WASABI concert highlights traditional Japanese instruments

Ocober 18, 2013 2:00 PM Masterclass

Abelardo Hall Auditorium

College of Music, University of the Philippines

Diliman, Quezon City

October 19, 2013, 7:00 PM Performance

Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater)

CCP Complex

Pasay, Metro Manila

Featuring:

Ryoichiro Yoshida, tsugaru-shamisen

Hiromu Motonaga, shakuhachi

Naosaburo Biho, taiko

Shin Ichikawa, koto

Still in line with the 40^th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation, the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines, in cooperation with the Japan Foundation, Manila and the Cultural Center of the Philippines present WASABI, The Spirit of Japan: The Sound of Traditional Instruments happening on October 19, 2013, 7:00 PM at the CCP’s Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater).

The traditional Japanese instrumental group WASABI is composed of Ryoichiro Yoshida with the tsugaru-shamisen, Hiromu Motonaga playing the shakuhachi, Naosaburo Biho with the taiko and finally, koto player Shin Ichikawa. According to the event flyer, WASABI’s music puts emphasis on catchy melodies and compact structures. It also says that it has a power and dynamism that moves way beyond the aesthetic of elegance and refined lyricism that many people in Japan and elsewhere associate with Japanese traditional music.

WASABI
Shin Ichikawa, Hiromu Motonaga, Ryoichiro Yoshida
and Naosaburo Biho

What is particularly interesting with this group is that it combines the tsugaru-shamisen and taiko drums that are mostly associated in folk music with that of the koto and shakuhachi that are normally featured in classical genres. I’ve seen performances with just the tsugaru-shamisen and taiko only, and also just the koto and shakuhachi only as well. But I’ve yet to see having all four creating music together. I guess that this is how WASABI’s brand of fusion music breaks barriers and mixes various influences from folk to classical to create a new hybrid of traditional music.

One can learn more about traditional instruments when WASABI conducts a masterclass on October 18, 2013, 2:00 PM at the Abelardo Hall Auditorium at the College of Music of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. Admission to the masterclass is open and free to the public.

For master class inquiries:

926-0026/981-8500 local 2639

For performance inquiries:

551-5710 local 2311/2312