New music for shinobue, taiko, koto and electronics

2020 has been the best of years and the worst of years. The global pandemic, the loss of so many beloved cultural figures and close family and friends that all shape our worlds, the historic and systemic racism rampant in all levels of society, the senseless explosion in the Beirut, apocalyptic wildfires up and down the Pacific coast, the crumbling of ethics, morals and a sense of decency with roughly half the US population. Personally, my means of making a living has been decimated by the COVID epidemic, not to mention actually getting sick with COVID in early April.

However, all this has been met with what feels like an awakening – people young and old responding with passion and vigor to the overwhelming devastation created by both man and nature. Many have been agonizing about their purpose in life and their role in society in ways that perhaps they wouldn’t have in more “normal” times. For me, instead of constantly traveling, I’m spending time caring for and being cared for by loved ones. I have been maintaining my discipline as an artist, continuing to compose music, and develop my voice, greatly inspired by fellow artists and people who continue to fight against the oppression, racism, sexism and classism that pervades our society.

I would like to use this two-part concert series as an opportunity to connect to an audience, to mourn the loss of loved ones and to a way of life, and a way to celebrate the way forward as we pull together to face the new world we now inhabit. All the music that will be presented during this two-part concert series will be compositions created in 2020, most of it after the quarantine began. The title of the series, HARUKA TO AKIRA comes from the name of my father and uncle who were named by my grandfather, who happened to pass away in May 2020 at the age of 106, a product of a forgotten age. My father Haruka’s name (杳), which can be interpreted as “deep” or “distant hope” is a reflection of one of the darkest times of modern history, World War II, while his younger brother, whose name AKIRA (暁),  “the light of dawn”  or “enlightened”, was born after the end of the war.

- Kaoru Watanabe

For more information and to purchase tickets:
https://kadon.com/kadon-live-concert-series-haruka-akira-a-two-part-concert-with-kaoru-watanabe/