19 January 2011

Here's is the message sent to the CCE-people mailing list:

Hello Everyone,

Next week FolkwaysAlive! Will host a lunch for students and special visitor Mr. Nishikawa Kohei, on Wednesday, January 19th. Mr Nishikawa was here in 2009 with the Pro Musica Nipponia group so may be familiar to some of our students. He’ll be in Edmonton to participate in events related to an art exhibition, the Transcendence Exhibition, http://museums.ualberta.ca/art/exhibitions.aspx#86, to be held in the Mactaggart Gallery (telus centre) starting January 20.

FolkwaysAlive! will provide a light lunch for this CCE meeting. Please let me, Justina, know by January 17 if you are planning to attending so that we can confirm numbers with the caterer.

Here’s a brief bio:

Mr. Kohei Nishikawa, Yokobue (that is the Japanese flute that Nishikawa Kohei plays)

Kohei NISHIKAWA, born in 1953, is an eminent Japanese flutist with a long and creative career -- the result of training in both classical and traditional fields, a rarity in Japan.

After graduating from the Toho Gakuen Conservatory, Kohei Nishikawa joined the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra as principal flutist, subsequently leaving to pursue an important career as a traditional flutist. Specializing in the bamboo transverse flutes, shinobue and nohkan, he accompanied the classical traditional dance Nihon-buyô and the Kabuki theater under his stage name Seisho TOSHA (disciple of Meisho TOSHA).

In 1980 Kohei Nishikawa became an active member of the modern group Pro Musica Nipponia, an orchestra of traditional Japanese instruments performing both traditional and contemporary repertoire. At the same time, he commissioned new pieces from Japanese and foreign composers in order to open the repertoire of those flutes which had been limited to their traditional role at the theater. These new pieces were recorded and released on the “Live Notes” label as Flutist from the East, Kohei Nishikawa.

Beginning in 2003, Mr. Nishikawa began promoting his instruments, and Japanese music, to a larger public through teaching at different universities in Tôkyô, publishing several books, and travelling to perform and deliver master classes abroad, including guest appearances in Canada and Europe. His work with Pro Musica Nipponia included performances with the New York Philharmonic, Gewandhaus, Helsinki, and a number of Japanese orchestras.

Kohei Nishikawa has released four CDs, Flutist from the East: Volumes 1 to 4, and published two books through Yamaha Music Media: An Invitation to the Music of Japan and A Backstage View of Kabuki. He currently teaches at the Toho Gakuen College of Music, Showa Conservatory, and Senzoku Gakuen University of Music.

Wednesday January 19th, 12 - 1pm
Arts 347

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