High resolution photos, Bios, Press Clippings and Stage Plot.
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300 DPI jpg photos available for download.
James Nyoraku Schlefer (Photo by An Xiao)
James Nyoraku Schlefer Ensemble East (Masayo Ishigure, Mutsumi Takamizu,
(Photo Juliana Thomas) James Nyoraku Schlefer) with Supertitle translations.
Ensemble East Duo James Nyoraku Schlefer (Photo Tom Callan)
Ensemble East James Nyoraku Schlefer (Photo Juliana Thomas)
Taiko Masala (Photos Copyright © Jane Hoffer)
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 Phil adelphia Museums . Schlefer has three solo recordings, Wind Heart (which travelles 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, Moravian, 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 several works for solo shakuhachi and shakuhachi ensemble, including a grant from the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust for a new work to accompany dance, and a commission for an orchestral work with shakuhachi and koto to be premiered in 2005. 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.
The Timeless Sound of an Ancient Instrument
The Shakuhachi is an end-blown bamboo flute that has been played in Japan for over 1200 years. It is the only instrument associated with the practice of Zen Buddhism, and was performed during religious rituals by priests of the Fuke sect. During the Edo Period (1600-1868), Shakuhachi-playing monks known as Komusô ("Priest of Nothingness") wandered throughout Japan playing the shak uhachi in exchange for food or alms. They would pass from temple to temple learning pieces that were played at the various temples, as each had developed its own music. Thus was the repertoire expanded and shared as they sought to strike a perfect sound that would enlighten the world.
Traditional shak uhachi music, or honkyoku , are performed solo and are considered to express the original voice of the bamboo. The music is reflective and contemplative, and the instrument’s penetrating sound often produces an effect similar to sitting in meditation. As the music, playing technique, and instruments themselves developed over the centuries, concert performances of honkyoku became more frequent and many of the pieces became stylized, emphasizing the musical as well as the spiritual elements. Today there are several different and distinct styles of shak uhachi honkyoku which represent different schools of playing.
Shakuhachi music is at once spiritual and sensual. It combines breathing and silence with rhythm, melody, and the other elements of music to create a captivating and entirely unique art form of great depth and beauty. This extends to the secular, chamber music pieces, called sankyoku . Played together with shamisen (3-stringed lute) and koto (13-stringed harp/zither), this music has been performed for over three hundred years. The lyrics for the vocal pieces tell of the difficult life of the Geisha - the joys and sorrows of a life not your own - as well as poetry about the beauty of nature.
Since the turn of the century, the unique sound of the shak uhachi has caught the imagination of composers throughout the world. Both solo and ensemble pieces have been written in many different styles reflecting the nationality and personality of the composers. Some modern works extend the limits of sound possibilities, whereas others offer a simpler yearning for simpler times.
“The music of the shakuhachi could convey the most haunting evocations of misted mountains, battles lost, villagers returning at dusk, warriors locked in combat, and mothers singing babes to sleep. From birth to death, people n all walks of life could hear their joys, their sorrows, their anticipations, and their outcomes all conveyed in the deep, resonant tones of the shak uhachi – tones that could be as urgent or languorous, as harsh or mellow, as pellucid or murky as the musician wished.” - Conrad Totman
Ensemble East is a traditional Japanese chamber music ensemble of Koto, Shamisen, Shakuhachi and Voice. From tales of the Geisha, to the poetry of nature, the stories of old Japan unfold in this rich musical tradition. Modern solo and ensemble music brings contemporary relevance to their programs. Concerts are enlivened with commentary and discussion of the text and historical background. A unique innovation by Ensemble East is the option of supertitles, English translations of the Japanese poetry, that are projected during the performance.
Ensemble East performs full-length concert programs, educational and family programs, and workshops. Recent performances have included The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center , BAM, New York University , Vassar, Moravian, Bergen Community, Colby-Sawyer, and Wellesley Colleges , The Juilliard School, and the Metropolitan, Phil adelphia , and Brooklyn Art Museums .
Ensemble East offers innovative and engaging ways to understand and appreciate the traditional music of Japan . “The classical chamber music of Japan is a highly cultivated and refined tradition, whose complexity and subtlety parallels that of Western music,” says founding member James Nyoraku Schlefer. “Through our performances we introduce audiences to the melodies, rhythms, textures and context of this marvelous music in a welcoming context.”
Meet the artists of Ensemble East
Masayo Ishigure is a virtuoso performer of the koto , the 13-string zither. The delicate harp-like sounds of the koto are complimented with modern and improvisational styles. Masayo Ishigure, a native of Gifu, Japan began learning the koto at a very young age and later apprenticed under the modern school of Koto music of masters Tadao and Kazue Sawai, studying directly with them for two years. Since her arrival in New York, Ms.Ishigure has appeared in concert at the Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall) Merkin Hall, Lincoln Center, The Japan Society, several area museums and Universities, including Harvard, Yale, and many other venues. In March, 1999, Ms. Ishigure gave a recital of new and traditional koto and shamisen music at the Greenwich House School of Music. Ms. Ishigure has also performed in France, Hawaii, Alaska, Florida, and several other east coast locations. In January, 2001 she was invited to play with the San Diego Orchestra. She has recorded music for the 1998 Nagano Olympics, American TV commercials, and a local NY city TV station. She has appeared on several CDs. Ms. Ishigure has taught at Wesleyan University in Connecticut since 1992, and is the leader of the NY branch of the Sawai Koto school. She performs several concerts yearly with her students.
Mutsumi Takamizu is a Master of the 3-string lute known as the shamisen . The traditional music of Japan ’s Tokugawa era was created by singer-songwriters whose songs and music tell of love, beauty and heartache. The shamisen became the music of the Geisha and is the lead instrument of the sankyoku ensemble. Mutsumi Takamizu is a master in both the Koto and the Sangen (Shamisen) in the Miyagi Branch of the Ikuta School . She began her musical career at the age of 19 in Japan under the tutelage of Grand Master Yoshie Shino. She then continued her musical studies in New York with Grand Master Reiko Gasen Kamata. Mutsumi has performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Carnegie Recital Hall, the Nippon Club, St. Peter’s Church and the New York ’s Japan Society among others. She has also given lectures/demonstrations on the history of the Koto at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Morikami Museum in Florida . Currently, she is performing and teaching in New York .
James Nyoraku Schlefer is a licensed Grand Master of the shakuhachi bamboo flute. The hauntingly beautiful sound of the shakuhachi plays the music of Zen Buddhism and the contemporary sounds of today. A virtuoso performer, Schlefer carries forth the integrity of a 1,000 year old tradition with wit, charm, and a passionate knowledge of history. He is also a leading teacher of the shakuhachi and has written and edited books of shakuhachi music. (Full bio above)
Shakuhachi instruction Original Compositions Concert and Lecture Programs
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