Tones of Hope: Music for Shakuhachi
Ralph Samuelson
GENRE
Concert / Shakuhachi
WHEN
March 11, 2026
Ralph Samuelson offers an evening of shakuhachi music honoring the souls of lives lost and the resilience and compassion of the Japanese people on the 15th anniversary of the devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear explosion in northern Japan.
Featuring tanka poems by survivors, with guest artists:
Perry Yung, reader, shakuhachi
Elizabeth Brown, shakuhachi
Magdalena Solé, photographs of Fukushima
Ralph Samuelson
Ralph Samuelson has been a pioneer in the growth of shakuhachi music in the United States through decades of teaching and performing. He was trained in the classical tradition of the Kinko School of Shakuhachi by the late Living National Treasure Goro Yamaguchi and other distinguished teachers in Japan. He has performed across North America, Europe, and Asia and has recorded for numerous labels. Ralph will share several traditional and contemporary works for shakuhachi in an evening of Hope at Apartment 1.
Shakuhachi
The shakuhachi, the vertical bamboo flute of Japan, has become a vibrant participant in the international world of music. Its centuries-old tradition is based on a repertoire of solo pieces developed by Zen monks as a form of spiritual practice. These pieces, called honkyoku (“original/true pieces”) are still performed today, along with an expanding repertoire of modern and contemporary solo and chamber music.
Photo by Magdalena Solé from her presentation,
Since That Day - The Aftermath of 3/11
Credit
Artist Ralph Samuelson
with Elizabeth Brown, Perry Yung, and Magdalena Solé
Photos by Magdalena Solé
March 11, 2026
Elizabeth Brown combines a composing career with a diverse performing life, playing flute, shakuhachi, and theremin. Her music is performed around the world and includes prize-winning compositions for traditional Japanese instruments and numerous collaborations with artist Lothar Osterburg. She has received many prestigious awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship and residencies at the McDowell Colony, the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellaggio Center, and more. Her works have been commissioned by Orpheus, St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, Momenta Quartet, and others. Her recording Elizabeth Brown: Mirage is available from New World Records.
www.ElizabethBrownComposer.com
Perry Yung is an actor, musician, and activist. A longtime member of La MaMa’s Great Jones Repertory Company, he co-founded SLANT Performance Group, known for subversive explorations of Asian American identity. Numerous screen credits include HBO/Netflix’s Warrior, Netflix’s The 3 Body Problem, Stephen Soderbergh’s The Knick, John Wick 2, and many others. Perry has studied the shakuhachi in Japan with Kinya Sogawa and in the U.S. with Ralph Samuelson and is also an acclaimed shakuhachi maker. Beyond his artistic work, he is an advocate for justice, delivering national keynotes against anti-Asian violence.
Magdalena Solé is a Vermont-based photographer and book artist known for her vivid color work and powerful visual storytelling. Her work explores themes of displacement, cultural disparity, and communities living on the margin. Born in Spain and raised in Switzerland, she spent over 30 years in New York City and holds an MFA in film from Columbia University. Solé has exhibited internationally with over 20 solo shows and her work is included in major museum and institutional collections. She has photographed in Japan over the past 20 years with a special focus on the aftermath of the Great Japanese Earthquake, culminating in Japan, a boxed set of seven artist books with a forward by Pico Iyer.