I am a ji-nashi shakuhachi (hocchiku) player from Copenhagen, Denmark with American, Japanese, Irish and Russian roots. I began my piano studies at the age of 3, playing classical music. At the age of 16 I turned to the flute.One particularly strong component in my personality has always been a longing to explore the world and exploring how the 'world' is constructed by us humans. After finishing school left for Asia via the Trans-Siberian railway. After some time in Russia, Mongolia, China, East Turkestan, and Tibet, I ended up in Tokyo, where I decided to stay in order to study the ji-nashi shakuhachi and the honkyoku repertoire with Okuda Atsuya. I was lucky I encountered a teacher in ji-nashi shakuhachi. My studies with Okuda lasted for ten years, between 1989 and 1999, during which time I based myself in Japan but spent half of the year travelling to other Asian countries, Oceania, and Central America. I completed a BA in ethnomusicology at SOAS, University of London, then an MFA in Music Performanace and Literature at Mills College, Oakland, California. Now I am back at SOAS doing a Ph.D. on playing contemporary music on ji-nashi shakuhachi.One of my main goals is to further improve my playing skills on the ji-nashi shakuhachi, with regard not only to interpreting the honkyoku repertoire, but also contemporary compositions and improvisations. I hope to succeed in taking ji-nashi shakuhachi playing to a new level.Recently, I have been working on creating a space for the shakuhachi in Europe. I initiated the organisation of the first Pan-European Shakuhachi Summer School with Koto and Shamisen. It was co-organised with Michael Coxall and SOAS Music Department, and all the teachers have helped greatly with useful input. The Summer School took place 19th-22nd July 2006 and was a great success. Almost 50 people participated! I believe something really important for shakuhachi in Europe has been initiated. More information here: www.shakuhachisummer-soas.com/ www.soas.ac.uk/summermusicschool/At the moment I am also working on the creation of the European Shakuhachi Society. I am hopping to be able to create a society that embraces all styles of shakuhachi and covering all corners of Europe where there is an interest in this beautiful instrument. Perhaps a rotating leadership of ESS would be useful. With the help of Stephanie Hiller, a beautiful shakuhachi player and sound healer, we are have created a newsletter for ESS, where we can publish research on shakuhachi or just share our experiences. Hopefully the newsletter can continue being published in English, French and German, reflecting the diversity of Europe. It certainly is exciting times in Europe for shakuhachi lovers!Otherwise, I am co-presenting the programme Onkyodo on Resonance FM, which is London Musicians' Collective's radio station. You can hear it on 104.4 FM or on line at: www.resonancefm.com or read about us at: www.onkyodo.co.uk
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