Virtuosos bring Japanese sounds
Rare concert takes place at annual Shakuhachi Camp of the Rockies in Loveland
Ashton Do, staff writer
June 30, 2007

Photo by Nguyen Bui From left, David Wheeler (Boulder), Yoshio Kurahashi (Japan), Yoko Hiraoka (Boulder), Kaoru Kakizakai (Japan), Christopher Yohmei Blasdel (Japan) and Riley Lee (Australia) performed traditional Japanese music June 23 in The Dome auditorium at Sunrise Ranch.

LOVELAND – Five of the world’s top shakuhachi players performed together in a rare concert setting June 23 in The Dome auditorium of Sunrise Ranch as part of the ninth Shakuhachi Camp of the Rockies.

This years’ international master lineup included Kaoru Kakizakai, Yoshio Kurahashi, Christopher Yohmei Blasdel, all from Japan; Riley Lee, from Australia; and Boulder native David Wheeler.

“I’ve just realized that I’m standing on the beach and getting my toes wet with the waves,” laughed Gary Dempsey, a shakuhachi student who came all the way from Camarillo, Calif. “And here they are these valiant gods of primeval oceans of shakuhachi.”

Virtuosos and students throughout the world gathered to celebrate the shakuhachi, a traditional Japanese bamboo flute, in a weekend-long summer camp. Some students hailed from as far as Hawaii to study directly under leading shakuhachi maestros.

“In America there’s developed a spiritual yearning that is associated with the instrument,” said David Sawyer, an organizer of the annual camp and Masters concert. “I think people find out about (shakuhachi) because they hear the instrument in a context that you might call ‘spiritually inclined,’ for instance in a zen monastary somewhere.”

Sawyer said that rival schools of shakuhachi rarely collaborate in mainland Japan.

“The (masters) who come from Japan to this camp tend to be the kind of teachers who are rather open and very happy to play with other teachers of the same ranking,” he said. “They don’t actually tend to get together at times other than camp – that’s part of the reason why they love to come.”

The shakuhachi maestros performed mostly classical Japanese numbers on Saturday, except for a newly commissioned piece called “Flame Fox.”

Photo by Nguyen Bui Kaoru Kakizakai performed "San-an" ("Pro-Creative Serenity") June 23 in The Dome auditorium at the Sunrise Ranch.

Concert patron Elaine Mitchell, from Boulder, particularly enjoyed a performance of
“Mama no Kawa” (“River of Being”) by shakuhachi master Wheeler and vocalist Yoko Hiraoka, who also played the shamisen (lute). Both artists are resident Boulderites.

“I was amazed at the versatility of the shakuhachi, the artistry,” Mitchell said. “Being a vocalist, I certainly liked the mixture of the song with the voice and the shamisen.”

There were around 31 participants in the camp this year, Sawyer said. Students filled seats closest to the concert stage before other aficionados arrived and scattered throughout the small auditorium. Many closed their eyes during the show in homage to the shakuhachi’s meditative roots in Japanese zen monasteries.

The shakuhachi produces a deep, gusty howl with rich variations in tone. Players literaly drive a song along by the inteisity of their breathing and body motions. Shakuhachi master Kakizakai's face tensed up as he blew puffy, heaving notes through his flute in a performance of "San-an" ("Pro-Creative Serenity"), a prayer song for safe childbirth.

“It just surprised me how much movement, how much body movement, the performance had. It showed a lot of intensity, a lot of activity that you don't necessarily expect to hear disconnected from visualizing the performance.” said John Newton, a Northglenn resident who came exclusively for the masters concert with his friends. “All I’ve ever heard of shakuhachi was from recordings.”

For more information about shakuhachi, the masters or the “Shakuhachi Camp of the Rockies,” visit http://www.shakucamp.com.

Ashton Do is a staff writer for AsiaXpress.com. Ashton can be contacted via e-mail at Ashton.Do@asiaxpress.com.