Two-part series concert announcement: October 10th and 17th
杳と暁 or HARUKA AND AKIRA
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.
For more information and to purchase tickets:
https://kadon.com/kadon-live-concert-series-haruka-akira-a-two-part-concert-with-kaoru-watanabe/