Date Composed:2007Composer:Aki TakahashiArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:September 29, 2007 - Saugetuck Centre for the Arts, MI Northern Japan, where the winters are most severe, is the home of “Tsugaru Jamisen”, a large and robust style of SHAMISEN (three stringed lute). The sound of the shamisen is both percussive...
Date Composed:2010Composer:Aki TakahashiArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:November 5, 2010 - Fleck Dance TheatreRecording Title:Iroha Live Concert DVD KYARA is an important ingredient in Japanese incense. This indescribable aroma is born from the soil. Buried beneath the earth, it takes many years to transform soft raw lumber into hard,...
Date Composed:2005Composer:Kiyoshi NagataArrangement:Kiyoshi NagataPremiere Performance:September 15, 2005 - George Ignatieff TheatreRecording Title:Kiro CD Matsuri Genso depicts a lively, fantastical festival held someplace in Japan. It was originally composed for the recording “Kiro” and performed only once at the CD release concert. An uchiwa-daiko (fan drum) dance...
Date Composed:2008Composer:Kiyoshi NagataArrangement:Kiyoshi NagataPremiere Performance:November 29, 2008 - Ryerson Theatre TorontoRecording Title:Tsuzure CD / 10th Anniversary Concert DVD Mamagoto or ‘child’s play’ simply depicts the adventures of children as their play their day away. The song features two shinobue, nebuta daiko, eisa-o-daiko, chappa, shime-okedo daiko, orchestra...
Date Composed:2006Composer:Aki TakahashiArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:October 13, 2006 - Al Green Theatre The onomatopoeic term Kon Kon has traditionally referred to the sounds of a steady rain or snowfall in Japan. It is also used to denote the cry of a fox, or knocking on a door. The various Kon, both...
Date Composed:2002Composer:Kiyoshi NagataArrangement:Kiyoshi NagataPremiere Performance:August 19, 2002 - Kingston Grand TheatreRecording Title:Koku CD This signature piece of Kiyoshi Nagata features a solo on the ensemble’s largest taiko. The first section is composed, accompanied by three taiko and Chinese gong. The second section is improvised allowing the...
Date Composed:2007Composer:Aki TakahashiArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:December 1, 2007 - Ryerson TheatreRecording Title:Tsuzure CD “YARESA NO YOISE…” a chant leading the chorus, is a shout of encouragement. Raising our KOE (voice) with determination yet desperation, our echoes will cross the sea and reach the sky. ...
Date Composed:2003Composer:Kiyoshi NagataArrangement:Kiyoshi NagataPremiere Performance:November 14, 2003 - Brigantine Room Harbourfront CentreRecording Title:Kiro CD There is an ethereal quality about wind, as it cannot directly be seen although its effects are evident everyday. Three shinobue flutes play interweaving melodies representing the mysterious nature of the wind,...
Date Composed:2001Composer:Kiyoshi NagataArrangement:Kiyoshi NagataPremiere Performance:August 19, 2002 - Kingston Grand TheatreRecording Title:Koku CD Typically performed as an encore, this song of celebration has a big band feel with its jazzy flute melody and swinging backrhythms. ...
Date Composed:2005Composer:Aki TakahashiArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:September 15, 2005 - George Ignatieff TheatreRecording Title:Tsuzure CD / 10th Anniversary Concert DVD Zen monks sit to meditate. When a monk’s concentration starts to waver, he needs “KAK” to awake himself. The sound KAK helps the monk to refocus his mind. Playing...