The Oyama and Nitta duo, known for their exquisite and powerful music performance with Tsugaru Shamisen (a banjo-like Japanese instrument), will come to the University of Kentucky’s Memorial Hall from Japan to hold a concert at 3 pm on Sunday, April 1. This is a kick-off event to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the gift of cherry blossom trees from Japan to the US. Tickets for this concert are now available at the Student Center ticket office: http://getinvolved.uky.edu/TicketOffice/ticketInfo.html Tickets are $10 for the general audience and $5 for students. You can buy them by phone or in person at the student center.
You can watch their sample performance here. Download the flyer.
About the Artists
The Oyama x Nitta Duo is comprised of two of Japan’s foremost shamisen performers, Yutaka Oyama and Masahiro Nitta. Using a creative and innovative approach to the traditional sounds of the shamisen, the duo performs classic and original scores with virtuosic improvisations that display the versatility of the instrument. With roots in Aomori and Hokkaido respectively, Oyama and Nitta both began studying the shamisen at an early age and have won numerous tsugaru shamisen contests in Japan. Oyama x Nitta Duo performs regularly in Japan and abroad, delivering its unique sound to audiences throughout the world.
Yutaka Oyama, a third generation Tsugaru shamisen player of the Oyama school, hails from Aomori—the epicenter of rich folkloric music. Oyama is a two-time winner (2001, 2002) of the National Folkloric Music Association’s Tsugaru Shamisen Contest in Japan, and has visited many countries in Africa, Europe, and Asia as part of cultural exchange programs of the Japan Foundation which contribute to the popularization of Japanese culture. In addition to live performances, he has recorded albums, commercials, and video game software. In 2003, he formed the group Soothe for Tsugaru shamisen, Japanese taiko, guitar, bass, and drum. The ensemble has released three albums: Soothing (2004), Habitual (2006), and Bolinho De Arroz (2009).
Masahiro Nitta is a second-generation Tsugaru shamisen player of the Nitta school who began his studies at the age of 14 with the encouragement of his father Hiroshi Nitta. Nitta won the Tokyo National Tsugaru Shamisen Championship, Junior and Senior High School Division, and went on to win the Kanagi National Tsugaru Shamisen Championship twice (2000, 2001), as well as the National Tsugaru Shamisen Contest (2002). He has recorded several albums, including Shamisen Kid, which he released in 2000 while still in high school. Nitta has performed with a number of celebrated musicians including his father, Minneapolis-based guitarist Dean Magraw, the Monsters of Shamisen with Californian shamisen players Kevin Kmetz and Mike Penny, and the Esoragoto Band, which includes Japanese taiko, bass and saxophone. Nitta has toured extensively throughout Asia, Europe, and the US.
My Spring Break came a week after the University of Kentucky's. On Saturday I returned from a 6 day trip to the island of Okinawa. For the first 3 days we stayed in a beach front resort and finished the trip staying in a hostel near the main city of Naha. Unfortunately the trip to the resort took us a total of 10 hour travel time. We flew out of the Kobe airport into Naha and then were forced to take two buses and a taxi from the south of the island up to the north. Needless to say it was quite an uncomfortable journey trying to keep track of all 15 people and their luggage, while navigating an unknown place. When we finally made it to the resort we were greeted by lovely ocean views and warm weather. Since it is still technically off season for the beach we shared the resort with very few other guests. During the days at the resort I mainly found myself relaxing and trying to recover from the past two months of school work. The resort was quite far from any sort of large civilization but it was nice to be removed from city life. Okinawa is home to the second largest aquarium in the world, and several members of our group decided to visit. I however opted to stay behind and relax.