For Immediate Release: Lensic Presents KODO
For Immediate Release: Lensic Presents KODO
February 23 | 7:30 pm
Program Notes | 6:30 pm
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• For interviews and press tickets, contact communications@lensic.org.
• Tickets ($39–$79) are available at lensic.org, 505-988-1234, or in person, 211 W. San Francisco Street.
• Ticket holders are invited to attend Program Notes, a free pre-performance event with Jon Whitsell demonstrating and discussing various drums used in taiko drumming at 6:30 pm on February 23.
For Immediate Release
January 30, 2023
Santa Fe, New Mexico | Internationally renowned taiko performing arts ensemble KODO brings heart, history, and high-energy taiko drumming to the Lensic on February 23.
Striving to both preserve and re-interpret traditional Japanese performing arts, KODO explores the limitless possibilities of the Japanese taiko drum. Since the group’s debut at the Berlin Festival in 1981, KODO has given over 7,000 performances on five continents.
Director Yuichiro Funabashi states, “KODO One Earth Tour: Tsuzumi is the first production in a series of commemorative works we created for KODO’s 40th-anniversary celebrations in 2021. The theme of this work is our home base, Sado Island. With its lush nature and distinct history, this special place has been the starting point for KODO’s diverse local and international activities for the past four decades. Conjured and honed on Sado, KODO’s sound is like no other.”
Tsuzumi opens with an exceptional piece in the KODO ensemble’s history that is seldom performed on tour—” Dyu-Ha.” The late Maki Ishii, a modern composer introduced to KODO by conductor Seiji Ozawa, presented this piece to KODO as a gift to congratulate the ensemble on its debut in 1981. This will be the first time KODO has performed “Dyu-Ha” in North America since 1989. The 40th-anniversary tour program also features Ishii’s masterpiece “Monochrome” and other KODO signature pieces such as “O-daiko,” “Yatai-bayashi,” and “Zoku,” coupled with new compositions.
Ticket holders are invited to Program Notes at 6:30 pm, a free pre-performance event with Jon Whitsell demonstrating and discussing various drums used in Taiko drumming. In addition to their mainstage performance, KODO will work with students at Santa Fe schools. Both initiatives are part of the Lensic’s performing arts education programs.
About the Lensic
Lensic Performing Arts Center, a historic venue in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico, is home to nearly 200 events each year. Built in 1931 as a vaudeville stage and movie palace, the Lensic was fully renovated in 2001 and reopened as a nonprofit, community-supported organization that provides high-quality arts experiences for everyone. Our stage is a home for Santa Fe’s performance groups and welcomes touring artists throughout the year; our original Lensic Presents programming series showcases world-class artists from near and far; and our life-enriching arts education programs reach more than 15,000 students annually. Learn more at Lensic.org