Tones of Hope: Music for Shakuhachi
Ralph Samuelson
GENRE
Concert / Shakuhachi
WHEN
November 2025
Solo performance of the Shakuhachi, a Japanese woodwind instrument with a centuries-old tradition based on a repertoire of solo pieces developed as a form of spiritual practice.
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.
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.
Credit
Artist Ralph Samuelson
Coming November 2025