About the Program
The Lukas-Evans Duo evokes tranquil and beautiful sonorities of Japan in The Shakuhachi Influence: Music for Flute & Harp. Traditionally played by Zen Buddhist monks in the practice of suizen (blowing meditation) and deeply connected to the sounds of nature, the Shakuhachi has inspired composers around the world.
This finely-crafted program explores the numerous ways in which Japanese culture and aesthetics have influenced music:
Minimalism, the allowing of beauty and abundance to emerge from less, rather than more.
Ma, a spatial void or silence to provide a focal point.
Fukinsei, the use of asymmetry to achieve balance.
By rethinking what’s possible with the use of breath in music, the Shakuhachi Influence creates space for the artists to emote with a wide range of subtle tone, pitch, and color variation.
Program Highlights
Spiegel im Spiegel (1978) by Arvo Pärt is a work characterized by spirituality and the Japanese-associated concept of minimalism. Pärt is a recipient prestigious Praemium Imperiale cultural award from the Japan Art Association (Tokyo, 2014), an honor considered equal to the Nobel Prize in the field of culture.
Pavane pour une infante defunte (1899) by Joseph Maurice Ravel, an Impressionist who, like his contemporaries, sought inspiration in Japanese art for its use of compositional space, flattening of planes, and abstract approaches to color.
Island of the Spirit (1984), by Deena T. Grossman, an Oregon-based composer whose music is deeply rooted in the natural world, and poignantly awakens powerful emotions. Grossman is married to Shakuhachi master Larry Tyrell.
Encantamiento (1989), by Daniel Catán, came into being after Catán (Mexican) lived in Japan for two years. With heavy inspiration from the Shakuhachi for its versatility, Catán utilizes different fingerings, embouchures, and breath speeds to produce notes of the same pitch, with subtle or dramatic differences in tone color.
Japanese folk melodies, expertly written and arranged for flute and harp by the talented composer Gary Schocker (also one of the greatest flutists of our time, and a talented harp player) intersperse throughout the program.
Watch & Listen to a Performance
About Harpist Bethany Evans
Bethany Evans, a native of Salem, Oregon, began her music studies at age five. She began studying the harp four years later and found her passion. She received a Bachelor of Music in Harp Performance from the University of Arizona summa cum laude and graduated with a 4.0 from the University of Oregon’s Master of Music program in Harp Performance. Ms. Evans also has a law degree from Willamette University College of Law. She has performed extensively throughout Europe and the United States and has multiple award-winning recordings. She has an active private teaching studio and is a member of the faculty of Western Oregon University and Chemeketa Community College as harp instructor as well as performing with orchestras around the northwest and at numerous private functions. She is also the principal harpist for the Salem Orchestra and the Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra. bethanyevansharp.com