Category: Summer School

NowHere2020 – The 1st ESS Online Festival
August 1/2 + August 8/9, 2020

In keeping with the tradition of the ESS Summer Schools, but bearing in mind the current pandemic situation, this will be an online event of 12 sessions over 4 days, each session 45 minutes in length, with a robuki and Tricks and Tips session each morning prior to the first teaching session.

Dates: August 1-2, August 8-9, 2020

Special guest teacher from Japan: Kurahashi Yodo II

Non-European guest teachers: Riley Lee, Alcvin Ramos

European teachers: Véronique Piron, Gunnar Linder, Kiku Day, Jean-François Lagrost,
Fiore De Mattia, Thorsten Knaub, Marek Matvija, Jose Vargas.
(Some of these teachers may also have assistants in their sessions.)

Fee: €60 for non-ESS members, €50 for ESS members.

More info & registration at:
http://nowhere2020.shakuhachisociety.eu/registration

Technology: Zoom. Before the event, you will receive an e-mail with the links/Zoom invitations to the sessions.

Following on from the very succESSful online event in August, the ESS is pleased to announce that it will holding a 2-day online Winter NowHere II Festival in February 2021 showcasing some of the finest players and teachers from Japan and Europe. On offer is a real potpourri :

• John Kaizan Neptune who has written more pieces for shakuhachi that anyone else ever and in a wide variety of genres will share with us his approach to the art of composition and show us how we can do it ourselves.
• Three leading performers will teach us how the same piece, the iconic ‘Tsuru no Sugomori’ (The Nesting of Cranes), is approached and played by three different schools of shakuhachi. This is a unique opportunity made possible by ESS’s remit to disseminate the rich diversity of shakuhachi styles which will be insightful for players of all levels.
• A chance to learn two honkyoku at Elementary–Intermediate level: ‘Shingetsu’ from the KSK and ‘Higo-Sashi’ from the Hijiri-kai
• Tips and Techniques: Two sESSions on how to approach and improve your daily practice.

Teaching materials are now available on the website for registered participants.

Dates: 6–7 February 2021

Special guest teachers from Japan: John Kaizan Neptune, Mizuno Kohmei

European teachers: Helene Seiyu Codjo, Christophe Kazan Gaston, Antonio Enzan Olías, Emmanuelle Rouaud

Fee: €30 for non-ESS members, €25 for ESS members.

More info & registration at:
http://nowhere2021.shakuhachisociety.eu/registration

Technology: Zoom. Before the event, you will receive an e-mail with the links/Zoom invitations to the sESSions.

Registration for the ESS Online Shakuhachi Summer School 2021 is now open. You can register at: http://summerschool2021.shakuhachisociety.eu/registration.

Registrations are (1) for the whole event over two weekends, (2) for only one full weekend or (3) just the content which does not include learning pieces if you are not a player or do not wish to learn new pieces.

Because we will have to meet again online, we have decided on exploring some new avenues to try to make the event unique. We have added some new forms of content, which participants of previous online events exprESSed an interest in. Besides the tips and techniques and the usual teaching of pieces with three renowned teachers from Japan – Fujiwara Dozan, Nagasu Tomoka and Kakizakai Kaoru – and others based in Europe, there will be opportunities to listen to people sharing their knowledge on research, on personal experiences, on shakuhachi repair/making and on composition. There will also be presentations of audio–visual materials and films including talks with their creators, and there will be four online concerts. You will also have a chance to contribute content yourself and socialise with fellow shakuhachi enthusiasts.

Information on the event can be found here: http://summerschool2021.shakuhachisociety.eu

We invite all ESS members and other participants of the event to share their knowledge and experiences with our fellow shakuhachi players.

Please find the details here.

As a pre-event to this year’s ESS Online Summer School 2021 the ESS will be showing the documentary by David Neptune about his father, the shakuhachi player and maker John Kaizan Neptune.

The screening will be at 3.00pm CEST on 18 July followed by Q & A at 4.30pm CEST with David and John Kaizan Neptune.

Synopsis: John Kaizan Neptune was a young California surfer when he discovered the shakuhachi, a traditional Japanese bamboo flute, which changed his life forever. As an outsider in 1970s Japan, he dived into tradition headfirst and blew open the potential of this ancient instrument in a way only he could have. Directed by his son, this inside story delves deep into the life of an artist and what it cost him to cross cultural borders and become a pivotal figure in the evolution of this rare art form.