PERFORMANCE:
Meditative Soundscapes: Internationally-reknowned Flute Performers and Educators Kaoru Kakizakai and Gary Stroutsos
perform a first-time musical collaboration on Japanese Shakuhachi and Native American Flutes at the historic Seattle Asian Art Museum.
DATE: Sunday, June 5, 2016.
TIME: 2:00pm
Volunteer Park
1400 E. Prospect Street
Seattle, WA 98112
TICKETS:
The Meditative Soundscapes project is the product of a first-time musical collaboration between two world-class flute players, Kaoru Kakizakai of Saitama Prefecture, Japan, and Gary Stroutsos of Seattle, WA, USA. It is a collaboration based on both form and expression; an exploration of the similarities and differences between two end-blown vertical flutes, the shakuhachi of Japan and the southwest desert rim flute indigenous to ancient Native American cultures of the southwestern US. Though separated by time, distance and differences in culture, the construction and tonal quality of these flutes suggest that they may have served similar ends in evoking powerful emotional, and perhaps even spiritual, experiences for both player and listener. We invite you to explore for yourself.
Kaoru Kakizakai of Saitama Prefecture, Japan, has been playing the shakuhachi for over 35 years. Having trained under the master Katsuya Yokoyama, he has now become one of his most successful and respected proteges. Kakizakai completed formal musical training at the NHK Traditional Music Conservatory. He has won numerous awards and accolades in Japan, and has performed shakuhachi concerts around the globe. He also has a world-wide following of students through the International Shakuhachi Training Center (Kokusai Shakuhachi Kenshukan) in Tokyo, and on-line. He is currently a lecturer at the Tokyo College of Music, Instructor at the NHK Culture Center, and President and Full-Time Instructor of the Kokusai Shakuhachi Kenshukan.
Gary Stroutsos performs world flute music drawn from many traditional cultures. Evoking a spirit of place and the voices of the land, his work includes internationally-acclaimed recordings at sacred sites, using the unique acoustics and history of each great space as the starting point for musical exploration. Stroutsos is best know for his significant contributions to the preservation of Native American music through sound and video recordings for tribal projects of the Salish-Kootenai, Lakota, Navajo, and Mandan-Hidatsa. His soundtrack work for the Ken Burns documentary, "Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery," led to a command performance at the White House for former President Clinton. He is also well-known for his meditative and modern performances on the ancient Chinese Xiao and Dizi flutes, seldom heard outside of China or outside of traditional Chinese music.
For further information, please contact:
Gary Stroutsos
gstroutsos@comcast.net
206-853-2027
Patrick Johnson
Seattle Shakuhachi Study Group
genchoku.patrick@gmail.com
425-238-9254
