Tag ‘Kengo Watanabe’
“‘Chaos’ in Niigata Today” by Kengo Watanabe
Dec. 3, 2015
“Chaos” in Niigata Today
Today we have our Niigata performance of “Chaos”! The first time I ever saw a Kodo performance was here at the Niigata Prefecture Civic Center. I hope everyone who comes along to see us today in Niigata thoroughly enjoys our performance! We are waiting for you all at the theater!
▶Performance Schedule (Nov.–Dec. 2015)
Premiere Tour Throughout Japan
Nagoya Dec. 15 (Tue), 2015 Aichi Arts Center, Nagoya, Aichi
Yokohama Dec. 17 (Thu) Kanagawa Kenmin Hall, Yokohama, Kanagawa
Tokyo Dec. 19 (Sat)–23 (Wed./Public Hol.) Bunkyo Civic Hall, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo
“My Monochrome Debut” by Kengo Watanabe
Sep. 19 Kodo Special Ensemble Performance at Maestro Trip Around Chiba Vol. 4: Japanese Traditional Taiko
Eight of us appeared in a “Kodo Special Ensemble Performance” in Chiba. Part One was a talk by Eiichi Saito about Monochrome, a piece by modern music maestro Maki Ishii (d. 2003) composed for Japanese taiko drums that is renowned as an iconic feature of the Kodo repertoire. Part Two was a mini concert by Kodo.
It was my very first time to perform Monochrome for an audience.
I still have a lot to learn, but I was so happy to play this piece with some of Kodo’s veteran members.
Sep. 19 (Fri), 2014 Chiba City Wakaba Culture Hall, Chiba City
“Kodo Special Ensemble Performance at Maestro Trip Around Chiba Vol. 4: Japanese Traditional Taiko”
“My First Overseas Tour, ‘DADAN'” by Kengo Watanabe
This “DADAN” tour is my first time giving performances abroad. Leading up to the opening night, I was especially nervous to see how the people in Spain would react to our performance, but they got very excited, much more than I had expected! So after the performance I was on such a high, which didn’t go away even after I got back to my hotel room.
We receive such great applause every time we perform, but I am not going to let myself be satisfied by that considering my own power right now. What I will do is think more and more about performing and by the time we get back to Japan, I hope that my senior Kodo members will think that I have grown. Then, I want to show people in Japan how I am developing as a performer, too.
I am still an inexperienced junior member, so I will keep trying hard to catch up to the senior Kodo members!