Prague Shakuhachi Summer School 07

The Prague Shakuhachi Summer School took place from August 18-21. Participants came from Czech republic, England, Holland and Ireland. The teachers were Christopher Yohmei Blasdel, Vlastislav Matousek and Kees Kort.



The summer school venue was close to the centre of Prague. Evening concerts took
place in a local church and literary cafe. One of the evening concerts featured collaborations between poets James Ragan and Petr Berkovec and shakuhachi players. The first half contained performances by Vlastislak Matousek and Marek Matvija accompaning the poetry of Petr Berkovec. In the second half Christoper Yohmei Blasdel accompanied James Ragan.



There was an evening concert devoted to honkyoku and another to contemporary music. These were held in a church with excellent acoustics in the old town.



The summer school included workshops on honkyoku, morning yoga classes and presentations. The pieces taught included Tamuke, Hifumi hachigaeshi and Kyorei. David Bidlo and I did a presentation on shakuhachi acoustics.



The city of Prague provided excellent opportunities for sight-seeing. Meals and accommodation were also quite affordable.



Many thanks to Marek and Vlastislav for an amazing summer school. I think everyone will be back for more next year.