Shoko Hikage

Yoko Hirano-Itatani

BERKELEY — Shoko Hikage and Yoko Hirano-Itatani will perform the works of two noted contemporary koto music composers, Michio Miyagi and Tadao Sawai, on Sunday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Hillside Club, located at 2286 Cedar St., just a couple of blocks north of the UC Berkeley campus.

The program will include koto performances by Shirley Muramoto and Brian Mitsuhiro Wong, and will also feature Robin Hartshorne on the shakuhachi.

“Haru no Umi” (on koto and shakuhachi), “Hira” (on koto, shamisen and shakuhachi) and “Hakkafu” (on koto and 17-string bass koto) will be just some of the compositions that will be performed.

Known as “the father of modern koto music,” Michio Miyagi (1894-1956) was a legendary performer, composer and educator who revolutionized koto music through the utilization of new playing and compositional techniques, as well through the invention of new instruments.

Tadao Sawai (1937-1997) changed the koto from being a traditional Japanese instrument to an instrument of universal expressiveness, furthering the work of Miyagi, the forerunner of the “New Japanese Music” movement.

Tickets are $15. For more information, call (510) 845-1350 or visit www.hillsideclub.org. The event is sponsored by Sakana Sushi & Grill and Amasia Hide’s sushi bar, both in San Francisco.

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