3224 Bee Ridge Rd Sarasota FL 34239

Please note this program is not part of the Hermitage’s traditional free programming. This event is hosted by the Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning as part of the “Music Mondays” series.
“Music Mondays: Schlefer on Shakuhachi: Ancient Flute in Modern Times”
with Hermitage Fellow James Schlefer
Presented in partnership with Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning
Monday, March 3 at 10:30am and 3pm
Church of the Palms (entrance at 3224 Bee Ridge Rd, Sarasota, FL 34239)
Venice Presbyterian Church (entrance at 825 The Rialto, Venice, FL 34285)
$15 single tickets are available at the door for this special event with Doug Wright: 10:30am at Church of the Palms (Sarasota) and 3pm at Venice Presbyterian Church (Venice).
Revered for its sonic as well as its spiritual resonance, the simple bamboo flute known as the shakuhachi has been an iconic part of Eastern culture since at least the 8th century. Returning Hermitage Fellow James Nyoraku Schlefer is one of the few non-Japanese practitioners who has achieved the rank of Grand Master, blending the instrument’s essential traditions with contemporary Western instrumentation while still honoring what many consider its meditative properties. A scholar as well as a performer, join this uniquely gifted Hermitage Fellow as part of SILL’s Music Mondays to learn more about the history of the shakuhachi, and hear this magical instrument played by one of its greatest living practitioners.
Hermitage Fellow James Nyoraku Schlefer is a Grand Master of the shakuhachi and one of only a handful of non-Japanese artists to have achieved this rank. He received the Dai-Shi-Han (Grand Master) certificate in 2001, and his second Shi-Han certificate in 2008, from the Mujuan Dojo in Kyoto. Schlefer first encountered the shakuhachi in 1979, while working towards a career as a flute player and pursuing an advanced degree in musicology. Today, he is considered by his colleagues to be one of most influential Western practitioners of this distinctive art form. Known to his students as Nyoraku sensei, Schlefer established his own dojo in NYC in 1996. He also taught shakuhachi at Columbia University for ten years, is a professor of world music courses at New York City College of Technology (CUNY) and performs and lectures at colleges and universities throughout the United States. As a composer, Schlefer has written multiple chamber and orchestral works combining Japanese and Western instruments, as well as numerous pieces solely for traditional Japanese instruments. His programming for Kyo-Shin-An Arts has also been recognized with two CMA/ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming. He is a returning Hermitage alumnus, and he was recognized by Musical America Worldwide as one of their “30 Top Professionals and Key Influencers.”