CHESTERTOWN, MD—On Friday, April 17, Washington College will host a concert of traditional Japanese music by the Washington Toho Koto Society in conjunction with the Cherry Blossom Festival on the National Mall in D.C.  The performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Hotchkiss Recital Hall, Gibson Center for the Arts, on the College campus and is free and open to the public. Following the concert, the WC Alumni Association will host a reception inspired by Japanese culture. The décor will include potted cherry trees that will later be planted on campus to mark Earth Day.   

Part of the Music Department’s Premier Artists Series, the performance pays tribute to the cherry trees that bloom in breathtaking color each spring in Washington, D.C. symbolizing the friendship between Japan and the U.S.   

The koto, a wooden, 13-string instrument originally played for the exclusive enjoyment of the Imperial Court, is the national instrument of Japan.  The Washington Toho Koto Society was founded in 1971 by musician and teacher Kyoko Okamoto to promote the understanding and appreciation of this traditional Japanese music.  It has played for the Lantern Lighting Ceremony of the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, and at numerous other events across the country.  The ensemble was awarded a 2003 Special Award from the Foreign Minister of Japan and the 2014 Marshall Green Award from the Japan-America Society of Washington D.C. for “strengthening the relationship between the United States and Japan for more than 40 years by bringing Americans and Japanese closer through hundreds of performances of traditional Japanese music.” 

Members of the Washington Toho Koto Society play three kotos and one bass koto during a performance.The concert and tree planting is made possible through the collaboration of the Office of the President, the Alumni Association, SANDBOX, Rosemary Ford, the Department of Music and the WC Concert Series.

Admission is FREE, and space is limited. To reserve tickets, go online to washcoll.edu/concert or send an email request to concertseries@washcoll.edu. Non-ticketed arrivals may be asked to wait in the lobby and will be admitted 10 minutes before the performance on a space-available basis. 

For more information about this concert and other upcoming music events, visit washcoll.edu/concert.

Music professor Jon McCollum will play a solo on the shakuhachi, a traditional Japanese flute, as part of the April 17 concert.