East Current, a Japanese Koto & Shakuhachi Duo, Performs at the Chicago Cultural Center, Monday, March 15

East Current, a duo featuring koto player Mieko Miyazaki and shakuhachi player Dozan Fujiwara, performs in the Claudia Cassidy Theater of the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St., on Monday, March 15 at 6pm. East Current brings traditional Asian music into the twenty-first century by fusing classical Japanese instruments with modern and Western musical styles. Together, Miyazaki and Fujiwara create a new interpretation of classical, traditional, folk, and even tango music.

(PRWEB) February 28, 2004 --East Current, a duo featuring koto player Mieko Miyazaki and shakuhachi player Dozan Fujiwara, performs in the Claudia Cassidy Theater of the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St., on Monday, March 15 at 6pm. East Current brings traditional Asian music into the twenty-first century by fusing classical Japanese instruments with modern and Western musical styles. Together, Miyazaki and Fujiwara create a new interpretation of classical, traditional, folk, and even tango music.

Mieko Miyazaki graduated from Tokyo University of Fine Arts in 1992. She composes pieces for popular TV programs and commercials in Japan and is also an "imaging" artist for various anime productions. Miyazaki tours extensively throughout the world, playing with a variety of diverse musicians. She continues to create new music and is now considered to be one of Japanese musics most innovative performers.

Dozan Fujiwara studied shakuhachi under Yamamoto Hozan. A graduate of Tokyo University of Fine Arts in 1995, Fujiwara participated in the International Shakuhachi Festival held in Boulder, CO in 1998, and regularly collaborates with Western musicians to record modern pieces.

The koto is a form of Japanese zither. It is six-feet long with thirteen strings stretched along a single piece of semi-cylindrical paulownia wood. The movable string bridges allow a wide array of tuning arrangements. The shakuhachi is a vertical flute cut from a length of bamboo. The root end forms the bell, while the mouthpiece is fitted with a piece of steer or ox horn.

East Current is hosted by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Consulate General of Japan at Chicago and the Japan Foundation. The concerts are sponsored by the Mid-America Japanese Club and the Japan America Society of Chicago.

For more information about this program please call the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs at 312-744-6630 or visit www.chicagoculturalcenter.org.

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Public programs at the Chicago Cultural Center are presented by the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and are partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. The Days Inn Lincoln Park-North is the official hotel sponsor of the Chicago Cultural Center.

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