CARSON — Japan Foundation Los Angeles will present Tea Time and Shamisen Mini-Concert on Saturday, Oct. 28, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (doors open 10:45 a.m.) at Loker Student Union (Ballroom A and B), CSU Dominguez Hills, 1000 E. Victoria St. in Carson.
Come and explore the campus, as well as meet new friends. This is an opportunity to converse about Japan, Japanese culture and language with Japanese speakers in Japanese and English. All Japanese levels are welcome; Japanese language experience is not necessary.Ages: 18 and up; under 18 with accompanying adult.
As a special treat, don’t miss shamisen player Mike Penny’s performance for this occasion. He has received numerous awards for his innovative compositions and performances using the Tsugaru shamisen. In 2007, he received the Japan Foundation’s Uchida Fellowship, which allowed him to study the instrument in Japan with Tokyo’s highly respected Tsugaru shamisen sensei Fukushi Toyoaki.
Penny has given hundreds of public performances and continues to perform regularly as a solo artist and in various groups. He has become known through his many viral video performances on YouTube, and has gained a following for his unprecedented style of shamisen playing, which combines traditional and extended techniques in a variety of musical contexts including jazz, Balkan folk, Western classical, and popular music in a fusion of both East and West, past and future. He is fluent in Japanese. (https://themikepennyorchestra.bandcamp.com)
Parking is available for $10, Preferably in Lots 2 (closer to LSU), 3 or 6. Free parking on Victoria Street.
Co-hosted by CSUDH Department of Modern Languages and Office of International Education.
Free but registration required. For inquiries, email jflainfo@jpf.go.jp. For links to registration and campus map/directions, go to: https://www.jflalc.org/event-details.php/132/tea-time-and-shamisen-mini-concert-at-csudh