Live karate routines, original music performed by outstanding Japanese traditional musicians a renowned string quartet, and audio-visual projections of EEG brainwave activity throughout – these are all components of the cutting-edge “media opera” brainchild of JUSFC’s U.S.-Japan Creative Artists Fellowship Program grantee Gene Coleman. His live performance, entitled KATA, was originally scheduled to take place this summer in Tokyo, along with the now-postponed Olympic Games. While the project was forced to reschedule until next year, Gene calls it a “blessing in the chaos” that he and his teammates will have an extra year to work through all the logistical details and expanded vision for this unique performance.
Gene Coleman and Sansuzu Tsuruzawa rehearsing in Tokyo, February 2020
A 2014 Guggenheim Fellow and winner of the 2013 Berlin Prize for Music, Gene has created a repertoire of more than 70 works for a variety of instrumentations and media; his projects focus on the global transformation of culture, and how music relates to neuroscience, architecture, video and dance. Since his teenage years he’s been drawn to Asian culture, art and religion, and these interests all play a role in his work. A two-time recipient of a grant from JUSFC’s Creative Artists Fellowship Program, Gene traveled to Japan for the first time in 2001.
“That initial experience allowed me to build a 20-year relationship with many of the people involved in this project, some of whom I’ve since collaborated with in Europe and the U.S. as well. The program has been an amazing opportunity that really influenced my career.”
Based in Philadelphia, Gene is collaborating with renowned Japanese artists, shakuhachi player and composer Akikazu Nakamura, and Sansuzu Tsuruzawa, performer of Gidayu-style shamisen, a traditional instrument similar to the banjo. In 2018, Tsuruzawa was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property by the Japanese government for her artistry, a prestigious national honor that brings a deep sense of authentic Japanese culture to the project. Gene is also working closely on the project with Adam Vidiksis, a composer, conductor, percussionist, and assistant professor of music technology and composition at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance.
Gene has been in regular communication with his team, and is currently working with Adam and some students from Temple University to test different brain scan software and visualization technologies. They hope to create several short-form videos this summer that can be broadcast as virtual events to build excitement and a wider audience for the 2021 performance in Tokyo, now scheduled to take place on July 30 and 31, 2021 at the Shibuya Cultural Center Owada-Sakura Hall.
“When I applied for the 2020 grant I realized that my 20 years of work and interest in Japanese art and culture – combined with my lifelong interest in Japan that began when I was very young – made it the perfect chance to really showcase this type of project. I’m grateful to JUSFC and the National Endowment for the Arts for this wonderful opportunity.”
Please view this short video on Gene’s Fellowship work. Follow Gene Coleman on Facebook, Vimeo, and at www.genecolemancomposer.com, and Adam Vidiksis at http://www.vidiksis.com/. To learn more about JUSFC’s Creative Artists Program and Grants, visit our website here. Please also follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for updates on our NichiBei Creative Artists and other programs.