"Asian Soundscapes: Silk and Bamboo in Japanese Music" / LJWorld.com

Details

Categories: World music
Event posted: Sept. 7, 2007
Last updated: Feb. 19, 2009

Event details

Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007, 7:30 p.m.
Spencer Museum of Art, 1301 Miss., KU campus, Lawrence
Cost: Free
Age limit: All ages

The University of Kansas Department of Music and Dance presents a lecture and concert featuring modern and classical Japanese musical works on Thursday, September 27, at 7:30pm in Swarthout Recital Hall."Asian Soundscapes: Silk and Bamboo in Japanese Music" features the artists of Duo S?, a USA-based Japanese performance ensemble. Duo S?, comprised of artists David Wheeler and Yoki Hiraoka, specializes in the classical music of Edo and Meiji-era Japan as well as 20th century and contemporary Japanese compositions. The performance at Swarthout will feature works of the koto, shamisen and shakuhachi, as well as vocal and ensemble arrangements. Already scheduled to perform in Kansas City for the Great Kansas City Japan Festival, Wheeler and Hiraoka will bring their performance to the KU community on Thursday evening. "This concert is a unique opportunity for our community to take a musical journey to Japan without literally traveling there," said Ketty Wong, assistant professor of ethnomusicology at KU. "It will be particularly interesting for the public because David Wheeler and Yoko Kiraoka will complement their performances with insights and comments on Japanese musical aesthetics and the history of silk and bamboo instruments. 'Silk' is the East Asian category for string instruments such as the koto and the shamisen, while 'bamboo' refers to wind instruments like the shakuhachi flute."Wong adds that this concert will better help the public understand Japanese music."Traditional Japanese music is quite different from Western music in terms of sound, texture and rhythm. The lecture and concert will help the audience better understand the essence and beauty of Japanese music, and I know it will be a great musical experience that will open our Western ears to the world's diversity." KU's Department of Music and Dance collaborated with the Great Kansas City Japan Festival, the KU Department of East Asian Language Cultures, the KU Department of History and the Center for East Asian Studies to secure this performance.This event is free and open to the public.