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Parallel 08
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Koto and bass koto player Miyama McQueen-Tokita brings the rich traditions of Japanese music into dialogue with contemporary composition, free improvisation, and experimental sound. Her work combines influences from Japanese traditional music, classical, jazz, folk, and alternative music. Through this synthesis, she has cultivated a distinctive artistic voice that connects cultures and musical worlds. Grounded in the expressive traditions of classical koto performance while embracing innovation, McQueen-Tokita reimagines new possibilities for the koto by treating it as an instrument for sonic discovery, rather than solely for melodic performance, and redefines the koto’s role in contemporary music, expanding its repertoire and artistic potential.
In this eighth edition of our PARALLELS series, McQueen-Tokita leads Both and Neither, a multi-day project that concludes with a live performance at the ANNEX. Miyama, a Japanese-Australian herself, invites members of the local Nikkei community to take part in the creation process and performance of a piece combining koto and an ensemble of vocalists. Participants will be invited to share stories and experiences about the connection they feel to their cultural heritage. These will be integrated into the final performance, resulting in a multi-perspective narrative.
Miyama has searched for answers to questions about her cultural and ethnic identity, posed both by others and herself. It took many years to decide that there is no singular, clear answer. Each person’s connection to and perspective of culture, language, and country are different, and that is something to be celebrated. This project offers a space to share the different nuances and complexities of our perspectives, in the hopes of deepening understanding of others and ourselves.
The workshop will explore different avenues of using the voice to convey a range of unique experiences. Improvisation will also be incorporated, as well as alternative forms of notation that will be accessible to people with or without musical experience. Workshop details TBA
VNM’s PARALLELS series brings internationally renowned artists together with local musicians to create new works that are specific to the time, places, and people involved in their creation. Each instalment of this series offers a multi-day workshop that provides participants hands-on learning and creative exploration in collaboration with established artists. The workshop culminates in a collaborative performance by the artist and participants.
Tokyo-based koto and bass koto player Miyama McQueen-Tokita’s practice re-imagines the vocabulary and tradition of Japanese music in the contemporary context of improvisation and experimental music. With the occasional addition of voice and electronics, Miyama’s work as a composer and interpreter speaks beyond her foundation in hogaku and experimental music, with influences ranging from Kazue Sawai to Meredith Monk. As a featured soloist and collaborator with ensembles such as the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Australian Art Orchestra, and performances at such festivals as Tokyo Jazz and Moers Festival, Miyama’s ability to exist in multiple musical worlds is a defining aspect of her musical identity.
Her debut solo album “SONOBE”, released in 2020, features new and existing works for the koto by composers from all around the world. In 2019 she spent six months in NYC as a grantee of the Asian Cultural Council New York Fellowship, where she immersed herself deeply in the experimental, free improvised and new music scenes. Miyama has been taught by Satsuki Odamura and Kazue Sawai.
