Many people have been and are involved in the formation and growth of the European Shakuhachi Society, least of all the increasing number of its members.
The ESS Committee, advisors to the committee, and members all contribute to the growth of the ESS and the Shakuhachi.
A selection of teachers from various styles of playing and from all over Europe are available for advice and lessons. Some teachers may also be able to provide education and practical experience in the making of Shakuhachi.
The ESS Committee and Advisors
The committee are elected annually. The committee co-ordinate the ESS strategy, direction and events.
Michael Soumei Coxall, ESS Treasurer (Chikumeisha, Ensemble)
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Michael Soumei Coxall studied Shakuhachi in Japan for many years under the legendary Kinko-ryû master and Living Cultural Treasure, the late Yamaguchi Goro and still continues his studies with Mizuno Kohmei and Sugawara Kuniyoshi in Japan. Michael was awarded his Shakuhachi Shihan (Master’s Licence) in 2007 and the professional name of Soumei. Michael taught full time at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, from 1986 to 2009 and is interested in both traditional and contemporary Japanese music. As well as teaching, he has performed widely in the UK and Japan and is the founder member of the London Hogaku Ensemble, has featured in numerous solo and ensemble performances with the Anglo-Japanese Collective and as an accompanist in recitals with visiting traditional Japanese performers in the UK including Kikuchi Teiko, Matsumura Kohmei and Nagai Seiho. He is currently also a member of the Sankyoku ensemble in London, “Hibiki”, and was the resident Shakuhachi teacher in the SOAS Japanese Music Society. Michael was the co-organiser of the First Pan-European Shakuhachi Summer School with Koto and Shamisen held in London in 2006. He is also a member of the Chikumeishakai. Michael now divides his time between the UK and Japan. |
Kiku Day, ESS Chair (Zensabō)
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Kiku Day is a Shakuhachi player from Denmark with American, Russian, Japanese and Irish roots. She gave up her studies in classical Western music on flute to study the traditional repertoire of the mendicant Zen Buddhist monks, honkyoku with Okuda Atusya in Japan for 11 years. Since her return to Europe. Day has dedicated her life to the potential use of jinashi Shakuhachi. Several composers from different parts of the world have written for her, among others: Takahashi Yūji, Roxanna Panufnik, Vytautas Germanavicius, Gabriel Erkoreka, and Yumi Hara Cawkwell. She has performed with performers such as Fred Frith and Joëlle Léandre, and as a soloist with Odense Symphony Orchestra and with the Nonsuch Choirs at such venues as Purcell Room, Southbank Centre and St John’s, Smith Square. Day has PhD in ethnomusicology from SOAS, University of London where she teaches Japanese music and continues to research into the development of the jinashi Shakuhachi in the 20th century and contemporary performance possibilities of this wonderful instrument. |
Véronique Piron, ESS Membership Secretary (KSK, Ensemble)
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Véronique Piron, flautist, discovered the sound of the Shakuhachi in 1992, first in the context of improvisation. She started in France with Yoshikazu Iwamoto and, awarded a research grant Lavoisier from the French government, she worked in Japan with Teruo Furuya and Katsuya Yokoyama, who gave her her Shakuhachi Shihan (Master's Licence) in 2002. In Japan she also worked on Shinobue and nohkan with the eminent flautist Kohei Nishikawa who participated in her CD recording "Nipponflutes". Together they are working on a project of collaboration in Europe since 2008. Véronique Piron performed widely including at the International Shakuhachi Festivals in Tôkyô and Sydney. She regularly plays with the local Koto and Shamisen players in France and Belgium, and is working at present on new projects: a program of creation with the pianist Lydia Domancich in Brittany where she lives, and a meeting with the music of the Middle East. She has been teaching Shakuhachi and Japanese Music since 1996 in France (Paris, Rennes) and in Brussels for diverse public, both as a Conservatorium teacher and as an independent, and has recently achieved a Professor's Licence (Conservatorium) for Traditional Music. |
Jim Franklin, ESS Committee Advisor
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Jim Franklin details to follow. |
Gunnar Linder, ESS Committee Advisor (KSK)
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Gunnar Linder details to follow. |
