EAST MEETS WEST IN JAMESTOWN 
The Jamestown Chamber Music Series Collaborates with the Japan Language and 
Culture Center of Providence to Present an Evening of Japanese Art Songs, 
Traditional Music, and Visual Displays.

      The Jamestown Chamber Music Series presents "East Meets West: The 
Music of Ikuma Dan" on Sunday, April 28 at 7:00 p.m. The program evokes the 
exotic atmosphere of the Far East through visual images and music. Featuring 
Japan’s preeminent composer, Ikuma Dan, whose music combines the drama of 
Italian opera, the delicacy of French Impressionism, and the mysticism of the 
Orient. Joan Ceo, harp, and Jill Maurer-Davis, flute perform with "Music for 
a While" — soprano Julibeth Andrews, tenor Eric Bronner and pianist Nancy 
Nicholson.

     Kimono and Cultural Displays by the Japan Language and Culture Center 
of Providence.

     "East Meets West" takes place at Central Baptist Church, 99 
Narragansett Avenue, Jamestown, R.I. Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for 
children under 12.  For reservations, call (401) 423-3031.

     The Jamestown Chamber Music Series was created in 1999 by "Music for a 
While," produced by the Flickers Arts Collaborative. Partial funding is 
provided by the Jamestown Fund for the Performing Arts of the Rhode Island 
Foundation, and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. Bank of Newport 
is a Corporate Benefactor.

    JAMESTOWN, RI— The Jamestown Chamber Music Series continues on Sunday, 
April 28, at 7:00 p.m. with a program that evokes the atmosphere of the Far 
East through images, poetry, and music. "East Meets West: The Songs of Ikuma 
Dan" showcases the music of Japan’s preeminent composer, Ikuma Dan. Joan
Ceo, 
harp, and Jill Maurer-Davis, flute join "Music for a While" — soprano 
Julibeth Andrews, tenor Eric Bronner and pianist Nancy Nicholson for this 
extraordinary program. The concert takes place at Central Baptist Church, 99 
Narragansett Avenue, Jamestown, R.I.

    In his music, Ikuma Dan demonstrates the ability to take elements of 
Western culture and transform them into something uniquely Japanese. Born in 
1924, Dan completed his musical studies at the Tokyo Music School with a 
thorough grounding in European musical techniques. His music output includes 
many vocal works, operas and orchestral pieces, including symphonies and film 
scores. His early opera, Yuzuru (The Twilight Heron, 1952) which combines 
folk melodies, simple lyricism, and straightforward sentiment, became the 
most popular opera by a Japanese composer, receiving more than 200 
performances in Japan, Europe and the United States. 

    Ikuma Dan’s art songs are a masterful fusion of Western and Eastern 
musical influences. Set to the verses of famous contemporary Japanese poets, 
they give a window into the complex soul of Japan. 

    "Since Japan’s musical tradition is basically a vocal one, it is not 
surprising that Ikuma Dan has written a great many songs," says tenor Eric 
Bronner. 

     "Music for a While" has chosen selections from three song cycles: "My 
Songs" with lyrics by Fuyuichiro Kitayama, "The Rainy Season" set to poems by 
Hakushu Kitahara, and "Little Views of Tokyo" with lyrics by Motoo Ohtaguro. 

    "These exquisite songs combine the operatic lyricism of Puccini, the 
colors of French Impressionism, and subtle Japanese touches, as delicate as a 
calligrapher’s brush stroke," says soprano Julibeth Andrews. 

    Nature is often the inspiration for Japanese poetry, and Ikuma Dan’s 
settings enhance the sounds of nature. The haunting cry of the cicada can be 
heard in the accompaniment of the song of that name. In "Hydrangeas," an 
introduction as flamboyant as a hydrangea bush in full bloom contrasts 
sharply with a lover’s lament. 

    Songs from the cycle "The Rainy Season" bring vividly to mind the sound 
of dripping water, the look of a rain-drenched landscape, and the sparkling 
beauty of the sun coming out after the rain. "The piano accompaniments have a 
huge role in creating the atmosphere of these pieces," says pianist Nancy 
Nicholson. "Ikuma Dan’s writing for piano is intricate and beautifully 
crafted, reminding me of the piano music by Debussy."

    "The songs of Ikuma Dan are not only exquisitely beautiful, but they have 
special meaning for our trio," says Bronner. "Julie, Nancy, and I were first 
brought together to perform these songs in a RISCA-funded project produced by 
Flickers Arts Collaborative in 1993 at Brown’s Bell Gallery in conjunction 
with the Newport Black Ships Festival." The trio Music for a While was born, 
and has been performing together ever since. The trio created the Jamestown 
Chamber Music Series in 1999.

