Study Guide

Monday, January 29, 2018 at 10:30am

Contents ATTENDING A PERFORMANCE AT TILLES CENTER ................. 3-4

YOUR ROLE AS AN AUDIENCE MEMBER ....................................... 5

ARTIST STATEMENT ......................................................................... 6

ABOUT YAMATO: DRUMMERS OF JAPAN .................................. 7-8

INTRODUCTION TO TAIKO INSTRUMENTS .............................. 9-11

ACTIVITIES: DRUM CIRCLE ...................................................... 12-13

AFTER THE PERFROAMNCE .......................................................... 14

REVIEW WORKSHEET .................................................................... 15

ABOUT TILLES CENTER ................................................................. 16

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ATTENDING A PERFORMANCE The concert hall at Tilles Center seats 2,242 people. Hillwood Recital Hall seats 490 people. When you attend a performance at Tilles Center, there are a few things you should remember:

ARRIVAL • Plan to arrive approximately 30 minutes prior to the show.• Performances cannot be held for late buses.• LIU Post Public Safety will direct buses to parking areas.• Remain seated on the bus until instructed to unload.• Please stagger chaperones throughout the group to help keep students in line

and moving quickly to the seating area.• Groups are directed into the theater in the order that they arrive.

BEING SEATED (IMPORTANT!) • Upon entering the theater, ushers will direct students and teachers to sit row

by row. Students will be seated in the order which they enter the building.Groups from your school may be seated separately from one anotherthroughout the theatre. We ask that at least one chaperone is assigned toevery 15 students for grades Pre-K- 5, and one chaperone to every 30students for grades 5-12. We recommend that a teacher or chaperone sitat the end of each row of students in the theatre. With adequate adultsupervision, students which may be seated in different sections of thetheatre will have enough chaperones to ensure safety. We ask for your fullcooperation with this procedure in order to start the show on time!

• Please allow ushers to seat your group in its entirety before makingadjustments within the row. This allows us to continue seating groups thatarrive after you. Once the entire group is seated you may rearrange students innew seats and use the restrooms.

• Schools are not allowed to change their seats.• All students must be supervised by a teacher at all times including when

going to the restroom - high school students are no exception.

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DURING THE SHOW • There is no food or drink permitted in the theater or lobby areas.• Photography and audio/video recording are not permitted during the

performance.• Please turn off (or leave behind) all electronic devices, including cell phones,

portable games, cameras, and recording equipment. Keep them off for the entireperformance. The devices may interfere with the theater’s sound system as wellas being disruptive to both the audience and the actors. And please – no textingor checking messages during the show!

• Please do not disturb the performers and other members of the audience bytalking.

• If something in the show is meant to be funny, laughter is encouraged!• Please do not leave and re-enter the theater during the performance.• There is no intermission; visit the restroom prior to the start of the

show. Performances generally run 50 - 60 minutes.

EMERGENCY CANCELLATIONS If schools throughout the area are closed due to inclement weather, Tilles Center performances will be cancelled. If, on the day prior to a performance, it appears that inclement weather may cause a performance to be cancelled, all schools will be called by our staff to alert them to this possibility. School representatives should periodically check the Tilles Center website (tillescenter.org) when winter weather advisories and warnings are in effect. Updates will be posted regularly on the home page. On the morning of the performance a message will be posted on the website no later than 6:30 AM indicating if the performance has been cancelled.

If a performance is cancelled, Tilles Center will attempt to reschedule performances on a date mutually agreeable to the artists and the majority of ticket buyers.

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YOUR ROLE AS AN AUDIENCE MEMBERTO THE TEACHER: An essential component needed to create a live performance is the audience. Please talk with your students about what it means to be an audience member and how a “live” performance is different from TV and movies. Please share the following information with your students prior to your visit to Tilles Center. Some performances may involve audience participation so students should behave appropriately, given the nature of the performance and the requests of the artists on the stage. By discussing appropriate audience behavior, as a class ahead of time, the students will be better prepared to express their enthusiasm in acceptable ways during the performance.

BEING AN AUDIENCE MEMBER: Audience members play an important role— until an audience shows up, the performers are only rehearsing! When there is a “great house” (an outstanding audience) it makes the show even better, because the artists feel a live connection with everyone who is watching them. When the “house lights” (the lights in the part of the theater where the audience is sitting) go down, everyone feels a thrill of anticipation. Focus all your attention on the stage and watch and listen carefully to the performance. The most important quality of a good audience member is the ability to respond appropriately to what’s happening on stage… sometimes it’s important to be quiet, but other times, it’s acceptable to laugh, clap, or make noise! If the audience watches in a concentrated, quiet way, this supports the performers and they can do their best work. They can feel that you are with them!

