Photo by An Xiao
The
Timeless Sound of an Ancient Instrument The Japanese bamboo flute known as the shakuhachi has captivated the minds and hearts of listeners for centuries. Remarkably simple in design, it takes years to master. The sound is at once sensual and spiritual, capable of great emotional depth. The traditional music for shakuhachi, known as honkyoku, has been the music of Zen meditation for over 1,000 years.
Shakuhachi instruction Original Compositions Concert and Lecture Programs
Recordings
Concert Calendar Japanese
Bio Photo Gallery
Performance History
Press Room Lecture
Demonstration Read
an Interview
Called
"A Master of the Shakuhachi" by The New York Times, James Nyoraku
Schlefer is a leading performer and teacher of shakuhachi in New York
City . He received the Dai-Shi-Han or Grand Master's Certificate in
2001, one of only a handful of non-Japanese to receive this high level award.
In Japan he has worked with Aoki Reibo, Yokoyama Katsuya, Yoshio Kurahashi,
Yoshinobu Taniguchi, and Mitsuhashi Kifu and his primary teacher in New York
was Ronnie Nyogetsu Seldin. He holds a Master's degree in Western flute &
musicology from Queens College and currently teaches music history courses at
the City University of New York. He has performed at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy
Center, Tanglewood’s Ozawa Hall, BAM, the World Financial Center, and the Metropolitan,
Brooklyn and Philadelphia Museums. Schlefer has three solo recordings, Wind
Heart (which travelled 120,000,000 miles aboard the Space Station MIR)
Solstice Spirit (1998,) and Flare Up (2002.) His music has
been featured on NPR's All Things Considered.
Nyoraku is a member of the Japanese music group Ensemble East, which performs traditional and modern music for Japanese instruments, including the shamisen and the koto . He has performed and lectured at the Juilliard School, Manhattan and Eastman Schools of Music, Vassar, Haverford, Brown, Union, Moravian, Colby, Colby-Sawyer and Hunter Colleges, SUNY New Paltz, and at music festivals in the US, Asia and Europe. His performances include lectures about the origin, history, and development of this very special music.
Schlefer began his musical career as a Western flutist and continues to perform on this instrument. He has composed works for solo shakuhachi, shakuhachi ensemble, and for koto and taiko ensemble. In 1999 he received a grant from the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust for a new work to accompany dance. A dedicated and respected teacher, Nyoraku Sensei is head of the Kyo-Shin-An teaching studio in New York City. He has edited books of traditional notation and written an etude book for shakuhachi technical development.
Phone #: (718) 499-7793 email: james@nyoraku.com