VISITING MUSICIAN KOJIRO UMEZAKI

Internationally know Japanese musician Kojiro Umezaki will perform Shiraito, a piece for shakuhachi and electronics that can be described as a “sound installation with live performance.” This piece was recently performed in the Art Institute of Chicago and the Rubin Museum in New York. To hear a sample of Umezaki’s music, visit iTunes Music Store for an audio excerpt!

Kojiro Umezaki grew up in Tokyo, Japan where he received traditional instruction on the shakuhachi [SHA koo ha chee] (Japanese end-blown bamboo flute), an instrument with a history dating back to the 7th century. His career encompasses both traditional and technology-based music for shakuhachi and a range of electronic media. He presently lives in Montreal and teaches in the Faculty of Music at McGill University. Kojiro Umezaki performs with the Silk Road Ensemble, which is part of YoYo Ma’s Silk Road Project, Inc. This organization was founded in 1998 to study the ebb and flow of ideas among different cultures along the Silk Road, to plant the seeds of new artistic and cultural growth, and to celebrate living traditions and musical voices throughout the world.

http://www.silkroadproject.org