WA-GORU: Japan Sound Current

Saturday, Nov. 13 ( 2:00 pm )

(Shakuhachi flute and koto demonstration/lecture, Japanese tea ceremony)
Presented by the Shakuhachi Society of BC in conjunction with the Vancouver Opera's Views of Japan

Tonari Gumi Social Services, 255 East Broadway, Vancouver
Tickets: Suggested donation $20.00 or pay what you can.

An afternoon of traditional and modern shakuhachi and koto performances and lecture by Alcvin Takegawa Ramos and Satomi Edwards followed by a lecture on Japanese aesthetics and sound. Participants can also enjoy a traditional Japanese tea ceremony with a member of the Urasenke Tea Guild.

Alcvin Takegawa Ramos
Alcvin was born on February 18, 1969 Kanagawa-ken, Japan. Alcvin holds a Shihan title from Katsuya Yokoyama founder of the International Shakuhachi Training Center, studying under Kakizakai Kaoru, Teruo Furuya, and Atsuya Okuda concentrating on the Do-kyoku of Watazumi-do and Katsuya Yokoyama. Alcvin seeks to keep the tradition of learning and playing the koten honkyoku (original zen pieces for shakuhachi) strong while exploring and expanding the boundaries of the instrument. Alcvin is the head director and teacher of the Bamboo-In, shakuhachi temple on the beautiful Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. His love of teaching shakuhachi takes him all over Canada and the US with students in many parts of BC including, Vancouver, Sunshine Coast, Victoria, Nelson, Kamloops, as well as in Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario.

Alcvin maintains an active schedule of shakuhachi performances between Japan, Europe, Canada, and the U.S. For private lessons, workshops, and performance bookings please call 604-883-2023 or email ramos@dccnet.com.

Satomi Edwards
Born in Fukuoka, Japan and was introduced to Japanese traditional music by her father, who is a shakuhachi bamboo flute player and maker. She studied KOTO (horizontal harp), SANGEN (three-stringed Japanese banjo), JUUSHICHIGEN (17-stringed horizontal harp) from Shizu Watanabe (Fukuoka), Namie Sano(Tokyo), Takeshi Nakai(Tokyo). She Graduated from National Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music (Tokyo Geidai) in 1991, as well as from the 37th Japanese Traditional Music School of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Cooperation) in 1992. She has performed professionally in traditional and modern style concerts since she was a student. Since settling in Victoria in 1994, Satomi has given KOTO performances and introduced Japanese culture at various educational institutes and cultural venues. She's a member of "Miyagi Kai", "Mori no Kai" , "Shitou Kai", and "BABBOBA" performance groups in Japan, and WA-GORU in BC, Canada.