The Asia Society and World Music Institute present the New York debut of Kunie Fujii, one of the foremost performers of jiuta, a song and instrumental style from 17th and 18th century Japan, in a concert with her ensemble on Thursday, March 11, at 8:00 P.M. at the Asia Society. Ms. Fujii is internationally renowned for her singing and virtuostic playing of the stringed shamisen (plucked lute) and koto (zither). She will be accompanied by Seizan Ikeda, a shakuhachi (flute) player of the Tozan school, who has performed with her for over forty years; her son, Horokazu Fujii, and daughter, Akiko Fujii, on shamisen, koto and voice; and David Wheeler, a Tokyo-based scholar and shakuhachi player. The Asia Society is located at 725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street) in New York City. Tickets for the concert are $20 ($16 for Asia Society and World Music Institute members) and can be purchased at the Asia Society Box Office and by phone at (212) 517-ASIA.

The concert comprises a performance of sankyoku, (music for three instruments), that can be most closely compared to the chamber ensemble music of Europe. It is music that places the highest emphasis on expression, virtuosity and beauty of melodic line. The three instruments are the shamisen, koto and shakuhachi. A special benefit to audiences at this concert will be the chance to see this art as it is traditionally passed down through the generations. Additionally, literary translations of lyrics and introductions to the instruments will be provided.

The shamisen was the most popular instrument of the Tokugawa period in Japan (1603-1868), and was used widely in theatre, folk and art music. The koto, first introduced to Japan with the Gagaku (Imperial Court music) ensemble over one thousand years ago, came into its own in solo and ensemble performance with the shamisen in the Tokugawa period. It was in the same era that the shakuhachi, Japan's vertical bamboo flute, was taken up as an instrument of Zen Buddhism. Today, its spiritual music is enjoyed by players and audiences around the world.

Kunie Fujii studied with three of the greatest jiuta and sokyoku artists of this century, starting studies at the age of three with her mother, Keiko Abe, at five with Michio Miyagi, and at six with Satoko Kawase. The recipient of many of Japan's highest cultural honors, Ms. Fujii has taught, performed and recorded for over fifty years in Japan, and in other parts of the world since 1968. She is presently on the Board of Directors of the Sankyoku Society of Japan and is a visiting instructor at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.

Seizan Ikeda II (shakuhachi) has performed and recorded with Kunie Fujii for over forty years. His sweetness of tone is said to characterize the style of performance he received from his father, Seizan I. He presently heads the Aoi Kai shakuhachi school, which his father founded. In a lifelong career of composing, performing, recording and teaching, he has inspired audiences in Japan and in numerous other Asian countries, the U. S., New Zealand, the former Soviet Union and Europe.

Akiko Fujii (shamisen, koto and voice) started studies of the koto at a young age with her grandmother, Keiko Abe, and mother, Kunie Fujii, and had her first public performance at the age of four. Since then, she has taught and performed widely, including several international tours. Her rich singing voice is a special addition to any ensemble she joins. She performed on her mother's CD, Sokyoku and Jiuta World of Kunie Fujii (Columbia, 1993) and held her first solo recital in 1995.

Hirokazu Fujii (shamisen, koto and voice), like his sister Akiko, started studies of jiuta and sokyoku at a young age with their grandmother and mother. Since graduating from the Japanese Music Department of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, he has taught, performed and recorded extensively both domestically and internationally, including a special invitational performance at the International Festival of String Instruments in Seville, Spain in 1990. He has held annual solo recitals since 1993, and along with his mother, Kunie Fujii, runs the Ginmei Kai Jiuta Sokyoku school.

David Wheeler (shakuhachi, translations and introductions), performs, teaches, lectures and writes about the shakuhachi and Japanese music. Wheeler was a visiting professor at the College of Music, University of Colorado at Boulder, for the 1997-98 academic year, where he organized and produced the World Shakuhachi Festival 1998. This festival was attended by 300 performers and fans of the shakuhachi and over 5,000 audience members at some 20 concerts, making it the largest such gathering ever to take place in the history of the instrument. Mr. Wheeler received his B.A. in Asian Studies from Pomona College, Claremont, California, and his M.S. in Musicology (Japanese Music History and Theory) from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.

The concert coincides with the exhibition "Bamboo Masterworks: Japanese Baskets from the Lloyd Cotsen Collection" on view at the Asia Society through May 30. The exhibition will be open for viewing free of charge on the evening of March 11 until the start of the concert at 8:00 P.M.
This concert is part of a 1999 U.S. recital tour of Kunie Fujii & the Chamber Songs of Tokugawa Japan. The tour is funded in part by grants from The Japan Foundation and Asian Cultural Council and is jointly produced by David Wheeler and World Music Institute. The New York concert is presented by the Asia Society and World Music Institute.

The "Bamboo Masterworks: Japanese Baskets from the Lloyd Cotsen Collection" exhibition and related programs are supported in part by the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation; Ellen Bayard Weedon Foundation; J. Aron Charitable Foundation, Inc.; and private funders. Support for Asia Society exhibitions and public programs has been provided by the Friends of Asian Arts, The Starr Foundation, The Armand G. Erpf Fund and the Arthur Ross Foundation.

Visit the Asia Society online at www.asiasociety.org and the World Music Institute at www.HearTheWorld.org.