The theater is a very “live” space. This means that sound carries very well, usually all over the auditorium. Theaters are designed in this way so that the voices of singers and actors can be heard. It also means that any sounds in the audience - whispering, rustling papers, or speaking - can be heard by other audience members and by the performers. This can destroy everyone’s concentration and spoil a performance. Do not make any unnecessary noise that would distract the people sitting around you. Be respectful!

Applause is the best way for an audience in a theater to share its enthusiasm and to appreciate the performers, so feel free to applaud at the end of the performance. At the end of the performance, it is customary to continue clapping until the curtain drops or the lights on stage go dark. During the curtain call, the performers bow to show their appreciation to the audience. If you really enjoyed the performance, you might even thank the artists with a standing ovation!

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ARTIST STATEMENT

倭 YAMATO the Drummers of Japan World Tour 2017-2018

「挑戦者 “Chousensha” - The Challengers

YAMATO challenges the possibilities of Taiko drumming. We continue challenging ourselves to achieve our potential.

The members of YAMATO are always the Challengers. With us, you will also be a challenger at every moment.

“The Challengers”

People challenge themselves every day. Under the sky, on the ground,

They keep moving forwards with hope and dreams in their hearts. Sometimes, they are alone. Sometimes, they are hand in hand with someone.

In pouring rain, in approaching darkness, We gather all our courage and challenge our unpredictable lives.

Eventually the sun rises in the distant cloudless sky. The beat of our hearts in our bodies faces the sunrise.

Our continuous challenge. The source of our energy.

Feel the uninterrupted vibration of the beat throughout our bodies.

We will never lose.

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ABOUT YAMATO: DRUMMERS OF JAPAN Since its formation in 1993, the high-energy taiko drum troupe, YAMATO, has made over 3500 performances in 53 countries. Having travelled the world with traditional Japanese taiko drums, we have shared our energy with over 6 million people and continue to do so with our latest program titled “The Challengers.”

Since the group’s inception, YAMATO has pursued the possibilities of the traditional Japanese taiko drum. YAMATO brings new life to contemporary taiko drumming while paying respect to the rich history of the art form.

When the performance group YAMATO was formed unexpectedly, we lacked the traditional structure of other Japanese taiko drum groups. For that reason, it became essential for us to create something new, and we gladly accepted that challenge.

Together we ate, slept, and strengthened our bodies and souls. We dedicated all our strength to playing the taiko drums day after day. We, the young expressionists of YAMATO, struggled in the realm between tradition and innovation. Our unique approach and desire to create something new using traditional instruments received unavoidable criticism.

Additionally, using every moment of our time in production was a difficult lifestyle, and we always felt uncertain about the future. To cope with this uncertainty, we created our slogan, “We would travel wherever we are invited! To give energy to the world!” We traveled across the globe, and the applause and cheers we received from those we met gave us the energy to step into the future and overcome the numerous difficulties that stood before us.

Our newest program, “The Challengers,” is fueled by group members’ feelings about their own lives and their experiences in challenging their own limits. Most of all, “The Challengers” offers an anthem of encouragement to all of you who were born in the same era and continue with your own challenges.

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In this program, we are making new attempts, which are challenges in their own right. Most notably, YAMATO will be wearing outfits designed by the international fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto, who also produces his own shows that have grown into massive festivals. Why have we teamed up with an international designer, when previously we had been producing all our own costumes? It is because we need to wear his work in order to feel his big energy woven into it. As we inherit Kansai Yamamoto’s limitless spirit of challenge, we are able to refine and stimulate our challenging spirit even further.

This is a new challenge and a new step to YAMATO.

YAMATO will continue to challenge. Just like everyone who challenges themselves at every moment.

We are all challengers. Let us challenge together.

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INTRODUCTION TO TAIKO INSTRUMENTS Miya-daiko This is a beer-barrel shaped drum with tacked heads made of one big piece of wood (Japanese cypress, zelkova, oak).

It was brought to Japan from China through Korea around the 15th century. The Miya-daiko is used mainly for Japanese traditional festivals.

