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12/12/2024 0 Comments BenshiThe Benshi Tradition and the Silver Screen: A Japanese Puppetry Spin-off
December 12 & 13 at 7:30 pm Benshi, Japan’s riveting “movie talkers” of the silent film era, drew in audiences with their live film narration and dramatic character portrayals, often with musicians providing accompaniment. This rich period of early Japanese cinema has a direct structural connection to the Japanese puppet theater tradition, in which chanters narrated stories and gave voice to silent puppets alongside theatrical shamisen music. In this two-night program, modern benshi star Ichiro Kataoka and NY-based shamisen player Sumie Kaneko come together for two screenings of stories set in the samurai era. Japan Society
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Japan Society Performing Arts
Thursday, December 7, 7:30 pm —Pre-concert lecture at 6:30 pm —Followed by a Private Gathering for Artists and Members A paid livestream option is also available for this event. Playbill (PDF) → In collaboration with experimental sound artists Tania Caroline Chen and Victoria Shen, Tomomi Adachi recreates the essence of John Cage’s historic visit to Japan in 1962, often referred to as “Cage Shock.” Through renditions of Cage’s iconic pieces, such as Haiku and 0’00”, Adachi captures the spirit of that transformative tour. The program also features Toshi Ichiyanagi’s Sapporo, which premiered in 1962 and was conducted by John Cage. Ichiyanagi (1933-2022), an esteemed Japanese composer and the first husband of Yoko Ono, developed a close friendship with Cage during his 1950s residency in New York City and played a pivotal role in organizing Cage’s inaugural trip to Japan, with visits to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and the city of Sapporo. A lecture on how the pieces in this radical program were received in Japan at the time, led by John Cage scholar Dr. James Pritchett, precedes the concert. For this concert, International Contemporary Ensemble members include Kyle Armburst (viola), Katinka Kleijn (cello), Michael Nicolas (cello) and Mike Lormand(trombone). 10/21/2023 0 Comments RyoanjiRyoanji
October 22, 2023 8:30 pm Japan Society Inspired by the Zen rock garden of the renowned Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto, which John Cage personally visited in 1962, he composed Ryoanji (1983) using a non-ordinal graphical notation. Embracing Cage’s free-spirited approach to the score, composer/musician/vocal performer Tomomi Adachi brings his composition to life in a cutting-edge concert that connects two cities remotely. New York’s International Contemporary Ensemble will perform alongside musicians in Kanazawa City, Japan–Hitomi Nakamura on the ancient hichiriki woodwind and Maki Ota on vocals–streaming live from a tea house. Immerse yourself in the hypnotic 3D visuals depicting the raked sand of the Zen garden created by Dr. Tsutomu Fujinami, a researcher at the prestigious Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, as a captivating backdrop for this one-of-a-kind concert. A lecture on the origins of John Cage’s fascination with Japanese culture, led by Cage scholar Dr. James Pritchett, precedes the concert. For this concert, International Contemporary Ensemble members include Michael Lormand (trombone), Lizzie Burns (double bass) and Clara Warnaar (percussion). May 19, 2023, 7pm
May 20, 2023, 1pm PS/IS 49 of Queens, NYC 3/14/2023 JAZZ AT PS133Alex Weiss quintet
Album release live "Most don't have enough" Dan Blake (soprano sax) Alex Weiss (sax) Marta Sanchez (piano) Chez Smith (drum) Michael Bates (base) PS133 of Brooklyn, NYC 3/14/Tue 6PM 6/22/2022 OKI: Music of the AinuFriday, May 6 at 7:30 pm—followed by a MetLife Meet-the-Artists Reception SOLD OUT Japan Society performances Oki Kano, known professionally as OKI, is a leading musician of Ainu music—the music of Japan’s northernmost indigenous people. Born to a Japanese mother and an Ainu father, OKI has recovered and recreated traditional music on the tonkori, a stringed instrument of the Ainu people of Karafuto (a region also known as Sakhalin). The rich, reverberating twang of the tonkoristrings, which are traditionally made from deer tendons, allowed Ainu shamans to communicate with spirits that control the wind, rain and other natural phenomena called kamuy. In this program, OKI performs solo pieces as well as contemporary works with his band members from their new album, Tonkori in the Moonlight, released in January 2022. OKI is also featured in the film Ainu Mosir (2020). 11/5/2021 SHEEP #1SHEEP#1
A performance by Sachiyo Takahashi (Nekaa Lab) Inspired by the writings of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince Japan Society Performing Arts PROGRAM A, with Emile Blondel on piano: Thursday, November 4 at 7:30 pm—followed by a MetLife Meet-the-Artists Reception Sunday, November 7 at 2:30 pm PROGRAM B, with Kato Hideki on bass guitar: Friday, November 5 at 7:30 pm Saturday, November 6 at 7:30 pm The Unknown Dancer in the Neighborhood
Written and directed by Suguru Yamamoto Japan Society Performing the Arts One-man dance theater piece, performed by Wataru Kitao 10/24/2019 Kwaidan readingJAPAN SOCIETY PERFORMANCE
Kwaidan (Call of Salvation Heard from the Depths of Fear) With Shiro Sano and Kyoji Yamamoto 6/14/2019 Tomte (Gnome)Tomte (Gnome)
Shadow puppet play by Tom Lee Presented by Yara Arts Group & Hunter college theater department 9/12/2017 Four nights of dreamsFour Nights of Dream
(Based on a novel by Natsume Soseki) OPERA | WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION Japan Society 110th Anniversary Commission Music and Libretto: Moto Osada Conductor: Ken-David Masur Director: Alec Duffy Set Designer: Mimi Lien Costume Designer: Oana Botez Lighting Designer: Tuce Yasak Singers: Marisa Karchin, Gloria Park, Christopher Sokolowski, Makoto Winkler, Jesse Malgieri, Rocky Sellers Instrumentalists: Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Chamber Orchestra 2/16/2017 HANCHU-YUEI12/10/2016 Hanasaka jisan by CondorsOne of Japan’s most popular mukashi banashi folktales comes to life through the playful interpretation of beloved all-male contemporary dance company Condors, led by Ryohei Kondo.
Hanasaka Jiisan (花咲爺さん The Old Man Who Made Flowers Bloom) Dance performance by Condors/Ryohei Kondo Japan Society Perfoming Arts Saturday, December 10, 2016 Sunday, December 11, 2016 9/19/2016 "About Kazuo Ohno"Dance performance by Takao Kawaguchi
At Japan Society http://www.japansociety.org/event/about-kazuo-ohnoreliving-the-butoh-divas-masterpieces 1/8/2016 Kyogen11/22/2015 0 Comments Shank's Mare 2015Shank’s Mare November 06 - November 15, 2015 The puppetry and multimedia collaboration, created by Tom Lee and Koryu Nishikawa La MaMa Puppet Series Shank’s Mare is the story of two wandering travelers whose paths intersect in time and space. Using traditional kuruma ningyo puppetry, live feed video projection, miniature sets and a live score by Bill Ruyle (hammer dulcimer) and Chieko Hara (shamisen and flute), the piece explores life and death and how tradition is passed on. |
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