    Elegant harp and flute music also add to this unique concert experience. 
Evoking the quaint and picturesque land of the wood block print, guest 
artists Joan Ceo, harp, and Jill Maurer-Davis, flute, bring authentic 
Japanese melodies and rhythms to "East Meets West." To find music for the 
program, they searched Japanese web sites, contacted publishers in Japan, and 
discovered recordings of Japanese music by flutists James Galway and 
Jean-Pierre Rampal.

    "Some of the duets we are presenting are old Japanese folk tunes that 
have been harmonized," says Maurer-Davis. "There are also some popular folk 
melodies that every Japanese knows today, including sea chanteys, lullabies, 
and songs from different provinces of Japan."

    "We are doing several arrangements by Josef Molnar, who introduced the 
harp to Japan," says harpist Joan Ceo. "Molnar lived there for some time, and 
made many transcriptions of Japanese music for harp and flute." 

    Maurer-Davis says she will adjust her flute technique to reflect a more 
Japanese style of flute playing. "I use some slides and Japanese-style 
ornaments," she says. She also will be playing piccolo in some selections. 

    Guest Artist Joan Harrison Ceo, harp, of Wood River Junction, R.I., is a 
native of Washington, D.C., where she graduated from Catholic University with 
a Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude, elected to Phi Betta Kappa. She studied 
harp with William Cameron, Sylvia Meyer, and Carlos Salzedo. For two years 
she toured the U.S. and Canada with the Angelaires Harp Quintet under 
Columbia Artists Management; then toured 19 countries in Central and South 
America with the National Symphony Orchestra sponsored by the U.S. State 
Department. She has played with the Hartford Symphony for the last 23 years, 
and is principal harp with the Connecticut Opera. She has played in the 
Washington Ballet orchestra at the Lisner, Warner and Kennedy Center Theatres 
for the past 27 years. Since 1964 Joan has performed with the Chorus of Weste
rly’s classical and pop concerts and Twelfth Night productions.

    Guest Artist Jill Maurer-Davis, flute, North Stonington, Conn., holds a 
bachelor’s and master’s degree in flute from the New England
Conservatory of 
Music, and a diploma from the Orff Institut-Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, 
along with many years of training in the Suzuki Flute Method. Her principal 
teachers have included Louis Moyse, Thomas Nyfenger, James Galway, James 
Pappoutsakis, and Louis Schaefer. Recently she retired from the U.S. Coast 
Guard Band and the USCG Woodwind Quintet in which she performed at the White 
House, for heads of states, and for members of Congress. As a flute and 
piccolo soloist, she has been featured on National Public Radio as well as 
national radio stations of Australia and Japan. On PBS, she appeared on "Live 
at Wolf Trap", and with Jean-Pierre Rampal on New York’s WNET. She has 
performed with the Boston Pops, Worcester and Hartford Symphonies, the 
Connecticut Opera, the Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic, and toured with 
tenor Andrea Bocelli. She serves on the faculties of Central Connecticut 
State University, Thames Valley Music School, and the Hartt School of Music 
Community Division.

    Displays for the April 28 concert are provided by the Japan Language and 
Culture Center of Providence. The Center is dedicated to promoting 
understanding and cooperation between the Japanese community and the people 
of Rhode Island. The Center offers programs that benefit both the wider 
community and the Japanese. The Center provides translation services for 
individuals and area businesses. It acts as a "welcoming committee" for 
Japanese students and families who have relocated to the state. It offers 
language classes in Japanese, English as a second language, and a Saturday 
language school for children. Classes in calligraphy, origami, tea ceremony, 
and flower arrangement give insight into Japanese aesthetic and cultural 
values.

    Concerts of the Jamestown Chamber Music Series are held at Central 
Baptist Church, 99 Narragansett Avenue, Jamestown, R.I. Tickets are $15 for 
adults, $5 for children under twelve. For reservations, call (401) 423-3031.

    The Jamestown Chamber Music Series was created in 1999 by "Music for a 
While," and is produced by the Flickers Arts Collaborative (producers of the 
Rhode Island International Film Festival which takes place in August).  
Partial funding is provided by the Jamestown Fund for the Performing Arts of 
the Rhode Island Foundation, and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. 
Bank of Newport is a Corporate Benefactor.

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