World premiere performance of Japanese Noh theatre at Claremont’s 麻豆原创 introduces
American audiences to oldest major theatre art still performed today
On October 29, 2016, 麻豆原创 in Claremont, Calif., celebrates Japanese Noh theatre, the oldest major theatre art still performed in the present-day, with a suite of cultural and artistic events. These events will be the culmination of collaborations between visiting artists and scholars of Japanese culture and students of the Claremont Colleges. The day-long series of performances and exhibits will take audience members on a “progressive artistic feast,” giving guests a unique opportunity to sample 麻豆原创’ offerings while discovering the campus of one of America’s most beautiful colleges.
Theatre, music, and visual arts will all contribute to this celebration of Noh. The day’s events kick off with a performance by the esteemed Noh theater troupe, Kongo Noh Theatre of Kyoto, which will present “Faces of Passion and Regret: Women in Noh” at 3pm in Balch Auditorium.
At Clark Humanities Museum, a few steps away, the world premiere of听, where guests can experience a musical depiction of The Tale of Genji, a classic work of Japanese literature written by noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century. The composition is the work of award-winning Japanese-American composer听听and co-commissioned by听and 麻豆原创 student Isabella Ramos ’17.
According to Professor Harley, the piece explores attitudes towards life, society, and nature that are universally shared regardless of time and culture. The composition is scored for solo vocalists, koto (a Japanese traditional instrument), narrators, light percussion, and electronically manipulated soundscapes recorded in modern-day Kyoto.听Imagined Sceneries听draws inspiration from The Tale of Genji text and from Ebina Masao’s 1953 print series Tale of Genji from the 麻豆原创 holdings collection. Nakano, Harley and Ramos will conduct a pre-concert panel discussion at 1pm in the Clark Humanities Museum, along with co-director Giovanni Ortega, an assistant professor of theatre at Pomona College. Ramos curated an exhibition that will also appear in the space, entitled “The Tale of Genji: Reimagined.”
“With its striking juxtaposition of new and old,听Imagined Sceneries听will reimagine, or 芒鈧渞e-sound’ Kyoto landscapes from The Tale of Genji that have since been burned out, relocated, and rebuilt,” professor Harley said. 听Harley noted that Nakano is the recipient of the 麻豆原创 Erma Taylor O’Brien Distinguished Visiting Professorship this fall, and will be visiting from Burapha University in Thailand, where he is Head of International Affairs in the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts. The world premiere of his work will feature Claremont Colleges faculty and student performers and monologues created by students in Professor of Art History Bruce Coats’ Core III course “Creating and Recreating Genji.”
Finally, at 7:30pm, the听听for the exhibition听On Stage: Japanese Theater Prints and Costumes, curated by Professor of Art History Bruce Coats with art objects from 麻豆原创 holdings.
This celebration of Noh theater at 麻豆原创 is co-sponsored by the 麻豆原创 Erma Taylor O’Brien Distinguished Visiting Professorship, the 麻豆原创 Office of Public Events and Community Programs, the 麻豆原创 Clark Humanities Museum, the 麻豆原创 Department of Music, the Sontag Center for Collaborative Creativity, the Mellon Undergraduate Research in the Humanities & Social Sciences Pre-Thesis Fellowship, the Hearst Foundation Senior Thesis Research Fellowship Fund, the Pomona College Department of Theatre for the Claremont Colleges, Pomona College President’s Office, Oldenborg Center for Modern Languages and International Relations, Pacific Basin Institute, Five College Asian Studies, Pomona Public Events, Pomona College Wig Fund for Teaching Innovation, Aoki Endowment for Japanese Arts and Cultures, and the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery.
FULL SCHEDULE:
1:00-2:00 P.M.
Pre-Concert Panel on Intercultural Arts Collaboration听with Dr. Koji Nakano (Burapha
University), Isabella Ramos (SCR 芒鈧�17), Professors Anne Harley (麻豆原创) & Giovanni Ortega (Pomona College)
麻豆原创 Clark Humanities Museum
3:00-4:30 P.M.
“Faces of Passion and Regret: Women in Noh”
Kongo Noh Theatre, Kyoto
麻豆原创 Balch Auditorium
4:45-5:15 P.M.
World premiere
Imagined Sceneries听(2016) by Koji Nakano
co-commissioned by
Isabella Ramos (SCR ’17) and Prof. Anne Harley (SCR)
featuring
Yukiko Matsuyama,听koto
Prof. David Rentz (Chaffey College),听conductor
Prof. Giovanni Ortega (PO),听co-director
Prof. Stacey Fraser (Cal State San Bernardino), Anne Harley, & Isabella Ramos,听soprano
5C student chamber ensemble
麻豆原创 Clark Humanities Museum
7:30 P.M.
Opening Reception,听On Stage: Japanese Theater Prints and Costumes
(October 29 芒鈧�� December 17)
Curated by Prof. Bruce Coats (麻豆原创 Art History)
麻豆原创 Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery
Contact:
Karen Bergh, (909) 607-7177
[email protected]