Koto masters from New York and San Francisco will also join the stage at the Agnes Flanagan Chapel for a once in a lifetime performance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oregon Koto-Kai, a Portland based Japanese Koto\u3000(harp) Ensemble, will feature world renowned koto virtuoso, Kazue Sawai, at Agnes\u3000Flanagan Chapel on Sunday, October 6th at 3PM. Professional Sawai school koto\u3000players from throughout the US and Japan will join the performance, including koto\u3000master Masayo Ishigure, known for her performance in the film \u201cMemoirs of a Geisha\u201d.\u3000Advance tickets are on sale now at https:\/\/oregonkotokai.org\/ ($25 advance, $15\u3000student, $35 at the door).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Tradition has been created by innovations\u2026”, Kazue Sawai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This quote expresses Kazue Sawai\u2019s experience with the ancient instrument, the koto,\u3000and her beliefs about how a traditional instrument can continue to exist and grow in the\u3000modern music scene. The sounds she creates from her emotion, spirit, and passion\u3000transcend time and space, and connect past and present, east and west.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The koto was brought to Japan from China in the 7th century and was utilized as a\u3000primary instrument in classical Japanese, or gagaku, ensemble music. In its long history, the music had been strictly protected by a conservative system. However, in the early 1960\u2019s, Kazue Sawai was one of the very few koto players who began to push the\u3000boundaries of what was expected to be performed on koto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I f irst began to question what I should pursue in music when I entered Tokyo University\u3000of the Arts. I felt that the Hogaku (traditional Japanese music) department was like a\u3000separate world from the other music departments. I felt ashamed, because when I went\u3000to the other parts of the school where they were playing Western instruments, even\u3000though we were also playing music and what we played on were also instruments, I felt\u3000that they looked down on us as if Hogaku wasn\u2019t really music.\u201d -Japan Foundation\u3000Interview of Kazue Sawai, March 12, 2013<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later she co-founded a unique koto school, the Sawai Koto Institute, with her husband,\u3000Tadao Sawai, and also started to perform koto in her own unique style. She was\u3000commissioned by composers such as Toshi Ichiyanagi, Maki Ishii and Yuji Takahashi, and worked with John Zorn and John Cage. She performed in the US many times, but\u3000one of the highlights was an invited tour through New York, Boston, and Chicago in\u30001999 as the soloist for \u201cKoto Concerto\u201d, composed by Sophia Gubaidulina, with the\u3000NHK Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2008, she visited Portland for a concert \u201cAn Evening of\u3000Japanese Music\u201d at Buckley Center Auditorium, University of Portland. This is her second visit to PDX and a rare opportunity to introduce her artistry to our diverse community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout her musical career, one priority of Kazue Sawai was to focus her energies\u3000internationally to free the koto from being defined as a \u201ctraditional\u201d instrument, and to\u3000redefine the koto as a \u201cmusical\u201d instrument suited to a variety of musical settings. She\u3000also sent her students to the US and Europe as instructors so the koto could continue to\u3000progress beyond traditions. This sentiment inspired the name of Oregon Koto-Kai\u2019s concert: Beyond Horizons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oregon Koto-Kai (OKK) is a Portland based Japanese music ensemble founded by koto\u3000master Mitsuki Dazai in 2012. Originally from Tokyo, Mitsuki has performed with\u3000ensembles throughout Japan, Europe, South America, and all over North America. After\u3000moving to Oregon in 2002, she immediately began playing her music at coffee shops,\u3000bookstores, Japanese restaurants, and at local events. At the time, her humble tip box\u3000was the only monetary reward, however the real reward was the response of those who\u3000heard her music. She was soon busy performing at diverse events and giving lessons in\u3000both the Eugene and Portland areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2007, she performed accompanied by one of her students at the Asian Celebration in\u3000Eugene, which gave her the idea to form a koto ensemble group. Mitsuki began to focus\u3000on ensemble lessons and named the group \u201cOregon Koto-Kai\u201d. The group held its first\u3000performance with six members in February 2012, and in November of 2012, OKK\u3000produced its first concert at the Epworth United Methodist Church in Portland. Since that\u3000time, Mitsuki\u2019s dream has been for OKK to introduce the rare and beautiful music of the\u3000koto to new audiences, showcasing both traditional and contemporary styles. In doing\u3000so, koto increasingly enriches the cultural diversity of experiences in the Pacific\u3000Northwest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oregon Koto-Kai\u2019s mission is multi-faceted: 1.Introduce Japanese koto music to the\u3000broader community by creating opportunities for people to enjoy koto music or to learn\u3000to play the koto, 2. Contribute to the cultural diversity in the Northwest, 3. Collaborate\u3000with other musicians \/ composers in our community, and 4. Improve koto players\u3000skills\/techniques. The group achieves these goals through performances, workshops,\u3000education, and collaboration with talented artists such as koto master Kazue Sawai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program on October 6th will include \u201cHomura\u201d Tadao Sawai\u2019s masterpiece written\u3000for his beloved wife, Kazue Sawai, \u201cRokudan\u201d, a traditional piece played with Kazue\u3000Sawai\u2019s unique stylings, and \u201cRock Garden\u201d composed by her son, Hikaru Sawai.\u3000Oregon Koto-Kai will also perform an adaptation of \u201cSpring\u201d from Four Seasons by\u3000Antonio Vivaldi. Please join us in October for a rare opportunity to experience true koto\u3000mastery. There will also be a free Lecture\/Demonstration prior to the concert hosted by\u3000the PSU Institute for Asian Studies on Friday, October 4th at 6PM in Lincoln Recital\u3000Hall, Room 75, Portland State University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORE INFORMATION<\/strong> info@oregonkotokai.org or call (541) 513-6417<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High resolution photos can be found<\/strong>: by emailing oregonkotokai@gmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Koto masters from New York and San Francisco will also join the stage at the Agnes Flanagan Chapel for a once in a lifetime performance Oregon Koto-Kai, a Portland based Japanese Koto\u3000(harp) Ensemble, will feature world renowned koto virtuoso, Kazue Sawai, at Agnes\u3000Flanagan Chapel on Sunday, October 6th at 3PM. Professional Sawai school koto\u3000players from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-22","description-off"],"yoast_head":"\n