Pair Work: Celebrating Japanese Heritage in Contemporary Music

Date: Sept. 19, 2009

Time: 2 p.m.

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FREE!

Antares Boyle and Rory Cowal will present a free public recital of contemporary music by Japanese composers. Selected composers include Joji Yuasa, Toshio Hosokawa, Michio Kitazume, Kazuo Fukushima, and Misato Mochizuki.

The highlight will be the world premiere of a newly-commissioned work by the composer Ryan Tanaka. The concert will be both a celebration of modern Japanese music and an exploration of cultural fusion. The selected composers were all trained in the Western classical tradition and are internationally active in the contemporary art music scene. Yet each has developed a personal approach to composition that incorporates a distinct concern with the composer’s national and ethnic identity. The myriad ways in which composers address this background in their music creates a program of fascinating diversity while showcasing recurring elements of uniquely Japanese musical aesthetics.

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