Certified mindfulness meditation instructor and a new job on the same day!

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I can now say I am a certified mindfulness meditation instructor! :) My final project was accepted and I passed on Monday 10 November.

On the same day I began work as a researcher at The Interacting Minds Centre for the Study of Cognition, Communication and Choice, Aarhus University. My project is still creative collaboration in a cross-cultural setting between composer and performer. So good to be at a university again!!!!

World Music in Nørre Snede – North Indian sitar and tabla

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Sunday 9 November, we had the honour of having top class Indian musicians in Nørre Snede in the auspices of World Music in Nørre Snede –  a subgroup of nskubib (Nørre Snede culture and library society) – I am organising. Subratik Sen Gupta on sitar and Subrata Manna on tabla. They were joined by Ageha Prem, who lives in Århus on tampura. Again a wonderful night with lots of wonderful music! Amazing to see such high class music here in our little town! We are lucky!

Below is a photo taken after the concert of the 3 musicians and a few of the audience.

Opening Concert of KMF336: organiser, performer and MC

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I had the joy (and lots of work) to become a member of the organising committee of a two week classical music festival in Herning and Ikast-brande counties in Denmark. My main role was to organise the opening concert, which was by far the most expensive concert I have organised. The opening concert began with a me playing dressed as komuso, then the mayor did a speech, then music followed:

1. Daud Khan Sadozai (robab og sarod) og Yama Karim (tabla) from Afganistan2. Yan Yan (erhu), Cui Ying (pipa) and Yang Xinyue (gu zheg) from China
3. Sai Sindhu Thangaraj (voice), Neyveli Radakrishna (violin), Girirdhar Udupa (ghatam) og Jayachandro Rao (miruthangam) from India
4. “The Foundation for the Research and Performance of Turkish Sufi Music and Folklore” from Turkey.

It was an amazing concert with top musicians from these countries.

Thank you for those who came and supported us! This was my first job being MC as well…. I was very nervous! :)

Below is a review in Herning Folkeblad:

Ikast avis page 15

Karl Jenkins’ Requiem with St. Johannes chamber choir and Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra in Malmö, Sweden

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I will be playing the shakuhachi part in Karl Jenkins’ Requiem. I am looking forward to work with Choir director Christian Schultze, The St. Johannes Chamber Coir and member of the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra!

The S:t Johanneskirke in Malmö is close to the Triangeln station . See map  Only 30 minutes from Copenhagen Central Station! :)

The concert will take place 19 October 2014, 18:00.

See the progamme: http://malmo-pastorat.smrt.se/kyrka/sankt_johannes_kyrka/musik/konserter

Recording Wild Ways

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Finally the last piece for my CD with the 5 pieces composed for me during my PhD project has been recorded! Yay! Wild was for jinashi shakuhachi and double choir was recorded 15-16 March 2014!
It was beautifully sung by the Copenhagen Camerata Choir, skillfully led by Jakob Hultberg and just as skillfully captured by amazing sound engineer Viggo Mangor. Roxanna Panufnik flew over from London to listen as well and make sure we did a good job! :)
Can’t wait till editing it and getting the CD out! :)

Indpilning1

Recording of Roxanna Panufnik’s Wild Ways with the Camerata Choir

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Recording of Roxanna Panufnik’s Wild Ways with the Camerata Choir

On the 15th March 2014, I will record the last of the five pieces written for me during my PhD project. It is Roxanna Panufnik’s Wild Ways for jinashi shakuhachi and choir. The Camerata Choir will take care of the singing.
I am very much looking forward to it! And hopefully within not too long I can release the CD.

Prague Shakuhachi Festival 23-27 August 2013

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Just back home again from Prague Shakuhachi Festival. This festival was smaller but the line-up of guests was extremely good and interesting. Mitsuhashi Kifu (shakuhachi), Mika Kimura (voice), Kikuo Yuji (strings: koto, shamisen and kokyū and he also plays biwa), Tanaka Takafumi (chief editor of Hōgaku Journal) and Christopher Yohmei Blasdel (shakuhachi). Apart from that we were Pamela Kurstin on theremin, Jim Franklin, Gunnar Jinmei Linder, Vlastislav Matoušek and myself on shakuhachi.

Great music, great students, great place and great discussions – all about shakuhachi ! ! ! :)