For the first time in Montreal, Kyle Abbott (Director of Bachido) and Aki Takahashi (Founder of Ten Ten) invite you to experience Min’yo at the JCCCM! On Saturday, July 19 at 2pm at the JCCCM, Kyle and Aki will be presenting a brief performance of Min’yo, Japanese folk music, featuring hard driving tsugaru shamisen and passionate singing.  Following this, they will share their knowledge of this art with the audience so that everyone can enjoy creating music together!

Consisting of songs for work and of everyday life, Min’yo is meant to be played and enjoyed by everyone regardless of age, or musical background.

Tell your friends! Bring your shamisen, taiko, flute,  or just yourself and your voice!

In order to encourage the participation of as many people as possible, we are not charging an admission fee, however, your donation will be gratefully accepted and will help defray Kyle and Aki’s travel expenses.

Aki Takahashi is a Japanese traditional shamisen player and folk singer. She studied traditional folk music in Kyoto, and has given shamisen and vocal performances at numerous venues and events. Since arriving in Canada, Aki has furthered her pursuit of traditional Japanese music with the addition of taiko drumming. Now Associate Artistic Director with pre-eminent Canadian taiko drumming group Nagata Shachu, she teaches taiko drumming, shamisen and voice. She is the founder of the Japanese Folk ensemble ten ten, and has performed with numerous artists from a variety of other cultural backgrounds and traditions. She also creates her own original compositions and has choreographed dance pieces to accompany her music.
http://tentencanada.com/

Kyle Abbott, shamisen player from Santa Cruz, California. Besides playing the shamisen, Kyle has also spent years pursuing building his own instrument. After successfully duplicating a professional-grade Tsugaru Shamisen, he published a comprehensive manual to teach anyone how to build and play their own. He also created Bachido, a Shamisen community which connects players and pools resources worldwide, helping anyone interested in shamisen to learn, play and meet other players.

For many years, Kyle has competed in Japan’s National Tsugaru Shamisen tournament. This year, Aki, Kyle and 20 other Bachido members joined the tournament to represent the world’s first International Shamisen Association, Bachido, and won the first prize!
Check out his website: http://bachido.com/