Spring Wind

On Sunday, June 11, Shakuhachi grand master Riley Lee will bring his exceptional talents to a performance at Gualala Arts.

Lee will be featured in both a solo performance and in a group setting, accompanied by Karl Young on shakuhachi and Chris Doering on guitar. The “Spring Wind” concert is set for 4:00 p.m. in Coleman Hall. Tickets are $20 advance, $5 more the day of, and are available at Gualala Arts, Dolphin Gallery and EventBrite.com.

Riley Lee was born in Plainview, Texas in 1951, and moved to Shawnee, Oklahoma in 1957 where, at age 13, he became the bass player of the award-winning rock band “The Workouts”. As a teenager, Lee and his family moved to Hawai’i in 1966. His first visit to Japan was in 1970; he returned to Japan in 1971, and began his shakuhachi studies, living there continuously until 1977.  Lee was awarded the rank of Grand Master (Dai Shihan) in 1980.

The June concert will be a multi-faceted event, beginning with poet and writer Laura Leigh summoning the audience to join her on Gualala Arts’ haiku path. She will then briefly describe the haiku path and the poets who’ve contributed to it. Leigh will then ask the audience members to follow Karl Young—who will be in full costume—playing one of the komuso pieces in full regalia, along the haiku path and into Coleman Hall.

Once in the performance space, Leigh will sing the traditional Japanese homage to spring, Sakura (Cherry Blossom), followed by the reading of a few selected haiku. Chris Doering will then perform a solo piece on guitar, be joined by Karl Young on shakuhachi for another piece, and finally by Young and Riley Lee, both on shakuhachi, for one more selection. After an intermission Riley Lee will perform a set of solo shakuhachi pieces, in addition to having Karl Young accompany him on shakuhachi for one duet.

Tickets for the “Spring Wind” concert event are available at Gualala Arts, the Dolphin Gallery and online at EventBrite.com. Download this poster and tell a friend about the concert.