Reduction is a theatrical response that brings back the foundational aesthetics of Japanese music with a pared down concert of music and dance. It is a performative statement that articulates the stoicism of musical and theatrical elements that are lost in the non-traditional rhythmic and sonic embellishments that appear in mainstream renditions of Japanese drumming. Minimal arrangements of original compositions and improvisation merge contemporary and classical philosophies of a fluid and complex musicality. The evening is a confluence of the combined stylization of Tsukasa Taikos’ premiere performance ensemble Gintenkai with musicians Hamid Drake, Michael Zerang, Edward Wilkerson Jr., Mwata Bowden and Nicole Mitchell, international grandmasters Chizuru Kineya, Hyakkyo Fukuhara, Takane Umeya and Kimiei Fujima, as well as local grandmaster Yoshinojo Fujima.

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The program will feature a pre-show presentation by Helen Nagata for the Ethnic and Folk  Arts Master/Apprentice Program by the Illinois Arts Council final public showcase.