Event Details

(Texas A&M University, College Station, TX) - Multi-dimensional musician/scholar
Christopher Yohmei Blasdel will be giving a recital and presenting a public lecture
on the Texas A&M Campus on Tuesday, April 29, 2008.

Christopher Yohmei Blasdel is one of the very few non-Japanese to master the complicated and difficult traditions of the shakuhachi, Japan’s representative end-blown bamboo flute. Convinced from an early age that in order to master this repertoire he must research and experience all aspects of Japan’s rich culture — high and low, traditional and contemporary — he has spent over thirty-five years in Japan studying the traditional shakuhachi repertoire and other closely related musical traditions from various masters.

Blasdel’s book, Shakuhachi Odyssey, is an autobiographical account of his experience of shakuhachi music and the culture of Japan, providing thoughtful insight into cross-cultural communication and interaction. It was originally written in Japanese, published by Kawade Shobo Shinsha, and was awarded the prestigious Rennyo Award for non-fiction. This award-winning publication is now available in English under the title The Single Tone—A Personal Journey into Shakuhachi Music.

His recital will feature classical shakuhachi works as well as a new composition by Texas A&M Department of Performance Studies faculty Dr. Martin P. Regan. The recital will begin at 12:30p.m. in the J. Wayne Stark University Center Galleries.

His lecture is entitled "Seeking Spirituality in the Performing Arts of Japan,” and will begin at 3:00p.m. in Rm. 311 of the Melbern G. Glasscock History Building.

Admission to the events are FREE. For more information contact Dr. Martin P. Regan at (979) 458-0939.

Christopher Yohmei Blasdel’s visit to Texas A&M is made possible by the generous support of the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research, Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts, Asian Studies Program, Department of Performance Studies, and Institute for Pacific-Asia.

Contact:           Dr. Martin P. Regan
Title:                 Assistant Professor
Organization: Department of Performance Studies
Email:               reganm@tamu.edu
Phone:              (979) 458-0939
Fax:                  (979) 862-2666