Tradition
Innovation
Inspiration
Tradition
Innovation
& Inspiration
THE LATEST
Tickets available now!
Save the date for our upcoming annual fall concert. This year we’re celebrating our 13th year as an organization (one for every string on a koto) and the Sawai Koto Institute’s 45th year. We feel closely connected with SKI, where our artistic director Mitsuki Dazai studied koto under Tadao and Kazue Sawai. Now, many OKK members are also members of SKI and are studying to be SKI-certified players and teachers.
This year’s program will feature many incredible pieces composed by Tadao and Hikaru Sawai.
Player Spotlight:
Nobuko Chalfen
We are beginning a new spotlight series for each of our OKK members, and our first spotlight goes to Nobuko, who has been an integral part of Oregon Koto-Kai since it was founded in 2012. You can read her whole story at the link below.
About Oregon Koto-Kai
Oregon Koto-Kai is a group of musicians passionate about playing the Japanese koto. Founded by Mitsuki Dazai in February 2012 with only six members, the ensemble held its first concert that fall at Epworth United Methodist Church in Portland, Oregon. Since that time, the group has grown to 20 members, and they are featured artists at many festivals and venues throughout the Pacific Northwest each year.
Debut Album Kin Out Now
We're proud to announce that on June 9th we released our first album, Kin, both digitally and on CD! This project started over two years ago and we’re happy to finally share it with the world.
The incredible album art was created by Kayo Kondo-Cox and the beautiful 'Kin' calligraphy was done by Nobuko Chalfen. Kin is the 13th and highest string on a standard koto and because we're releasing this album during our 13th year as an organization, it also symbolizes our progress up to this point. We look forward to sharing koto music and Japanese culture with our community for many more years to come.
Digital and physical copies are now available on Bandcamp, or you can pick up your CD in person at select OKK performances.
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