Multicultural Sonic Evolution (MuSE)
Wind of Tsugaru in New York
October 6, 2019 at 2pm
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
BUNTA SATOH, Tsugarubue player & composer
A passionate Tsugarubue player Bunta Satoh introduces the history and culture of Tugarubue, a Japanese bamboo flute from Tsugaru region in Aomori prefecture, to the world. Tsugarubue is popular in the region as one in every six people learns to play and the instrument is often played in festivals. Mr. Satoh has won the First Place as the second youngest winner in the history of the Hayashi (festival music) Contest in Japan. In 2011, he organized a challenge for Guinness World Records with the Tsugarubue players and made the world record of playing together with 3,742 players.
Mr. Satoh lives in Aomori, Japan performing throughout the country and also internationally playing traditional Japanese music and new music from around the world. In 2013, he performed at the Festival Des Cultures Du Monde Gemenos in France,in 2014 he was featured in Hibikiya concert series in Singapore, and in 2016, he was invited to perform at International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals and Folklore Arts in Mexico.
In addition to performing the traditional Tsugaru music with his bamboo flute, he composes music for the instrument and organizes workshops to inspire the new generation of Tsugarubue players.
He has released his third album "The Wind of Tsugaru" in January 2017.
HIRO HAYASHIDA, taiko
Hiro Hayashida started his solo career after performing with Kodo, Takio Ito & Takio Band, and Tokyo Dageki Dan. He was involved in creating the taiko music for the movie Zatoichi and has been involved in creating music for animated programs. As a representative of Japan, Mr. Hayashida has participated in many international events, including Japan Week 97, Hanover Expo, and the Closing Ceremonies of the FIFA World Cup in France. As Japan's foremost player of the okedaiko, a type of drum used by many taiko drummers, he has been the producer of ZI-PANG, an okedaiko project featuring six taiko soloists since 2000. Mr. Hayashida pursues new modes of expression, drumming in a way that makes free use of the "two-way" technique and creating his own electronic okedaiko. He gave a self-produced concert in Tokyo incorporating Noh theater and the shakuhachi into Japanese drumming around the theme of the cycle of rebirth. His okedaiko workshops and live performances in Hawaii were extremely well received, and ZI-PANG concerts in eight Central and South American cities were sold out many times. The Lunes Hoy newspaper in Columbia praised his show as "Two hours of Eastern magic on stage in Bogota with sound, light and movement." Shinya Watabe, music critic for the Hogaku Journal, remarks, "The challenges taken on by Hiro Hayashida and his achievements constitute an indicator of the direction of current trends in the okedaiko."
SOTA ASANO, taiko
Taiko player Sota Asano has joined a taiko group when he was ten
years old. He studied under Yukio Umemura and joined Umemura's Japanese drum group "REN". Then Sota joined Hiroyuki Hayashida's "Super Taiko Juniors" and performed in France with that group as a leader. In 2015, he made a debut as a solo artist by joining a professional taiko group "ZI-PANG" performing at numerous events such as Mercedes Benz Class E Announcement Ceremony. He currently performs with several groups in Japan as a professional taiko player.
CHIHIRO SHIBAYAMA, percussion & MuSE co-founder
Native of Yokohama City, Japan, Chihiro Shibayama is a New York City-based freelance percussionist. She currently performs on Miss Saigon on Broadway and recently had her Broadway debut as one of three on-stage musicians for a new adaptation of The Cherry Orchard starring Diane Lane. She has performed for the renowned Radio City Christmas Spectacular, NBC's Good Morning America with John Legend and Common, The Metropolitan Opera. As an educator, she is a percussion faculty at Diller-Quaile School of Music since 2013.
A graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy with a performance award in 2003, Ms. Shibayama earned Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School in 2007 and 2009. She is a Pearl/ Adams concert artist.
