RILEY LEE Riley LEE has performed worldwide in such venues as the Sydney Opera House, Boston Symphony Hall, Espace Cardin (Paris), the Roundhouse Theatre (London), and smaller venues too numerous to count.  He began playing the shakuhachi in Japan in 1971. He studied with Ichizan Hoshida II, Chikuho Sakai II and Katsuya Yokoyama, three the most respected teachers of the 20th century. In 1980, he became the first non-Japanese to attain dai shihan (Grand Master) ranking in shakuhachi. Riley also became the first non-Japanese professional taiko player in the early 1970s, as a founding member of Sado no Kuni Ondekoza (now called Kodo).  Riley’s studies with traditional teachers in Japan have included such peculiar methods as practicing barefoot in the snow, blowing into his flute under waterfalls and in blizzards until icicles form at its end, and running the Boston Marathon and then playing taiko drums at the finish line. Riley started teaching breathing workshops in the late 1980s, and has since refined and expanded his repertoire of exercises, gleaned from a number of sources and from his long and focused relationship with shakuhachi. His workshops last from one hour to several days, and single sessions have been attended by as many as two thousand people. Riley has released over 70 albums. His latest solo recording is Breath of the Earth, an acclaimed 3CD set of the music of Hildegard. By the end of 2022, his music has enjoyed nearly 40 million streams on Spotify. www.rileylee.net ARAKI KODO VI For six generations, the Araki family has carried the Kodō name and its perspective on the tradition of Kinko-Ryū shakuhachi. Araki Kodō VI was named after his great-great grandfather, Hanzaburō, hence he is commonly known as Hanz today. Hanz made his professional debut in 1988 in Shimonoseki, Japan where he was given the name Baikyoku by his father, Kodō Araki V. He attained the name Kodō at his father’s retirement ceremony in Tokyo in 2009. Hanz performed and taught in Japan until 1992 when he returned to the United States and shifted his focus almost entirely to performing. Notable appearances include The Newport Folk Festival, The Vancouver Folk Festival, Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, The Gates Estate, and was a featured soloist for The Seattle Symphony “Celebrate Asia” concert in 2013. He was also invited to perform and speak at the Interdependence Day Celebration in Mexico City and The Future of Music Coalition conference in Rio de Janeiro. In addition to his career in traditional Japanese music Hanz is a Juno Award-winning Irish flute and whistle-player and singer. His most recent album of Irish music was recorded in his mother’s ancestral village of Dingle, Co. Kerry with Lúnasa founding member Donogh Hennessy producing. www.arakikodo.com