Courtesy photo.
SANTA BARBARA — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present “UCSB Gagaku Project — Music of the Imperial Ceremonies of Japan, One Thousand Years of Elegance and Harmony” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 27 at SBMA’s Mary Craig Auditorium, 1130 State St., Santa Barbara.
In collaboration with the UCSB Gagaku Project, a multidisciplinary initiative spearheaded in 2019 by UCSB Professor Fabio Rambelli, SBMA’s Friends of Asian Art is proud to present a Japanese gagaku performance.
This event features musicians from the Naoyuki MANABE GAGAKU Ensemble. Manabe, who holds a degree from the prestigious Tokyo University of the Arts, is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and dancer who has performed internationally. The ensemble includes leading musicians Yoshie Kunimoto and Yutaka ?ta. Also performing is special guest Maestro Hideaki Bunno, former Director of the Gagaku Orchestra at the Tokyo Imperial Palace. Bunno is the 45th generation of a family that has transmitted the art of the sh?. In 2009, he received the prestigious prize from the Japanese Academy of the Arts. The Gagaku Orchestra at the Imperial Palace of Japan was established in 701; its music is recognized by UNESCO as part of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Gagaku is the most ancient and continuously performed orchestral tradition in the world. It is exceptional in its combination of an archaic allure with unexpected contemporary features such as free rhythms, complex sound clusters, and controlled dissonance.
Free SBMA Members, Students, and UCSB Faculty/$5 Non-Members
Get tickets at tickets.sbma.net
Please note, this event is in person at Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s Mary Craig Auditorium. Visitors who plan to attend an event in SBMA’s Mary Craig Auditorium must show proof of being fully vaccinated with a booster (if eligible) OR, in some cases, supply a negative Covid-19 medical test result (taken within 72 hours prior to each event), along with an official photo ID, before entering the venue. All visitors must also follow SBMA’s mask policy and wear a mask while attending events in SBMA’s Mary Craig Auditorium.