LA MODA PIANO TRIO
La Moda Piano Trio ​was formed by Hsin-Ni Liu, Stephanie Matthews, and Reenat Pinchas while students at The Juilliard School. They have since concertized in Asia, Europe, and North America. Their inaugural year they were honored with performances at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall in New York and the Chiang Kai-Shek National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan. Most recently they were broadcast on national European television stations as a feature highlighting their invitation to perform at the Royal Palace of Godollo in Budapest, Hungary. The members of La Moda Trio pride themselves on being an all female group and for representing cultural and ethnic diversity in the arts. All three talented women celebrate their individual backgrounds - Asian, Trinidadian, and Middle Eastern - by way of music which they continue to spread sending a positive message throughout the world.
Hsin-ni Liu​ is a concert pianist, teacher and recording artist. This year alone she will grace the stage of prominent concert halls in Beijing, Taipei, New York, Cleveland, San Diego, Paris, Switzerland, and Budapest. She has been a solo recording artist under Naxos and Fidelio labels and a receiver of the Outstanding Young Artist Award by the Federation Overseas Chinese Association. Ms. Liu has given masterclasses and served as a judge on many international competitions as well as a teaching assistant to Russian-American pianist Oxana Yablonskaya at The Juilliard School.
Balancing traditional classical music, contemporary concert music, and mainstream genres, ​Stephanie Matthews​ is a dynamic young violinist who continues to blaze her own trail in the music industry. Noteworthy solo performances include her performance at Queens Hall in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad under the patronage of Trinidad’s President George Maxwell Richards, her appearances at the Dundas Performing Arts Centre in support of a Safe House for Women in Nassau, Bahamas, and a series of solo performances with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Ms. Matthews is the Founder and Creative Director of StringCandy and has written, recorded and contributed to various music, television and film projects.
Reenat Pinchas​ has concertized as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player across the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America. She has performed alongside world renowned artists such as Placido Domingo, Itzhak Perlman, Gustavo Dudamel, Renee Fleming, Wynton Marsalis and Lorin Maazel. Beyond classical borders, Ms. Pinchas collaborations are extensive and can be heard on television and film across a wide range of genres from pop, electronic, hip-hop, jazz, folk, and world music. As an educator, Ms. Pinchas has led cultural exchange programs fostering the integration of music in schools and has been paramount in providing access to the arts for underprivileged communities worldwide.
YUI KITAMURA, composer/arranger & MuSE co-founder
Yui Kitamura writes music in classical and musical theatre. Her original compositions and arrangements are garnering international attention and have been performed at such venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Joe’s Pub, Berlin’s Akademie der Künste, Kiev’s National Catholic Cathedral, and Tokyo’s Suntory Hall. Her music was nominated for a 2011 Hollywood Music in Media Award in the classical/orchestral genre and her song “Omoide” was performed by world renowned bassist Gary Karr at the Sendai Classic Fesival in Japan. She was the recipient of the New Work Grant funded by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Greater New York Arts Development Fund in 2018. Ms. Kitamura is the co-founder and artistic director of Multicultural Sonic Evolution (MuSE), a non-profit organization based in New York that creates unique concerts and shows with artists from different fields. She holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in composition from The Juilliard School and a Master of Fine Arts from New York University’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at the Tisch School of the Arts.
SATOSHI KANAZAWA, composer
Satoshi Kanazawa is a New York City based composer of contemporary music. Graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts, he received many awards and grants such as Shelley Pinz Professional Development Grant, NYFA Artists’ Fellowship with the additional title of Gregory Millard Fellow, Sougakudo Art Song Competition, Hirosaki Sakurano Sono Competition, Lin Yao Ji International Competition and the 6th JFC Composers Award. He released his first debut CD, entitled "Flowing Blue" in 2009 to showcase his unique style of music. His current concept of composition is “Locality in society”. His compositions are inspired by local cultures, myth or current social events and he seeks if locality is necessary in our modern world and how locality affects in our society.
