Performance

Listen to the lilting melody of a flute and rhythmic drum beats while you view the exhibition Striking Chords: Music in Ukiyo-e Prints. These woodblock prints show the ubiquity of music in the life of Japanese townspeople during the Edo period (1615–1868). Local musician Shingo Tanaka plays the shinobue, the Japanese transverse flute, while Michael Lewis, a local percussionist, plays the drums, offering a multi-sensory art viewing experience.
During this performance, the audience will circulate through the exhibition in a kaiyū-gata 回遊型 or “circular style,” walking through galleries and briefly passing by the musicians. Seating will not be provided.
Free with admission.
An accomplished musician, Shingo Tanaka is interested in community music. In Japan, Shingo conducted field research and organized street music festivals. Recently Shingo relocated to Providence and has performed in a Boston University theater production (2019) and directed music for animation films selected by Providence Children’s Film Festival (2022).
Michael Lewis is a music educator in Rhode Island and has taught music in the District of Columbia and Massachusetts. An alumnus of The Boston Conservatory and Berklee College of Music, Michael specializes in contemporary and world percussion performance and education. Michael is an avid percussionist, composer, and has a strong interest in Japanese music and culture.
This performance is sponsored by RISD’s Division of Liberal Arts.
Image: Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III), The Broom Tree (Hahakigi), 1857, 11th month. Bequest of Isaac C. Bates.