Tags
007 Spectre, Art Curator Japan, David Newman, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Indonesia, John Harris, Kyoto, Maki Takafuji, Nagoya Marimbas, Naoko Minami, New Music Gathering Asia, Onjuku, Sam Mendes, Sanzen-in Temple, Shogun-zuka, Shomyo Chanting, Steve Reich, Tambuco Percussion Ensemble, Toru Takemitsu

With Maki Takafuji at Sanzen-in Temple in Ohara.
”Jeff, it’s interesting, after all our projects together, that we are now talking here about music and culture in Onjuku, Japan,” said my friend Ricardo Gallardo of the Tambuco Percussion Ensemble during an early morning coffee looking out on the Pacific Ocean.
“You and Jan must meet my friend Maki Takafuji when you go to Kyoto. She lives there, teaches in Nagoya and is a great advocate for new music, and she commissioned Steve Reich for the famous Nagoya Marimbas.”
But before we get to Kyoto, I should to tell you about why Ricardo and I were talking on the Pacific coast of Japan in Onjuku.