July in Sines, Alentejo, Portugal.
Organised by the local City Council, it’s a public service, non-commercial, event designed for an audience of music discoverers, who come to Sines for the quality of the programme, the spectacular venues and a spirit regarded as unique among Portugal’s summer festivals.
It is the biggest world music event in the country.
http://fmm.com.pt/en/programme/
WOMAD 2011
Shunsuke Kimura x Etsuro Ono will perform at WOMAD ( Charlton-Park, Wiltshire) 30, 31 July
http://womad.org/festivals/charlton-park/lineup/
Folk Music Japan – A celebration for Tohoku Monday 1 August 2011, 7pm
Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre, SOAS
Admission £5 (£2 of each ticket will go to a charity for Tohoku disaster relief)
The moving, masterful DUO (Shunsuke Kimura and Etsuro Ono), fresh from their performance at WOMAD, play Tsugaru shamisen and shinobue flute. Ono-san and his family live near Sendai in the heart of the disaster area.
DUO are preceded by a set of song and dance from Tohoku. The ensemble is led by Yoshihiro Endo (shakuhachi) and Yoshie Asano-Campbell (vocal & dance).
More info and booking https://store.soas.ac.uk/browse/product.asp?catid=77&modid=1&compid=1
Haiku Kamishibai Workshop (Illustrated Haiku Poetry) as part of Islington Exhibits Sat 16th July
Presented by Helen McCarthy and mu:arts.
http://www.islingtonexhibits.com/muarts
This workshop will approach traditional Japanese poetry in a new way – using the Japanese storytelling technique of kamishibai (paper theatre).Kamishibai means “Paper Theatre” and kamishibai performers use pictures to illustrate the stories they tell. In this workshop, we will use pictures to inspire and focus our ideas for making haiku, short poems of just three lines.Helen will share a selection of the haiku she has been writing for over 20 years, including those inspired by the natural landscape of her home in East London and by the recent natural disasters in Japan. Using these existing poems, she will demonstrate the technique of linking pictures together to inspire a poem. Anyone taking part can also make their own pictures to inspire or illustrate their own work.There are two ways to present haiku kamishibai – using the kamishibai purely as a basis for the poem, or presenting the poem through both images and words. By the end of the session, everyone taking part will be able to make and perform their own verbal or visual poetry. Helen McCarthy http://tinyurl.com/HMcCblog Follow tweetheart4711 on Twitter for haiku, Japan and random oddity mu:arts –music and arts from Japan.
Fantasie Orientale - Music from Britain and Japan: A cultural exchange Friday 8th July at 7pm
Come and join the evening of music inspired by cultural interactions between Britain and Japan. The “Japanese Village” in Knightsbridge was the first showcase of Japanese culture in London. In search of a juxtaposition of sound – what were the composers’ perception of the “other” culture?
With Children for Children
http://www.withchildrenforchildren.org.uk/
Spend a day watching performances, take part in workshops and learn all things Japanese to raise money for those affected by the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan.
All of the proceeds from ticket sales will be donated through the Japan Society to help people in the affected areas recover from the devasting effects of the earthquake and tsunami.
Unicorn Theatre, London 11am-4pm Sun 19th June
Geoffrey Museum Open Evening: Japanese Home Cooking Demonstration, Workshop and Tasting as part of “At Home in Japan” - Wednesday 18 May
An evening inspired by our special exhibition will include a curator-led talk and a demonstration about Japanese food and customs. You will also have an opportunity to create your own bento box and make onigiri (rice balls). For more information, see our event page.
Play for Japan – Charity event at McQueen - Tuesday 26 April
8pm Naomi Suzuki Show
9:30 pm Kumiko Suzuki (Taiko Drum)
Hibiki – Resonances from Japan – 3-5 March 2011
“the week was truly outstanding and a highlight of our programming year”
Peter Millican, CEO Kings Place
Flyer
Kings Place welcomes acclaimed artists: Mayumi Miyata (sho), Michiyo Yagi (koto) and the Kimura & Ono DUO (tsugaru-shamisen, fue). Hear them play rare classical pieces and modern contemporary eastern and western music. This series of concerts promises to deliver unique boundary pushing experiences in reflecting Japan’s own rich musical heritage and fast-moving modern culture.
Come and hear the sound of instruments you don’t get a chance to hear in the West played by virtuosos. This unique programme features (amongst other things) first time collaborations between renowned artists from Japan, legendary British saxophonist Evan Parker, the London Sinfonietta and music by Nick Drake played on the koto and John Cage played on the shō.
Day one – 3 March
Our 1000-year journey begins on Thursday 3 March with Mayumi Miyata and Shō: Sound of Eternity. Presenting traditional Gagaku pieces and contemporary works for shō, one of the oldest instruments in the world. Miyata is one of the world’s most accomplished players, not only in traditional Japanese forms but in Western avant garde and popular music. The sound inspired western composers such as Stockhausen, Brian Eno, Björk and John Cage, with Cage dedicating many pieces to Mayumi Miyata
Miyata presents an ancient traditional Gagaku piece as well as contemporary piece by Toru Takemitsu and by John Cage with London Sinfonietta. There will also be a pre-concert talk at 6pm with Mayumi Miyata.
