Music to Welcome Moons into Waves
April 18 @ 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Public Event On-Site
Location
Tickets
Patron Circle: $85
Supporter Level Members: $100
Non-Members: $150
Music to Welcome Moons into Waves
Step into the meditative beauty of Lotusland’s Japanese Garden for Music to Welcome Moons into Waves (2025), a newly composed ritualistic work blending ancient Japanese instruments with the sounds of nature. Organized by Professor Fabio Rambelli and composed by Daryl Jamieson, this performance draws upon medieval Japanese concepts of music, rhythm, and place, creating a profound dialogue between human artistry and nonhuman soundscapes.
This immersive piece is scored for four ancient Japanese instruments historically used in gagaku, the ceremonial music of Japan’s imperial court, Buddhist temples, and Shinto shrines. These instruments, largely unchanged since the 8th century, preserve the sounds of ages past. Among them, the ō-hichiriki and u were long-lost instruments that have only recently been reconstructed, making this performance an exceptionally rare opportunity to hear them live, even in Japan.
The composition is performed from 5:00 – 6:00 PM, during the Japanese Hour of the Monkey, as birds, winds, and waters prepare for nightfall. A reception will follow.
Thomas Piercy – Hichiriki & Ō-hichiriki
A renowned clarinetist and hichiriki specialist, Thomas Piercy is recognized for his mastery of both Western and Japanese woodwinds. His diverse career spans classical, contemporary, and traditional music, and he has premiered numerous compositions blending Japanese and Western musical elements. As a hichiriki player, he has trained with masters of gagaku and brings a deep understanding of its hauntingly expressive sound to this performance.
Hichiriki & Ō-hichiriki – Double-reed wind instruments with a distinctive, emotive tone
A. Lish Lindsey – Ryūteki
Flutist A. Lish Lindsey is a dedicated performer of historical and contemporary wind instruments, specializing in both Western flutes and traditional Japanese flutes, including the ryūteki. The ryūteki, or “dragon flute,” is a key instrument in gagaku, its penetrating, bright sound evoking the movement of celestial beings. Lindsey’s work as a performer and educator explores the cross-cultural connections between ancient and modern wind instruments.
Ryūteki – A transverse flute that represents the sound of the dragon ascending to heaven
Rory Lindsay – Gaku-biwa
Historian and musician Rory Lindsay specializes in East Asian musical traditions, with a particular focus on the gaku-biwa, a plucked lute used in gagaku and Buddhist ritual music. The gaku-biwa has a deeply resonant tone, often associated with storytelling and the evocation of spiritual landscapes. Lindsay’s research and performances bridge the worlds of academic scholarship and musical artistry, bringing this rare instrument to life for modern audiences.
Gaku-biwa – A plucked lute traditionally used in court and Buddhist music
Fabio Rambelli – Shō & U
Fabio Rambelli is a Distinguished Professor of Japanese Religions and Cultural History at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and holds the International Shinto Foundation Chair of Shinto Studies. An accomplished player of the shō, he has studied the ancient traditions of gagaku music and explores its meditative and cosmic dimensions in performance. The shō, a bamboo mouth organ, produces rich, sustained harmonies that symbolize the interplay of heaven and earth. Rambelli’s music is available for listening here.
Shō & U – Bamboo mouth organs producing rich, harmonic textures
