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For more information about the Keiko Abe Academy, visit www.fredonia.edu/music The Keiko Abe Academy at SUNY Fredonia is generously supported by: Steve Weiss Music, The Hillman Memorial Music Association, SUNY Fredonia Emeritus Professor Theodore Frazeur, the College of Arts and Sciences, Academic Affairs, the Fredonia College Foundation’s Carnahan-Jackson Humanities Fund, Yamaha Corporation and the SUNY Fredonia School of Music.
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The Fredonia School of Music is presenting the Keiko Abe Academy June 18-22. Hailed by The New York Times as “a rare virtuoso,” Japanese marimba artist Keiko Abe is regarded as the world's leading marimba master, and will spend five days working on campus with participants in master classes and giving public concerts.
The five-day event begins on Monday, June 18 with a kick-off concert in Rosch Recital Hall at 8 p.m. The concert will feature a performance by Keiko Abe, several of her advanced students who are traveling from Japan to attend the Academy at Fredonia, and SUNY Fredonia’s ensembles of Mexican marimba, Ghanian gyil and balafon of Guinea. General admission tickets for this concert are $6.
The week-long Academy culminates with a Gala Performance and reception with Sensei Abe on Friday, June 22, at 8 p.m. in Rosch Recital Hall. A spectacular showcase highlighting Keiko Abe and the most advanced participants from the weeklong residency will present a rare performance of arrangements of Keiko Abe’s repertoire. General admission tickets are $12.
Both performances are open to the public. Tickets are available by calling the Fredonia Ticket Office at 716-673-3501 or online at www.fredonia.edu/tickets. Any remaining tickets will be available at the door.
A truly international event, the Academy is drawing students from Japan, Peru, Taiwan, and China, as well as from various locations in the US. The three dozen participants will attend workshops and performances with Abe and her collaborative teachers.
The Academy will feature morning sessions addressing specific issues of marimba performance and history offered by Rebecca Kite, marimba artist, historian, and author of the book that details the life and music of Keiko Abe; active sessions in Mexican Marimba Ensemble offered by Tiffany Nicely of the Fredonia percussion faculty; a presentation by Larry Dubill, Fredonia alumnus, who studied Japanese marimba music with Abe in Japan; and opportunities to participate in Dagara gyil (the traditional xylophone of the Dagara that may have started the whole marimba movement through Mexico to present day) ensemble, led by Fredonia School of Music student Matthew Aubuef, who has studied for several summers in Ghana and on campus with Bernard Woma.
Sensei Abe was at the forefront of developing the concert grand five octave marimba, setting the standard for the current state-of-the art instruments that are known today. By both pioneering new technical skills and expanding the literature, Abe has transformed what was once considered a primitive “folk” instrument into a full-fledged concert instrument.
In addition to her work as Professor of Marimba at Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, Abe maintains a full schedule of composing and touring.
“Keiko Abe’s presence on our campus will enrich the cultural life of our students, our community, and many other participants that we expect will attend this Academy,” said Kay Stonefelt, SUNY Fredonia percussion professor and lead organizer of the Keiko Abe Academy. “While Abe brings with her the highest degree of performance and the very essence of Japanese marimba music, she also brings an enthusiasm for life and a dedication to excellence that is undeniably infectious.”
During the 1960s and 80s, Sensei Abe gained attention and respect for exploring and bringing to public attention the works of Japanese composers such as Miyoshi, Ishii, Sukegawa, Takemitsu, Miki, and Tanaka. A member of the Percussive Arts Hall of Fame, Keiko Abe has developed her own style of composition that is regularly performed in concert halls around the world.
In addition to the importance of the Fredonia Keiko Abe Academy, there is a rich history and series of connections that tie this marimba master to SUNY Fredonia. According to SUNY Fredonia Percussion Professor Emeritus, Ted Frazeur, SUNY Fredonia was the first college campus on which Keiko Abe ever performed, which was during the 1980s. In the US, the first Keiko Abe Master Class/Workshop was a privately sponsored event, organized by Kay Stonefelt and Rebecca Kite in New Harmony, Indiana, in 1985.
