Flutist Elizabeth Reian Bennett, the first woman to be certified a grand master of the shakuhachi, an end-blown bamboo flute, will perform songs of the moon, the sky, the Buddha of Light and pilgrimage on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. at MIT's Killian Hall (Building 14, 160 Memorial Drive).
Bennett has played with Aoki Reibo, recognized as Japan's foremost shakuhachi instrumentalist, for 25 years. The shakuhachi was once played by a sect of wandering monks in Japan; it is considered a call to focus beyond this transient world.
When she performs, Bennett produces a sound on the shakuhachi that has been compared to meditative jazz in the style of saxophonist John Coltrane (1926-1967).
Information on Reian Bennett and her latest recording is available at www.CDBaby.com/cd/erbennett.
This event is sponsored by MIT's foreign languages and literatures section, MIT's music and theater arts section and the MIT Japan Program.
For more information, contact the foreign languages and literatures section at 617-253-4771.
