 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
The Washington Toho Koto Society is a group of about 80 players and friends, primarily in the Washington metropolitan area, that was organized in 1971 by Kyoko Okamoto to promote the understanding and appreciation of Japanese koto music.
Ms. Okamoto is a graduate of the Kyoto University of Foreign Studies. She was certified as Teacher of Koto following completion of her training in the Ikuta school of koto in Japan. She teaches privately in the Washington metropolitan area and holds faculty appointments at the University of Maryland, College Park and Baltimore County campuses, and the George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. Her lecture/ demonstrations and recitals have attracted college and community audiences in the Midwest, New England, and the Mid-Atlantic states. She has recorded for film productions by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Symphony Orchestra and with other groups of Western musicians.
Under the directorship of Mrs. Okamoto, the Society has gained steady recognition. It has been invited to participate in many national and community events such as the opening ceremony of the National Cherry Blossom Festival where the Society has provided musical entertainment each year for the past 10 years.
In 1987 the Society was honored to be invited to perform at the Embassy of Japan for Prime Minister Nakasone, and later that same year, for the Emperor and Empress of Japan when they hosted an official dinner for then-Vice President and Mrs. Bush and other distinguished guests.
The Society has produced three audiocassette tapes ("Washington Toho Koto Society Selections," volumes 1, 2 and 3) and one compact disk ("Celebration"), consisting of classical and contemporary koto music. Some pieces feature accompaniment by the samisen (a banjo-like three-stringed instrument) and/or shakuhachi (an open-end bamboo flute). Other pieces feature Western instruments such as the flute or piano.
[Home] [What's New][On-line Info Form] [Theme & Ethnic Ensembles] [Dance Bands] [Swing & Big Bands] [Classical] [DJ's] [Recordings] [Arrangements/Compositions] [Feedback] [Performance Schedules][Gifts]