Haruka Fujii and the Musubi Trio

Multi-percussionist Haruka Fujii has become one of the most prominent solo percussionists in the area. With her will be Beni Shinohara on violin and Rayo Furuta on flute (returning to Tahoe from his July 2024 performance with Carol Wincenc).

​

Come explore and immerse yourself in the musical flavors of Japan, interpreted through contemporary and 20th century composers and played by various instrumental combinations of the Musubi Trio. The last piece will be complemented with a video companion to Onari's Lullaby.

​

PRE-CONCERT TALK WITH THE MUSICIANS

Friday, September 12, 5-6PM

10069 Church St, Truckee, CA

FREE. No Cost registration requested.

​

An interactive pre-concert session – “office hours” - for everyone who has held drumsticks, marimba mallets, blown on wind instrument or stroked a bow across a string instrument.

Listen to these world-class musicians talk about their backgrounds, ambitions, and shared love of music.

 

This pre-concert outreach event is supported in part by by Truckee Cultural District and is offered in collaboration with Music Wings, offering music scholarships for kids.

​

The musicians will also perform at North Tahoe High School on September 12th, in collaboration with Arts for the Schools.

​​

​

AN INTRODUCTION TO JAPANESE MUSIC & THE CONCERT PROGRAM

Read About Each Piece in the Program Notes

 

Music in Japan has a long and varied history. Several threads of ongaku (the Japanese word for music) will emerge in the course of today's concert.

 

Drums, string and wind instruments, and bells are known to have existed in Japan as early as two thousand years ago, represented in art and archaeological remains. Most of this early music was likely tied to rituals, celebration, and spirituality. As the centuries went on, many forms of traditional Japanese music came into being, ranging from Buddhist hymns to the ceremonial sounds of gagaku court music, the music of the Noh, Kabuki, and Bunraku theaters, and simple folk songs. The latter include work songs, children's songs, lullabies, religious songs, and songs used for public gatherings, ceremonies, and festivals. “Sunatoribushi” on today's program is representative of this.

 

Certain instruments became important in Japan. Don't be surprised if you think of the sound of the shakuhachi, the bamboo end-blown flute, as you listen to the flute in today's concert, and perhaps even the gentle sound of the koto, the Japanese thirteen-stringed zither, or the more brittle sound of the shamisen, the three-stringed Japanese lute, in some of the textures from the marimba.

 

Shoka, a style of song that incorporates Western elements into music education for Japanese children, emerged in the nineteenth century with the Meiji Restoration's increased contact with the rest of the world. “Oboro Zukiyo” on today's program is an early example of shoka. As the nineteenth century moved into the twentieth, classical music and jazz also started to become important in Japan – the country's first orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic, was founded in 1911.

 

An important feature of Japanese music over the years is the programmatic orientation of the music, where the music is tied to words, images, stories, historical events, and so on, sometimes just through the titles but sometimes through imitative sounds within the music itself. The moon hovering over a ruined castle, the beauty of cherry and plum blossoms in spring, and running deer are all images depicted in today's concert. Contemporary events, too, like the earthquake in Ishikawa Prefecture in 2024 and the massive Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011, inspired pieces on this program.

 

By the early years of the twentieth century, Japanese-born composers were writing orchestral works, chamber music, and operas. A fusion of traditional Japanese styles and Western classical music can be heard in today's “Kojo no Tsuki.” But this fusion really came to fruition with Toru Takemitsu, whose Toward the Sea – with its references to both Japanese traditional music and Herman Melville's Moby Dick – is part of this concert. Takemitsu is also famous for his over one hundred scores for movies, and music by perhaps the most famous Japanese composer for film, Joe Hisaishi, can be heard today, as can a song co-written by film director and writer Shunji Iwai. Contemporary classical music by Japanese composers thrives, as is witnessed by the works by Shinji Eshima, Eiko Orita, and Haruka Fujii herself on today's program.

 

As one commentator has written, “Music holds a profound significance in Japanese culture, serving not only as a form of entertainment but also as a vital expression of identity, emotion, and spirituality.” We hope that you experience a taste of that today.

 

– Chris Morrison