The “Kuricorder & Friends Asia 6-nation Music & Art Collaboration Project” generates new forms of creative expression and aims to promote cultural understanding and exchange through collaborations with artists from various countries in Southeast Asia. It also provides children in Southeast Asia with opportunities to experience the joy of playing musical instruments. As part of this collaborative project, concerts and workshops will be held in Indonesia, Laos, Japan, Myanmar and Thailand. (A performance will also take place in Vietnam outside the framework of the grant program.)
Concerts in each country will feature Kuricorder’s performances of pieces ranging from original tunes to old Japanese songs, as well as their collaborations with local performers. In Laos, they will perform with the Khaoniew Theatre Group, a traditional music ensemble from the National School of Music and Dance, and dancers from the Children’s Cultural Center. Co-performances with artists from the National University of Arts and Culture in Myanmar and with Indonesian musicians are also planned. In March 2018, a tour will be held in Japan with Myanmarese sang auk (Myanmar harp) player Su Zar Zar and Vietnamese dan bau (one-stringed zither) player Ngo Tra My as invited musicians; and a performance in Tokyo will feature as invited artists two musicians from Indonesia as well as the Khaoniew Theatre Group from Laos.