The Music Gallery presents

Emergents IV: Kiri Koto Ensemble + Boomwhackers

Curated by Ben Dietschi

Post-Instructional Musical Activity

Thursday, May 26

Doors: 7pm | Concert: 8pm

The Music Gallery, 197 John St.

Tickets: $12 Regular | $8 members | $12 Advance at musicgallery.org

Ben Dietschi, Managing Artistic Director of Spectrum Music and Associate Director of External Relations at Soundstreams, curates our last Emergents of the year. A recent fascination with ensembles of the same instrument inspired him to create this unlikely pairing showcasing zany music education tubes alongside seventh-century Japanese floor harps. Unexpected similarities in the beautiful percussive resonance and fundamental methods of tone production of these instruments make for a delightful sonic landscape.

Boomwhackers are plastic tubes tuned to musical pitches by length: when you whack them, they ‘boom’ a specific note. You’ve seen versions of them in at countless sporting events. Irresistible for music makers of all ages, boomwhackers have become a phenomenon in classrooms and living rooms. For this show, Ben convenes an ensemble to take these technicolour tubes into a more exploratory “new music” context for the concert stage. A lighthearted Einstürzende Neubauten perhaps?

Led by Grandmaster (Dai Shihan) koto and shamisen artist Linda Kakō Caplan, the Kiri Koto Ensemble brings together Toronto’s top kotoists in an ensemble that explores the gamut of classical and contemporary repertoire for the instrument. As soloist, ensemble member, and session musician, Caplan has performed for over three decades at many public events in Canada, Japan and the United States. Hear an instrument rich with history in a program with contemporary flair, as the ensemble performs a selection of modern works for the instrument.

The Emergents Series is generously supported by Roger D. Moore