Horacio Curti, ESS Committee Advisor (KSK)
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Horacio Curti encountered the Shakuhachi for the first time on the Indian Himalayas. Fascinated by its sound, he decided to go to Japan where he started his studies under Kakizakai Kaoru focusing on the koten honkyoku repertoire. Horacio received his Shakuhachi “shihan” (Master’s license) from Yokoyama Katsuya in 2004. Besides his work with koten honkyoku, he started researching contemporary forms such as "free improvised music" collaborating both with musicians and dancers, with poetry and theatre, and especially with "western classical contemporary music" both as a solo performer and as part of the ‘Mei Trio’, premiering several compositions. Horacio has performed and taught in Argentina, Belgium, Holland, Japan, Spain and the USA. He completed his studies in Ethnomusicology in 2005, specialising in Japanese music practice and at present he is a professor at the "Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya" and at the "Institut del teatre de Barcelona". After several free improvised music recordings, his first solo album, `ichi`, was released in 2009 by the Spanish label Agharta Music. More information at www.Shakuhachi.es. |
Jean-François Lagrost, ESS Committee Advisor (Shin-Tozan Ryū)
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Jean-François Lagrost, who was born in Alsace (France), studied concert flute in Mulhouse and Paris. Armed with many prizes from French and international flute competitions, he is now teaching in Asnières and Le Kremlin-Bicêtre conservatoires near Paris. He also studied musicology and ethnomusicology in Paris-Sorbonne University, where he achieved a Masters in 20th century music. He began to play the shakuhachi in 2000 with Grand Master Sōzan Kariya. Jean-François received his Tozan-ryū Master certificate (shihan) in December 2007. He regularly performs in Japan and France with both Japanese and Western instrumentalists (Mieko Miyazaki, Ensemble de flûtes de Paris, Orchestre symphonique des Alpes…) He recently contributed to Dr François Picard's Lexique des musiques d'Asie orientale (East Asian Music Glossary), published by You Feng. Website : http://www.flute-shakuhachi.com |
Philip Horan, ESS Publishing Officer
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Philip Horan lived in Japan from 1999-2001 where he studied Tozan-ryû Shakuhachi. He completed a Masters in Ethnomusicology at the Irish World Music Centre in Limerick in 2002. He also makes and performs on his own Shakuhachi. He regularly performs Irish and Japanese music with Junshi Murakami (Irish harp). Recent performances include the World Shakuhachi Festival in Sydney in 2008, the National Theatre in London and the Irish “Festival of World Cultures”. Website: www.Shakuhachizen.com. |
José Vargas, ESS Committee Advisor
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José Vargas has been a professional guitarist and musician since 1982 and was introduced to the Shakuhachi in 2004 through Antonio Olías and Kodama Chikuza. He also studies with the Chikumeisha teacher, Tanaka Komei and with Okuda Atsuya on frequent visits to Japan. José also became interested in jinashi Shakuhachi (hotchiku) making and took lessons in Japan from John Kaizan Neptune and Kodama Chikuza. He acted as an Assistant to Kodama Chikuza in the 2010 Madrid Jinashi Shakuhachi Making Workshop and will be assisting again on the ESS Summer School at SOAS this year. |
Adrian Bain, ESS Media Officer
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Adrian Bain enjoys playing the Shakuhachi and maintains the ESS websites. |
Members
Without its members, the ESS would not exist.
Membership of the ESS is open both to players of the shakuhachi and to non-players who are interested in the music of the shakuhachi in all its forms.
Since the ESS is not affiliated with a particular school or aesthetic direction, its members represent a broad cross-section of styles and genres of shakuhachi.
Supporting ESS through joining is a means of helping maintain a co-ordinating resource of the shakuhachi in Europe. Please consider becoming a Member of the European Shakuhachi Society.
Lifetime Members
It is possible for members to purchase lifetime membership of the ESS. Please consider this option and show support for the ESS. Become a Lifetime Member of the European Shakuhachi Society.
Teachers, Composers, Makers
These are a some teachers, composers and makers that can provide advice and lessons for the shakuhachi.
If you would like your details added here, please contact the ESS to provide details.
