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International Performer Shunsuke Kimura Bringing Traditional Japanese Instruments to Special Oct. 20 Concert at Hatfield Hall
October 2, 2012
by Dale Long
Internationally acclaimed composer and performer, Shunsuke
Kimura, will use traditional Japanese and western musical
instruments to create haunting melodies that help express imagined
landscapes in a special concert on Saturday, October 20, at 7 p.m.
in Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Hatfield Hall Theater.
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World-Class Musician: Japanese performer/composer Shunsuke
Kimura plays the flute and Tsugaru Shamisen, a Japanese
three-string banjo-like
instrument.
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The show is part of events that commemorate the 20th anniversary
of the educational collaboration and exchange between Rose-Hulman
and Japan's Kanazawa Institute of Technology (KIT).
A delegation of KIT administrators and educators will visit
Rose-Hulman on October 19-20 to exchange educational workshops and
learn more about the campus, its faculty, staff members, students
and alumni. Rose-Hulman and KIT are alike in their leading
position among the technological institutions of their
respective countries, and the relationship has seen 20 years
of exchanges among faculty and students. The affinity
between the schools is augmented by the fact that both schools
share a student-centered educational mission based on innovation.
During the KIT visit, Rose-hulman will also celebrate this close
relationship with a commemorative sculpture, a Fridndship
Garden and an orchard.
The music program offers a special cultural exchange, since
Shunsuke travelled to every corner of Japan to find the various
melodies, rhythms and styles of carnival and folk music that he has
assimilated into his own music-making. His melodies are haunting
and characterized by an ethereal serenity.
In fact, Shunsuke's show at Rose-Hulman, titled "Insho," tells a
variety of nostalgic stories and he expresses the poetic image in
nature, scenery and seasons with delicate nuance of color and
sounds. He performs on the flute and Tsugaru Shamisen, a Japanese
three-string banjo-like instrument with a distinctive sound that
was originally played by wandering blind artists.
As a performer, Shunsuke won the Grand Prix Award at the 2002
All-Japan Tsugaru-Shamisen Contest. He later directed a live
performance at the "Sense of Wonder" World Environmental Film
Festival and was commissioned to write the music and lyrics for
"Amaterasu," a special theatre project for the 25th anniversary of
Kodo, the world famous taiko group.
Shunsuke has also composed music for a contemporary kabuki dance
show, "Ouna," that was part of a festival arranged by the Japanese
Agency for Cultural Affairs Awards. He recently performed on Japan
Broadcasting Corporation's "Geijutugekijo" show, and has taken his
talents to Europe, America and Asia to collaborate with local
artists.
Joining Shunsuke on the Hatfield Hall stage will be Shingo
Ikegami, an award-winning musician who specializes in playing the
koto, the 13-string national instrument of Japan; Hiromi Nishida, a
Tokyo-born violinist; and Ayuko Ikeda, a percussionist who has
performed throughout the world.
Tickets for the show are $15 for all guests and available until
October 20 at the Hatfield Hall ticket office or by calling
812-877-8544. The ticket office is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on
weekdays and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
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| Celebrating International Exchanges: The upcoming concert
by Shunsuke Kimura (middle) and three other Japanese musicians is
part of a 20-year anniversary celebration of an educational
collaborative and exchange between Rose-Hulman Institute of
Technology and Kanazawa Institute of Technology. |