Come and explore the satsuma biwa, an instrument originally played by samurai.
In March 2024, internationally-acclaimed Japanese biwa performer Akiko Kubota will be touring the UK with ‘On an Endless Road: Itō Noe and the Women Composers of her Time’, presented by Hera in association with Illuminate Women’s Music. She will perform a new piece written for her by British composer Francesca Le Lohé. As part of the tour, the Writing for Biwa workshop offers the unique opportunity for 4 composers to engage with the biwa first-hand.
After an online introduction to the instrument, each composer will be invited to write <2 minutes of material to be workshopped by Akiko Kubota in an in-person session facilitated by specialist composer Francesca Le Lohé in Manchester on Friday 8th March 2024. There will be an opportunity to rework the material in light of the session, before a final online workshop in April. There are also up to 12 spaces available for composers, musicians and/or researchers who wish to observe the workshop sessions.
The workshop is aimed at artists with an enthusiasm for intercultural exchange and a strong interest in collaboration, with at least 2 years experience or currently enrolled on an undergraduate or postgraduate music course. There is no upper age limit and mid career and experienced composers are very welcome.
For full details, and to fill in an online application please click on the weblink.
Akiko Kubota is a satsuma biwa performer from Chiba prefecture, Japan. Her wide range of activities include performing narrative songs from the biwa’s classic repertoire, collaborating with theatre groups, playing contemporary music with instrumental ensembles and featuring on anime and TV soundtracks. Akiko has performed extensively across Asia, South America and Europe and performed Takemitsu Toru’s concerto “November Steps” for biwa and shakuhachi with the Brussels Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.
Francesca Le Lohé is a composer active in Japan and the UK. Her operas include: “How Was It For You?” (2022) and “THE KEY”: an immersive, site-specific opera inspired by Tanizaki’s novella which was awarded the prestigious 2019 “Keizo Saji Prize”. On receiving a 2015 Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation Scholarship, Francesca relocated to Japan to study Japanese language and 3 Japanese instruments, including satsuma biwa. She is now based in London.