Michael Soumei Coxall, Shakuhachi Player and Teacher (Chikumeisha, Ensemble)
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Michael Soumei Coxall, Shakuhachi Player and Teacher (Chikumeisha, Ensemble). Website: Soumei Shakuhachi |
Jim Franklin, Shakuhachi Player, Teacher and Composer
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Jim Franklin, shakuhachi player and composer. Website: Bamboo Heart |
Kiku Day, ji nashi Shakuhachi Player and Teacher (Zensabō)
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Kiku Day, ji nashi shakuhachi player. Website: Kiku Day |
Véronique Piron, Shakuhachi Player and Teacher (KSK, Ensemble)
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Véronique Piron, shakuhachi player and teacher. Website: Francais Website: English |
Gunnar Jinmei Linder, Shakuhachi Performer and Teacher (KSK)
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Gunnar Jinmei Linder, Shakuhachi Performer and Teacher. Website: Gunnar Jinmei Linder |
Daniel Lifermann, Shakuhachi Player and Teacher
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Daniel Lifermann, Shakuhachi Player and Teacher. Website: La Voie du Bambou |
Jean-François Lagrost, ESS Committee Advisor (Shin-Tozan Ryū)
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Jean-François Lagrost, who was born in Alsace (France), studied concert flute in Mulhouse and Paris. Armed with many prizes from French and international flute competitions, he is now teaching in Asnières and Le Kremlin-Bicêtre conservatoires near Paris. He also studied musicology and ethnomusicology in Paris-Sorbonne University, where he achieved a Masters in 20th century music. He began to play the shakuhachi in 2000 with Grand Master Sōzan Kariya. Jean-François received his Tozan-ryū Master certificate (shihan) in December 2007. He regularly performs in Japan and France with both Japanese and Western instrumentalists (Mieko Miyazaki, Ensemble de flûtes de Paris, Orchestre symphonique des Alpes…) He recently contributed to Dr François Picard's Lexique des musiques d'Asie orientale (East Asian Music Glossary), published by You Feng. Website: www.flute-shakuhachi.com |
Philip Horan, Shakuhachi Player and Maker
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Philip Horan, shakuhachi player and maker. Website: Shakuhachi Zen |
Vlastislav Matousek, Czech Shakuhachi Player, Teacher and Composer
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Vlastislav Matousek, Czech shakuhachi player and composer. Website: Vlastislav Matousek |
Torsten Olafsson, Danish Player and Researcher
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Torsten Olafsson, Danish Player and Researcher. Website: Torsten Olafsson |
Thilo Burdach, Shakuhachi Player
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Thilo Burdach, Shakuhachi Player. Website: Thilo Burdach |
Clive Bell, shakuhachi player and improviser
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Clive Bell, shakuhachi player and improviser. Website: Clive Bell |
Ken LaCosse, Shakuhachi Maker
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Ken LaCosse, Shakuhachi Maker. Website: Mujitsu Shakuhachi |
Hanada Ikkei, Shakuhachi Player in Germany
Hanada Ikkei, Shakuhachi Player in Germany. Website: Hanada Ikkei |
Renkei Hashimoto, Shakuhachi Player in Germany
Renkei Hashimoto , Shakuhachi Player in Germany. Website: Renkei Hashimoto |
Wolfgang Fuyûgen Heßler, Shakuhachi Player, Switzerland
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Wolfgang Fuyûgen Heßler, Shakuhachi Player, Switzerland. Website: Wolfgang Fuyûgen Heßler |
Christopher Yohmei Blasdel - Shakuhachi Performer, Writer, Lecturer on Japanese and Asian Music
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Christopher Yohmei Blasdel - Shakuhachi Performer, Writer, Lecturer on Japanese and Asian Music. Based in Japan, Christopher Yohmei blasdel studied under GORO Yamaguchi, has written books and papers about the shakuhachi, released many CDs and has been a key supporter of the Czech Summer School since it began. Website: Christopher Yohmei Blasdel |
Justin Senryu Williams - Shakuhachi Player and Teacher
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Justin Senryu Williams started studying Kinko-ryu Chikumeisha shakuhachi with Michael Soumei Coxall in the UK before moving to Japan in 2005. For the following six years, he studied the full repertoire of Chikushinkai under Furuya Teruo and Yokoyama Katsuya from whom he received his Master's license (Shihan) and the name Senryu in 2007. He then went on to study sankyoku and Kinko-ryu honkyoku under Araki Kodo V, from whom he received his second license and prestigious hanko "kodo-sen'. He has also become an accomplished maker of shakuhachi. Justin's particular interest lies in older styles of honkyoku and he has researched a wide variety of styles and of rare lineages throughout Japan from Iwata Seien, Takahashi Rochiku, Otsubo Shido, Fujiyoshi Etsuzan, Sato Jokan, and Kurahashi Yodo II. In 2008, he won 3rd prize in the under 40's World Shakuhachi Festival competition in Sydney and has performed and given lectures on the history of Seien-ryu at the European Shakuhachi Festivals in Prague. Having studied Buddhism for many years in India, Justin moved to Prague in 2011 to set up the Hoyu Dojo for shakuhachi and other spiritual activities and also gives lessons via Skype. Website: Justin Senryu Williams |
