Next month, the Japan-America Society of Greater Austin will host a concert by Tsugaru shamisen player Toshie Suzuki at Casa de Luz. This looks like it’ll be a great performance by a truly talented musician.
Toshie Suzuki Shamisen Concert Flyer (click to download)
About Toshie Suzuki
She was born in Nagoya, Japan and began practicing shamisen at age 10. She later moved to Tsugaru (Aomori Prefecture) to study the Tsugaru Shamisen. Suzuki-san traveled in Asia, where she learned the sitar in India at age 17. In 2003, she became the youngest winner of the National Tsugaru Shamisen contest in Japan, and for the next three years (2005-2007) she was the second-place winner in that contest. In 2008, she placed first in the women’s Tsugaru Shamisen competition in Kobe and Osaka. She currently provides instruction in Tsugaru Shamisen.
About the Tsugaru Shamisen
The tsuragu shamisen is a large shamisen with thicker strings than those used for most other styles. Traditionally, it has a dog-skin covered sound box, rather than the normal cat-skin do. This particular style is known for the percussive style that its players use (as you can see in the video below).
Event Details:
Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Time: 7:00pm to 8:30pm Central US Time
Location: Casa de Luz, 1701 Toomey Road, Austin, TX
Cost: $3 for non-members; free for members; free for 18 years old or younger.
Here is a video of one of her performances:
Toshie Suzuki Tsugaru Shamisen (PDF Concert flyer, 248KB)