Event

Shakuhachi Nature & Spirit

Begin the lunar year with an experience of Zen-like tranquility in a performance on shakuhachi by the president of the International Shakuhachi Society. Kanshin, (aka Elliot Kallen), trained for many years, including with Junsuke Kawase III, the third-generation head of Chikuyusha, the largest shakuhachi teaching organization of its kind in Japan. He plays shakuhachi in a wide variety of contexts, from traditional Japanese music with koto and shamisen, to the exploratory sounds of the avant guard. He is also a founding member of TenTen Taiko, performing throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.

Works in this performance include origins of shakuhachi, and some of the music used as meditation by the Komuso monks during the 18th century, then move into the ensemble music of the late Edo and early Meiji Periods featuring koto and shamisen. Kanshin will be accompanied for some pieces on koto and shamisen by Naoko .

The candle-lit venue is the small, rustic Swedenborgian Church, a National Historic Monument, with bark-covered timbers and a roaring fireplace. 2020 is the 125th anniversary of the opening of this ground-breaking gem of Arts&Crafts architecture, so events throughout the year will carry the theme of our deeper relation to the natural world and the importance of our responsibility in it.

All proceeds will support these events and the preservation of this historic site.