Hira-daiko These Taiko drums are made in the same way as Miya-daiko. Their diameter is longer than a man’s height.

Okedo-daiko These are lace-headed drums of various sizes. Many pieces of wood are put together to make an Okedo-daiko. The biggest Okedo-daiko in Japan is 380cm in diameter.

It is made light so that it can be played while being carried. Musicians frequently play this type of Taiko drums at the Shishimai (Japanese dance-like play) or Kabuki.

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Shime-daiko A small drum with laced heads, the Shime-daiko was brought to Japan from Kudara (Korea) around the 6th century. Its body is made of zelkova, or pine tree, which is hollowed out inside.

Cow skin is put over each end and fastened with hemp. This Taiko drum has a high pitched sound and is often used to play fast rhythm.

Chappa A small bronze cymbal, the Chappa was used widely in the ancient Near East. Passing along the Silk Road, it was first brought to China, and then to Japan around the Nara Era. It is often used at religious services.

Shamisen One of the best-known Japanese instruments, the Shamisen is used to provide accompaniment to different styles of vocal music and theatrical performances.

The Shamisen came to Japan from China via the Ryukyu Island and was fashioned into its current shape during the 16th century. It has a long thin neck and a box which resonates when its three strings are plugged with a big plectrum called Bachi. The Shamisen became widely popular from about the 17th century. Today it can be heard accompanying Kabuki, Bunraku and Joruri performances as well as traditional dances and folk songs.

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Koto The Koto was introduced to Japan in the Nara Era as one of the instruments used in Japanese court music and dance from China in the Tang Dynasty. The first Japanese Koto was the Chikushi Koto. The unique composer Kenko Yamada used the Koto as his main instrument. Before that the Koto was only used as an accompaniment. Yamada continued improving the instrument in cooperation with Koto master Fusayoshi Shigemoto and together they created a new type of Koto of about 180cm wide. This increased the volume of sound dramatically. The sound also became much clearer. Yamato’s Koto is the original Yamada Koto and the production method and playing technique have been passed down until today. The best sound quality for the Yamada Koto is acquired with a hollowed-out Paulownia tree forty to fifty years old having a diameter of about 40cm. Shinobue

Shinobue The Shinobue is a Japanese flute made from shino-bamboo. There are twelve types of Shinobue flutes, each having seven holes. The Shinobue acts as the melodic counterpart to the rhythm of the Taiko.

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ACTIVITIES: DRUM CIRCLES Adapted from http://www.allthingsmusical.com/public/Drum_Circle_Ideas_for_the_Music_Classroom.cfm

OUTCOMES - What students will learn in this lesson: • Students will learn about TIMBRE - the quality of sound, by exploring the contrast

between sound groups• Students will learn about DYNAMICS - through following a conductor and varying

their volume• Students will learn about RHYTHM and IMPROVISATION by improvising a one

bar pattern.

What you need: Drum Instruments

WOODEN SOUNDS This includes Wood Blocks, Temple Blocks, Claves, Jam Blocks (which are modern, plastic wood blocks), Rhythm Sticks and Tapping sticks. You'll need a stick to hit these instruments.

METAL SOUNDS These include cowbells of all shapes and sizes, tuned bells, triangles and small gongs.

SHAKERS + SCRAPERS These include maracas, egg shakers, guiros, tube shakers, home-made shakers from tubs of rice & gravel, and rain sticks. Anything can fall into this group!

Set a rhythm and have the students repeat it back to you. Start each instrument group separately, have them practice and then stop. Then start them one at a time and bring them in all together. Let them know that there will be a time to play and a time to stop, and when we're stopped it is important that they listen and are ready to follow instructions. Don't talk too loudly, and don't ever talk over them tapping instruments. If anyone is tapping an instrument while you're talking, have them put the instruments down on the floor and not touch them.

YouTube is a great resource for examples of drum circle facilitation. Look for ideas on how to start and stop the drum circle and what kind of cues you would like to use.

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GAME IDEAS

1. Rhythm Improvisation GameThis game works for all groups - no matter their level of musical experience. Whatyou do is “pass a rhythm” from one person to the next around the circle. The idea ofthis game is to explore the different sound colors of wood, metal, drums andshakers. (or as many groups as you have if you don't have all of them). The idea isthat you need to get the whole rhythm group going, and then go around the group,and let just one group know that they are going to keep going once you've stoppedthe rest of the group. Try having just the shakers keep playing. You might start bywalking around the circle making eye contact with the shaker players, then mouthingout “shakers keep playing,” before giving a big stop cue and having the rest of theplayers stop. You should have a massive drop in sound, and then you canencourage a little clap for the shaker players, then bring back in the rest of thegroup. You can use a big vocal cue like “1 - 2 let’s all play,” or you can graduallybring back in the group one by one.

