The KSK-NA is the North American branch of the Kokusai Shakuhachi Kenshukan based in Japan, founded by the Grand Master Yokoyama Katsuya, who was one of the main contributors to the global expansion of the shakuhachi, pushing the instrument across the borders of the islands of Japan. In the 1960’s he played at the Carnegie Hall with New York Philharmonic with the conductor Seiji Osawa, premiering the piece November Steps by the Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu, leaving his mark in the musical history between East and West.
His three closest disciples, Furuya Teruo, Matama Kazushi & Kakizakai Kaoru performed together with his master around the globe and also established themselves as the new generation of shakuhachi teachers continuing Yokoyama’s legacy in Japan, Europe, Australia, China, Taiwan and the Americas. Together they hold annual workshops in Japan, do recordings for the NHK television productions, work closer with the top Japanese contemporary music composers of our time, and manage the International Shakuhachi Festival, held every for 4 years. Previous Festival locations include: Bisei - Japan, Boulder – USA, Sidney – Australia, and New York – USA. Individually they are accomplished musicians that tour the globe, including performances at the renowned Salzburg Jazz Festival with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, and have their own recorded albums and teaching schools.
Matheus Ferreira is, amongst the non-japanese descendents, one of the most active musicians and cultural producers outside Japan, and together with Patrick Johnson in Seattle, started the KSK -NA branch. Both Patrick and Matheus work intensively as teachers of this tradition and holders of the Yokoyama playing style lineage. Their mission is to perpetuate his legacy by giving access to the wider audience to proper instruction and to live performances. Through the shakuhachi, ancient Japanese Zen flute, Matheus founded the Suizen Shakuhachi Dojo in 2010 in São Paulo, Brazil, to keep a cultural exchange between Brazil and Japan. Patrick founded the Hakakumei Shakuhachi Dojo in Seattle, both non-profit organizations that are now under the KSK-NA banner. Both organizations are dedicated to promote the shakuhachi culture, acting in the forefront of this cultural resignification of the instrument in the Americas.Aki No Neiro: Shades of Autumn: A Shakuhachi Flute Concert
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