This post comes to us from the Japan America Society of Colorado mailing list.
The University of Colorado Denver College of Arts and Media and the Consul-General of Japan present Tsugaru Shamisen, featuring the Monsters of Shamisen, in concert.
http://www.myspace.com/monstersofshamisen
Monday, 21 February 2011
855 Lawrence Way on the Auraria Campus, Denver, CO
7:30 pm
Free admission
303-352-3500
Note: Monsters of Shamisen will be performing elsewhere in CO and NM in February! Event schedule here.
In addition, if you are a native/near-native speaker of Japanese and wish to volunteer for the event, please contact Yayoi Shaw of the Consulate General office, via e-mail, today.
About the group
Monsters of Shamisen, including Kevin Kmetz and Mike Penny, are the first non-Japanese Tsugaru Shamisen performers ever to have participated and placed in the national tsugaru shamisen tournaments held annually in Tsugaru region of northern Japan. Kevin and Mike have performed throughout Japan and the USA in a great number and variety of musical groups. Having both come from studying western music, Kevin and Mike have made a name for themselves adapting musical styles from numerous countries (among them western classical music) to the shamisen while simultaneously integrating many traditional shamisen playing techniques.
Monsters of Shamisen offers audiences the most exciting and innovative example of modern Tsugaru shamisen in the world. Pooling their respective musical backrounds, Monsters draws inspiration from a wide variety of musical styles including baroque/classical, Balkan gypsy, American bluegrass, Irish folk music, and even modern rock/pop. To see this ensemble live is to experience one of the most unforgettable fusions of not only East and West but of past and future.
What can I do with a B.A. in Japanese Studies? 