Once you've done the shakers, then brought everyone else back in, try the wood sounds, metal sounds and drums. After alternating instruments a few times give them a big stop, and have a talk about what they have just experienced. What they just experienced is something called TIMBRE. you can explain the meaning of this word, and talk about how and why instruments have a different timbre from each other.

2. Instrument Change GameSet a cue, like a whistle blow, that will mean: “Swap to the instrument on your right”.Have the students get up, leave the instrument on their chair, and move to the nextchair. This way, your setup that you had at the start of the lesson should bemaintained throughout, and you'll be able to run right through the instruments again.

3. Dynamic Directors GamesThis an opportunity for them to learn about dynamics, and what they mean. Start bysimply directing the group yourself, up for loud, down for soft. Try gradualcrescendos and diminuendos (getting louder and softer), as well as, suddenchanges. You can even have half the group on different dynamics from the otherhalf.

Create a few dynamics flashcards with pianissimo, piano, mezzo piano, mezzo forte, forte, fortissimo on them. After explaining the meaning of each dynamic to the students, show them to the group and see how quickly they can respond with the right dynamic. Empower the students by giving some of them a turn to conduct the rest of the group.

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AFTER THE PERFORMANCE:

In discussing a theater performance, it is often more productive to ask the question “what did you see in the production?” or “what do you remember most strongly about the performance?” rather than “did you like the play?” The first two questions lead to observation or analysis of the performance, encouraging recall of details, while the third question encourages more judgmental responses. Although audience members respond positively and/or negatively to a work of art, critique should come in later in the discussion process. Discussion of which aspects of a play remain in one’s memory often reveals the artistic choices at the heart of a work. Have students describe a memorable moment from the play in various ways —verbally, in writing, by drawing, or through movement.

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Name: ReviewWorksheet

Writeandillustrateareviewarticletoinformothersabouttheperformanceyousaw.Titleyourarticle,illustrateamoment,andwriteabouttheperformance!Includewhatyousawandheard,howtheperformancemadeyoufeel,andyourfavoritepart.

Title:

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Tilles Center for the Performing Arts,at LIU Post in Brookville, is Long Island’s premier concert hall.

A constituent of LIU, Tilles Center hosts more than 70 performances by world-renowned artists in music, theater and dance each season. Among the artists and ensembles that have been presented by the Center are the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the Big Apple Circus, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, James Taylor, the Paper Bag Players, Wynton Marsalis, and the MET Orchestra with James Levine. In addition, Tilles Center is home to important regional arts organizations including the Eglevsky Ballet.

Tilles Center’s Concert Hall seats 2,242 and features orchestral performances, fully-staged operas, ballets and modern dance, along with Broadway shows, and all forms of music, dance and theater from around the world. Chamber music, cabaret, solo recitals, and theater productions for children and adults are presented in the more intimate 490-seat Hillwood Recital Hall.

Arts Education programs are made possible, in part, by the Gilbert and Rose Tilles Endowment for Arts Education.

Tilles Center’s Education Programs are made possible, in part, with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

School Partnership Program An intensive part of Tilles Center’s Arts Education program is the School Partnership program, modeled on the highly acclaimed aesthetic education program that has evolved over a 35-year period at Lincoln Center. The Partnership is a comprehensive approach to teaching and learning about the arts, applicable to all grade levels and academic disciplines. The Partnership inspires students and teachers to approach the arts with an open mind and to gain insights into the creative process. Attendance at professional performances at Tilles Center is combined with experiential in-school workshops. Led by teaching artists and teachers, students explore their own artistic capabilities while strengthening essential skills – abstract thinking, teamwork, critical judgment, problem solving. Guided to a deeper level of understanding, students learn what to look for, and listen to, in a performance or work of art.

The School Partnership works with students Pre-K - high school and provides professional development for teachers.

For information about the School Partnership Program, and other performances, visit tillescenter.org or call (516) 299-2752.

2017-18 Partners

Carle Place East Meadow Freeport Great Neck East Williston Glen Cove Roosevelt Syosset The Portledge School

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