Academy Week

Evening Concerts on Wednesday and Friday are free and open to the community!

Who to contact

School of Music Office

Festival Music of Japan with Eien Hunter-Ishikawa & the ARC Edo Ensemble

June 19-23, 2023 at SUNY Fredonia campus

If you can't join us for the full workshop, please join us for one of these FREE community events during Academy Week:

Wednesday, June 21:

3:30pm Summer Solstice Forest Bathing/Contemplative Walk (Shinrin Yoku) on the campus' Phillips-Ulrich Community Trail (aka Campus Woodlot) with Jennifer Fendya, Ph. D. (meet at clocktower at 3:20pm) read more
8:00pm CONCERT with Eien Hunter-Ishikawa and the ARC Edo Ensemble (Rosch Recital Hall) read more

Friday, June 23:

8:00pm GRAND FINALE CONCERT with Eien Hunter-Ishikawa and the ARC Edo Ensemble (Rosch Recital Hall) read more

Please note:

Deadline for reserving on-campus housing is Thursday, June 8
Deadline for reserving meal plan is Monday, June 12

register now

CTLE credit is available
Graduate credit is available
Opportunities are available for beginners through advanced
Campus housing is available
Meal plans are available
Register for full-day or evenings only

Join us for five days of expert instruction in the Wakayama-Shachu style of Edo Bayashi festival music and Shishimai, a Japanese traditional lion dance that is performed at many ritual events to bring good luck to communities and chase away evil. Participants will focus on and learn to play shimedaiko and odaiko drum rhythms, and atarigane patterns, as well as the unique dance movements of the shishimai. Additional instruction will also be available in shinobue/fue melodies for interested participants.

Participants will need to provide their own fue and bachi (drumsticks, specified below). If you do not already own these items, please order early as availability is limited.

#6 fue (Utabue) (vendor)
bachi (32 cm hinoki) (vendor)

Festival Music of Japan Academy Week will attract musicians and scholars who have an interest in current and past performance practices of musical genres that were and are influenced by folkloric culture and tradition. In addition to specific instrumental groups, Academy Week performance classes will attract participants with interest in dance, music and gesture, folkloric culture, music therapy, historians who study diverse cultural backgrounds, and those who have interest in the theory, structure, performance practice, and ritual of ancient and current Japanese festival music, and the influence of such on current contemporary performance practice. Historical information and performance instruction will attract a broader segment of participants who have interests in Japanese music and culture, past and present, and those with wider interests in the arts of all cultures as applied to festival, folklore, and ritual.

Morning, afternoon, and evening sessions will focus on instrumental and dance performance techniques and historical and theoretical information. Participants will be guided in small ensemble preparation that will lead toward performances in evening mini concerts, culminating with a gala, closing night, instructor/student concert (open to the public) of this ancient festival music of Japan.

Eien Hunter-Ishikawa is a champion of traditional Japanese cultural arts who works to build awareness, provide education, and demonstrate value through performances around North America and beyond. He strives to help people connect through meaningful cultural exchange and understanding.

Registration Info:

History & Culture (evenings only): $300 until May 15 ($400 after May 15)
History & Culture AND Applied Performance Techniques (full day/evening): $450 until May 15 ($700 after May 15)