Events 2010

 

Saturday, January 16th, 6-9pm,  42nd Anniversary Ikenobo,
 Fairmont Hotel, Venetian Room, San Francisco, CA
 For info, phone is 415/567-1011 Ikenobo office.

Saturday, January 30th,3pm,  New Year's Party
Presented by Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto and Brian Mitsuhiro Wong koto studios
Park Blvd. Presbyterian Church

,
4101 Park Boulevard, Oakland, CA

Open to the public.
Program will feature koto students of Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto and Brian Mitsuhiro Wong, performing a variety of koto numbers. Koto students include: Felicia Kazuou Bock, Sydney Paderna, Perry Cheng, Miles Cheng, Kiyomi Nomura, Mika Mar, Yasmin Peled, Kathryn Hobart, Isabella lew, Brenden Landis.

Thursday, February 4th,6pm-9pm,  Murasaki Ensemble
Performing at Arts of Pacific Asia
Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason
San Francisco, CA
 
http://www.asianart.org/apa.htm


Sunday, February 7, 2010 Concert with koto and shakuhachi,
Performed by Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto, Brian Mitsuhiro Wong and Elliot Kallen
Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture
15770 Tenth Avenue
Hanford, CA 93230
Tel: (559) 582-4915
Fax: (559) 582-9546
http://www.shermanleeinstitute.org/


 

Thursday, September 16,2010 5:30p-7p
UC Botanical Gardens Amphitheater
 http://events.berkeley.edu/index.php/calendar/sn/bot.html?event_ID=32804&date=2010-09-16&filter=Event%20Type&filtersel=

 

Wednesday, July 28, 2010, 7pm-8pm
Summer Music Series
 Orinda Library
 Fireside, 26 Orinda Way, 925/254-2184,
website: http://ccclib.org/locations/orinda.html
free admission; koto performance
with Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto and Brian Mitsuhiro Wong

Saturday, July 31, 2010, 4:45pm-5:45pm
Oakland Obon Festival,
 Oakland Buddhist Church,
 825 Jackson Street,
Oakland, CA
 website: http://www.buddhistchurchofoakland.org/

free admission; koto performance with koto studios of
 Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto and Brian Mitsuhiro Wong

Monday, August 9, 2010, 4pm-6:30pm
 Peace Day, Berkeley Public Library,
 2090 Kittredge Street (at Shattuck),
 Berkeley, CA,
 website: http://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/index.php

free admission; koto performance with koto studios of
 Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto and Brian Mitsuhiro Wong;
reading of "Sadako and the Thousand Cranes", and origami crane folding

 

Saturday, August 15, 2010 3 PM
Sacramento Buddhist Church Annual Bazaar,
 2401 Riverside Blvd., Sacramento, CA 916/446-0121,
 website: http://www.buddhistchurch.com/contact_us/contact_us.htm
free admission: koto performance with Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto and Brian Mitsuhiro Wong

 

Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 7pm
2010 US-Japan Cultural Exchange through Piano Ensemble Concert

with Shigeo Tachibana/shakuhachi, Masayuki Toyo-oka/piano,
 Brian Mitsuhiro Wong/shamisen, Takae Hirano/soprano

tickets: Adusts $20, Youth (~18) $10,
Phone order: 1-800-595-4849,
 website: http://kpmff.org

April 17, Saturday 12:00pm-1:00pm - 43rd Annual San Francisco Cherry Blossom Festival, Hotel Kabuki, 1625 Post Street

featuring Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto's koto studio, and introduction of new Shihan teacher, Felicia Kazuou Bock

3:00pm-4:00pm - Brian Mitsuhiro Wong koto studio, SF Cherry Blossom Festival, Hotel Kabuki

April 24, Saturday, 3:00pm-5:00pm -

 Hidden Legacy: A tribute to teachers of Japanese traditonal arts in the wartime WRA camps

Koyasan Buddhist Temple in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles

July 28, Wednesday, 7:00pm-8:00pm - Orinda Library, 26 Orinda Way

 Koto program, with Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto and Brian Mitsuhiro Wong

Hl 3flyer

 



Saturday, April 24, 2010 "Hidden Legacy: Los Angeles, CA

- A tribute to teachers of Japanese traditional arts in the WRA (War Relocation Authority) Camps, at Koyasan Buddhist Temple, 342 East First Street, Los Angeles

Sixty-four years have passed since the end of World War II and the incarceration of approximately 110,000 Japanese nationals and Japanese Americans in "relocation camps." Though much has been researched and written about what happened in these camps, the story of the brave artists who practiced and taught Japanese traditional arts remains a "hidden legacy."

For one performance only, an historic event featuring actual artists who taught and learned Japanese traditional arts in these camps during this period will be presented in performance and discussion. The arts of odori (Japanese classical dance), Japanese music of nagauta shamisen (vocal with the shamisen instrument), biwa (5-stringed lute), koto (13-stringed zither) and Obon odori will be represented.

Throughout the program, which will also feature historical photographs, information about the artists who taught in camps and how they were able to sustain their arts in such depressed circumstances will be highlighted, as well as the impact these teachers have had on present day artists and future students.

"The reason for organizing this concert," stated Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto, granddaughter of internees who encouraged the study of the koto at the Topaz and Tule Lake internment camps, "is that the subject of Japanese traditional music and dance in the camps has been largely overlooked. There appears to be a lingering stigma about this chapter of camp life, possibly due to the fact that practicing Japanese traditional arts in the camps was considered 'un-American' or disloyal, so many former internees continue their silence on the subject."

This program is a joint endeavor of Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto, the Japanese Cultural Community Center [JACCC], Koyasan Buddhist Temple, and the "George & Sakaye Aratani Endowed Chair," Asian American Studies Center, UCLA.


For reservations, call Gavin Kelley (213) 628-2725 ext.133

Suggested donation:

$20 General
$15 Seniors and Students w/ ID

Location: Koyasan Buddhist Temple
342 East First Street
Los Angeles, CA

 

Koto Class for elementary school children at Glenview Elementary School in Oakland, CA

Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto and Brian Mitsuhiro Wong will be teaching a koto class at Glenview Elementary School in Oakland, Spring semester 2010. It is an after school class open to students from Kindergarten thru 5th grade. There might be a few openings. If you are interested, please call at 510/482-1640 by the first class, which starts Monday, January 25th.