The Tribune

GRAND Bahama will host world-reknowned traditional Japanese flutist Elizabeth Reian Bennett at the Garden of the Groves on Boxing Day. Reian Bennett is the first woman to play professionally as a Grand Master of the shakuhachi, a vertical bamboo flute, and stands out as one of only a handful of western players trained in traditional Japanese music. The shakuhachi is named after its length, and is most famous for the role it played in a sect of wandering monks, whose members traveled throughout Japan begging for rice as they played. The flute is distinctive, for its beveled embouchure, the equivalent of a recorder without its 'bec' or top part. With only five holes, pitches must be produced by two different head movements, and up to three finger positions on each hole. The flute was used as a focus of concentration by the monks; and its sound is thought to convey the listener to the realm of 'mu', or that which is not: not everyday reality filtered by culture, upbringing, education or habits of mind. The instrument itself is a symbol of the goal of the shakuhachi player: a vessel through which the wind blows. Since her debut recital in Tokyo in 1984 , Reian Bennett has performed frequently in Japan and worldwide, from Australia and Europe to Mexico, Afghanistan and the United States. She has studied and performed with national treasure Aoki Reibo, recognised as Japan's foremost shakuhachi instrumentalist, for over 30 years. Released in 2006, Bennett's Song of the True Hand CD was nominated for Instrumental Album of the Year. She teaches the shakuhachi through the world music program at Tufts University, and in the Boston area. The concert begins at 3:30pm and proceeds will aid the Grand Bahama Performing Arts Society. Concert tickets are $10 for adults, and $5 for children 12 and under. Refreshments included.