(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.) – Duo Yumeno, whose repertoire explores the dialogue between classical Japanese and Western music, performs at the Clark Art Institute on Saturday, March 18, at 3 pm. The performance, which is held in conjunction with the exhibition Japanese Impressions: Color Woodblock Prints from the Rodbell Family Collection, will be held on the lower level of the Clark Center. The concert is free, but admission to the galleries will be charged.

Duo Yumeno is composed of New York-based koto/shamisen player and singer Yoko Reikano Kimura and cellist Hikaru Tamaki. The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument derived from the Chinese zheng, The shamisen is a banjo-like lute with three strings, brought to Japan from China in the sixteenth century. Duo Yumeno musicians, who specialize in music from Asia, forge a connection between their music and the art in the Japanese Impressions exhibition with the aim of creating a singular sound — inspired by tradition but with a contemporary sensibility.

Duo Yumeno champions works by contemporary American and Japanese composers, including Marty Regan, Daron Hagen, James Nyoraku Schlefer, Gene Coleman, Yoko Sato, Martin Max Shreiner, Lou Harrison, Minoru Miki, Takatomi Nobunaga and Hiroki Tamaki. In 2014, they were awarded the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program grant to commission a new work by Gene Coleman, and in 2015, received the Aoyama Baroque Saal Award. Their activities have been featured in the media, like the New York Times, Chamber Music Magazine, New York Classical Review, Yomiuri Shimbun, H?gaku Journal and NPR.

Yoko Reikano Kimura and Hikaru Tamaki first collaborated at the Fort Wayne Cherry Blossom Festival in 2008 and since then, have been performing together regularly in Japan and the US. Between 2010 and 2013, they have presented the Kacho-fugetsu concert series, for which they commissioned works by Marty Regan over a four year period. In recognition of the Kacho-fugetsu series, they were awarded the Janet Latz Professional Fellowship in 2011. Since 2010, they have held a successful annual tour to Japan that has extended to such cities as Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Some of the notable venues are the Tokyo National Museum, the My?nichi-kan Auditorium (Tokyo), the Aoyama Music Memorial Hall (Kyoto), Ry?an-ji and Yakushi-ji Temples. They have been actively presenting their cross-cultural programs throughout the US and have performed at venues such as the United Nations, New England Conservatory, Princeton University, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Ball State University, Bargemusic, Bryant Park, Tenri Cultural Institute of New York, Globus Washitsu, Renaissance Society of Chicago and Krasl Art Center (MI).

The duo was invited to Turkey in 2013, performing at the former Consulate General of Japan in Istanbul and at Namik Kemal University in Tekirdag. In 2014, they visited Trinidad and were featured at the opening concert of “Japan – CARICOM (14 Caribbean countries) Friendship Year 2014” – an event promoted by the Japan Foundation, NY and co-organized by the Embassy of Japan in Trinidad and Tobago. In 2015, the duo was invited to perform at Clare Hall, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, to present a concert featuring classical and modern works for Japanese instruments.

 

ABOUT THE CLARK

The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of more than 270,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.

The Clark is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. For more information, visit The Clark or call 413 458 2303.