Appalachian Spring + Silk Road

Experience the timeless beauty of Copland’s iconic masterpiece, Appalachian Spring, as it vividly portrays the American landscape. Kojiro Uzmezaki joins the Symphony as he uses the shakuhachi to transform the landscape imagined in Angel Lam’s Empty Mountain, Spirit Rain, and Takuma Itoh’s Faded Aura.  

About Kojiro Umezaki

Noted by The New York Times as a “virtuosic, deeply expressive shakuhachi player and composer” and the LA Times as one of the “better kept secrets of Southern California music,” Kojiro Umezaki (梅崎康二郎) has performed regularly with the Silkroad Ensemble since 2001. He appears on the Grammy Award winning album Sing Me Home, A Playlist Without Borders, Off the Map, and the Grammy-nominated 2015 documentary film, The Music of Strangers, directed by Morgan Neville. In a Circle Records released (Cycles), an album of original work, in 2014, and 流芳 Flow, a duo album with Wu Man, in 2021. A new collaborative album with Hub New Music—a distance, intertwined—will be released by In a Circle Records on Friday June 7, 2024. Other notable recordings as performer, composer, and/or producer include Brooklyn Rider’s Dominant Curve, Nicole Mitchell’s Mandorla Awakening II, Kei Akagi’s Aqua Puzzle, and Huun Huur Tu’s Ancestors Call. Born to a Japanese father and Danish mother, Umezaki grew up in Tokyo, and continues to explore global and hybrid practices in music.

Secure your seat with a Season subscription. Visit www.southbendsymphony.org or call 574-232-6343 to save your seats and get the best prices! Single tickets on sale July 22, 2024.