Day two – 4 March
Tsugaru-Shamisen bring the Sheer Wind from The North with the Kimura & Ono DUO
The dynamically powerful, yet soulful and sensitive sound of the tsugaru-shamisen has the ability to fascinate people from around the world. Kimura Shunsuke & Etsuro Ono are both powerful innovators and virtuosos of the three string lute,tsugaru-shamisen. Requiring a highly accomplished technique for speedy playing, a refined sense of dynamic rhythm and creativity for improvisation, like jazz music.
The duo travelled to every corner of Japan assimilating the various melodies, rhythms and styles of folk and traditional festival music. They have taken their dynamic semi-improvised style from Tsugaru region in new contemporary directions, presenting both traditional pieces and new materials fusing original folk sound with the soul and blues rhythms of the West. Pre-Concert Talk: 6pm by Shunsuke Kimura at St Pancras Room.
Day three – 5 March
A rare opportunity to see a complete concert with Michiyo Yagi and legendary improvisor Evan Parker. Having collaborated with John Zorn, Jim O’Rourke, Mark Dresser and Keiji Haino, Yagi is one of the most adventurous and eclectic koto performers who continuously challenges conventions. This program will reveal how Yagi’s exploratory nature is a natural extension of the more avant garde elements found in traditional koto music.
Music in Manga sees eminent comic historian Paul Gravett examining the influence that traditional Japanese music has had over popular culture.
Meanwhile the London-based fusion group i.Ro.Ha, named after the Japanese alphabet give us with their own modern take on Japanese musical folklore.
Creative Music Workshops – Open to all
Hibiki – The secret sounds of Gillespie Park – starting Saturday 26th February from 12pm-4pm
The music festival at Kings Place 3-5 March, HIBIKI – Resonances from Japan, is coming to Gillespie Park in North London for a full week of creative music workshops and an opportunity to create a new piece for the last day of the Festival at Kings Place, King’s Cross, on Saturday 5th March.
Kumiko Shuto (Satsuma Biwa) Europe Tour 3-6 February 2011
4 Feb Zuiderpershuis, Antwerp, Belgian
5 Feb Tropentheater, Amsterdam, Holland
6 Feb Rasa Utrecht, Holland
Rasa website
July 2010
WOMAD Charlton Park
London Bon Dancers and London Bon Musician
http://womad.org/artists/london-bon-dancers
July 2010
Rainforest World Music Festival, Borneo Malaysia
Kimura & Ono DUO
March 2010
Nihon Buyo ( Japanese Classical Dance) Lecure & Demonstration by Senzo Nishikawa X, Living National Treasure
Kings Palce, London / Kaetsu Centre, Cambridge
View the Flyer
September –October 2009
Tsuruga Wakasanojo“Living National Treasutre”, Shinnai Joruri
performances and workshops in 4 countries, 10 cities have completed with a great success.
25 September, at Chester Beatty Library (Dublin), as part of their “Cultural Night”, Tsuruga Wakasanojo was headlined on RTE prime time news!
http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0925/6news_av.html?2617105,null,230
19 September London Bon Dancers at Spitalfiled “Matsuri” Festival
London Bon Dancers performed and gave workshops leading to big carnival procession at Spital Field Matsuri Festival.
23 September Taro Hakase “SOLD OUT” Recital at Cadogan Hall
June 2009 Takeichiro HIRAI (Violin), Motoki Hirai (piano) EU tour
8 June Wigmore Hall (London, UK)
Wigmore Hall concert was supported by The Japanese Embassy in UK, Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Exlayer, ANA, Mitsui Corp, and Mikimoto.
Official UK-Japan 150 event
11 June Japanese Embassy in Denmark (Copenhagen, Denmark)
14 June Pau (Pablo) Casals Auditorium / Pau Casals Museum (Catalonia, Spain）
16 June Casa Armatei Hall (Gun Kai Kan) Romania (as part of Japan- Danube Year )
20 June la Maison de la culture du Japon (as part of “National Music Day”)
This tour was supported by Japan Foundation
31 May 2009
Japanese Garden Party at Hammersmith Park
Mu:arts featured London Bon Dancers, Domon Hideaki (guitar) +Saru (vocal), and Kamishibai performance by Derek Carpenter.
April 2009
Buddhist Monk Chant (Shomyo) Shichiseikai EU Tour
– Official Japan-Danube Year project
2 April Zuiderpershuis, Antwerp, Belgian
3 April Tropentheater, Amsterdam, Holland
4 April Rasa Utrecht, Holland
5 April Osterfestival Tirol, Austria
8 April Imago Dei Festival, Austria
This tour was supported by Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan
