Music From Japan Festival 2013
Japanese Rhythm and Timbre
In Festival 2013, Music From Japan presented two concerts at the Baruch Performing Arts Center in New York. On February 23rd, Rhythms of Japanese Drums and Flutes featured Kenny Endo and Kaoru Watanabe performing on taiko and fue. The concert included new compositions, improvisations, and arrangements of traditional repertoire all performed to a sold-out concert hall. On February 24th, MFJ presented Kumi Ogano on piano and Fred Sherry on cello in Japanese Tone Colors on Western Instruments. They performed a series of contemporary Japanese pieces composed between 1969 and 2012, including a world premiere by Tomiko Kohjiba, commissioned by MFJ for the event. Kenny Endo and Kaoru Watanabe performed two more concerts as part of MFJ’s 2013 season: a repeat performance of Rhythms of Japanese Drums and Flutes at the Freer Gallery in Washington, DC, and a different program at Shapeshifter Lab in Brooklyn with Sumie Kaneko on koto and shamisen.
NYC (Feb 23-24) and Washington, DC (Feb 27)
Featured Artists:
Kenny Endo: taiko
Kaoru Watanabe: taiko and fue
Kumi Ogano: piano
Fred Sherry: cello
Tomiko Kohjiba: commissioned composer
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Baruch Performing Arts Center
Engelman Recital Hall
Baruch College: East 25th Street between Lexington Avenue and 3rd Avenue
Rhythms of Japanese Drums and Flutes Kenny Endo and Kaoru Watanabe: Taiko and Fue
Sat, Feb 23, 2013 at 8pm Baruch Performing Arts Center (Engelman Recital Hall), New York City
Artists:
Kenny Endo, taiko (drums)
Kaoru Watanabe, taiko (drums) and fue (bamboo flutes)
Program:
Kenny Endo: Jugoya
Kaoru Watanabe: Together Alone
traditional: Chakuto Kenny Endo: Symmetrical Soundscapes ; Sand
Kaoru Watanabe: Hiraki Endo and Watanabe: Chigen
Kenny Endo: Spirit Sounds Kenny Endo: Swing, Soul and Sincerity
Arrangements of traditional pieces and new compositions/improvisations by Kenny Endo and Kaoru Watanabe.
Full program details to follow.
7:15pm: Pre-concert lecture-demonstration by Kenny Endo and Kaoru Watanabe
Japanese Tone Colors on Western Instruments
Sun, Feb 24, 2013 at 2pm Baruch Performing Arts Center (Engelman Recital Hall), New York City
Artists:
Kumi Ogano (piano) with Fred Sherry (cello)
Program:
Jummei Suzuki: Impromptu for piano solo (2007)**
Yoshio Hachimura: Meditation “Higan-bana” (1969)
Toru Takemitsu: For Away (1973); Les yeux clos (1979); Orion for cello and piano (1984)
Akira Miyoshi: Chaines – Preludes for piano (1973)
Tomiko Kohjiba: Wadatsumi for cello and piano (2012)*
** American premiere
* world premiere of new Music From Japan commission
3:45pm: Post-concert forum featuring Tomiko Kohjiba and the artists
Rhythms of Japanese Drums and Flutes — Kenny Endo and Kaoru Watanabe: Taiko and Fue
Wednesday, Feb 27th, 2013 at 7.30pm
Freer Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC (same program as Feb 23 – see above)
Kenny Endo and Kaoru Watanabe Celebrate Release of Their New CD Convergence
with Special guest Sumie Kaneko
Tuesday, March 5th, 2013 at 7:30pm
Shapeshifter Lab, Brooklyn, NY
© Music From Japan, Inc.
