Date Composed:1998Composer:Kiyoshi NagataArrangement:Kiyoshi NagataPremiere Performance:November 28, 1998 - Music GalleryRecording Title:Stone Path CD / 10th Anniversary Concert DVD Literally meaning “New Echo” this is a celebratory song about the reneweal of life. This song was composed for the debut concert of Nagata Shachu (then known as...
Date Composed:2007Composer:Aki TakahashiArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:November 3, 2007 - Strathroy Arts Council This song is sung in the traditional style of women who work in the hot springs, onsen. The music is meant to entertain as well as relax and calm the patrons in the onsen resort. ...
Date Composed:2010Composer:Aki TakahashiArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:November 5, 2010 - Fleck Dance TheatreRecording Title:Iroha Live Concert DVD YAMABUKI is a deep yellow flower that blooms in late spring. It grows in layers and sometimes its yellow covers an entire hillside. Japanese flutes such as shinobue and shakuhachi are made...
Date Composed:2007Composer:Aki TakahashiArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:December 1, 2007 - Ryerson Theatre My first visit to Okinawa came as a big surprise. It was so different from the rest of Japan. I wrote this song to capture the feeling of the local language and the culture. The words...
Date Composed:2010Composer:Aki TakahashiArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:November 5, 2010 - Fleck Dance TheatreRecording Title:Iroha Live Concert DVD The colour of a Black Kite’s (TONBI) wing is actually brown with a hint of red. TONBI glide effortlessly through the air instead of flapping their wings. Builders who work in...
Date Composed:2002Composer:Kiyoshi NagataArrangement:Kiyoshi NagataPremiere Performance:December 27, 2009 - Al Green Theatre, TorontoRecording Title:Koku CD Although composed in 2002 for a studio recording, the song had never been performed until November 2009. This piece simply envisions a festival during Obon, an annual Buddhist event to honour the...
Date Composed:2010Composer:Aki TakahashiArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:November 5, 2010 - Fleck Dance TheatreRecording Title:Iroha Live Concert DVD The deep green of TOKIWA trees. Like the English words “Ever Green”, TOKIWA implies “Never Changing” since the leaves stays green all year round. Taiko is usually synonymous with movement. Thus, this...
Date Composed:2006Composer:Kiyoshi NagataArrangement:Kiyoshi NagataPremiere Performance:October 13, 2006 - Al Green Theatre Although taiko come in a multitude of shapes and sizes, most can generally be classified into three families: barrel-shaped drums carved from a tree trunk; drums constructed from staves of wood; and small drums whose...
Date Composed:2007Composer:Kiyoshi NagataArrangement:Kiyoshi NagataPremiere Performance:December 1, 2007 - Ryerson TheatreRecording Title:Tsuzure CD / 10th Anniversary Concert DVD Literally, ‘three continuous beats’, this composition features a whirlwind of solos and intertwining rhythms in various cycles of three, pounded out by three teams of drummers. San Ren On (recording...
Date Composed:2010Composer:Aki TakahashiArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:November 5, 2010 - Fleck Dance TheatreRecording Title:Iroha Live Concert DVD The word SHIRO [white] originated from SHIRAMU [grow light], which we can see in the morning. It is the purest and most divine colour of all. It will repel every colour and...