at Victor Borge Hall at Scandinavia House (58 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016)

Fee: Advance $25.00 / At door $30.00
Inquiry: contact@marcreation.com / 917-400-9362
Online tickets: BrownPaperTickets
Facebook: Event page
Mamiko Taira & Toru Dodo
Go-Zee-Lah
Yumi Kurosawa
m2duo

New York, NY – November 22, 2011 – Independent record label, Mar Creation, Inc. will host the “2011 Nippon Song Holiday Concert”, featuring four prominent Japanese musicians/groups, spanning the genres of jazz to tango. The dynamic concert lineup includes four award-winning musicians and groups, and a special artist reception will immediately follow the concert. The event will take place on Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 7:00 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm) at the Victor Borge Hall at Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue (between East 37th and 38th Streets), New York, NY, and tickets are $25 in advance ($30 at the door).

The four New York-based groups of musicians are: Yumi Kurosawa (Japanese koto), Go-Zee-Lah (experimental), m2duo (tango), and Mamiko Taira and Toru Dodo (jazz). Each of the four artists will play a couple traditional/popular Japanese songs, as well as some of their original music. Yumi Kurosawa is an award-winning koto player and composer of traditional and contemporary music, whose unique style incorporates computer sound into her original music. She has toured internationally in Japan, Canada, Germany, Malaysia, Russia and the United States, and has also appeared in many well-known venues such as Apollo Sound Stage, Joe’s Pub, and the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Go-Zee-Lah is the partnership between Kyoko Kitamura on voice and Yayoi Ikawa on piano. They have used their vast musical expertise to compose their original works of music, using Japanese folk songs as compositional and improvisational inspiration. Go-Zee-Lah was featured at New York City’s legendary Vision Festival in 2010. M2duo consists of two Julliard graduates, Machiko Ozawa (violin) and Makia Matsumura (piano), who are known for their unique take on tango – ranging from their passionate interpretations of Astor Piazzolla’s music, sometimes even mixing tap dancing with violin – to reinventing Japanese pop songs as tango. Ozawa is a much sought-after tango violinist; Matsumura is one of the youngest pianists to regularly contribute improvised scores to classic silent films. Mamiko Taira (vocal) and Toru Dodo’s (piano) setlist consists of everything from American pop songs, to jazz standard, to Japanese folk songs. Taira is a critically-acclaimed, award-winning Japanese jazz singer. Dodo is a Tokyo-born world-renown pianist who has performed in venues all over the world and has released four solo albums to date.

Tickets for the concert are $25 in advance ($30 at the door), and can be purchased online at: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/213564. For more information on the Victor Borge Hall at Scandinavia House, please visit: www.scandinaviahouse.org or call (212) 779-3587.

Mar Creation, Inc., established in 2003, is a full-service, one-stop resource for all creative needs – video/music production, graphic/web design, event planning/booking, PR, artist management. It is home to an independent record label featuring a diverse lineup of talented international artists, spanning the genres of jazz, rock, pop, world music and electronica. In recent years, Mar Creation has been involved with and supports various charitable events/activities, including AIDS awareness, Japanese earthquake/tsunami relief fund and projects focused on international peace-making. For more information, please visit: www.marcreation.com.

For tickets, booking, promotional or press inquiries, contact Hiroshi Kono, President of Mar Creation, Inc., Phone: (917) 400-9362, or email: contact@marcreation.com.

Saturday, November 5, 2011
at Stephen B. Humphrey Theater, Saint John’s University, St. Joseph (Minnesota, U.S.A.)

Fee: Advance $12.00 / At door $15.00 (cash only)
*A portion of the sales will be donated to the relief fund.
Inquiry: contact@marcreation.com / 917-400-9362
Online tickets: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/208557
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=107211469390938
NYPFF website: http://www.nypeacefilmfest.com

New York Peace Film Festival (NYPFF) and Mar Creation, Inc. will co-host a special screening event.It will screen two documentary films directed by Maryann DeLeo: “Chernobyl Heart”, which won an Academy Award in 2004, and “White Horse”. The screening will also feature a Q&A session and a special report by DeLeo after her recent trip to Japan, which was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11 of this year.

In “Chernobyl Heart”, DeLeo traveled with the Chernobyl Children’s Project International through Ukraine and Belarus 16 years after the infamous Chernobyl nuclear plant accident. The group visited children who are suffering from a cardiac degradation condition know in the area as “Chernobyl Heart.” In addition, the movie documents that many children are also severely affected by radiation poisoning solely from their daily environmental intake. Another short documentary film, “White Horse”, is about a young man’s returning home to Ukraine after 20 years after the nuclear accident.

“Chernobyl Heart” was released nationwide in Japan in August in response to the director’s concerns of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. NYPFF held a special screening in Manhattan, NY on August 13 and Fort Lee, NJ on September 20. Both received great responses from the audience. This will be the third screening opportunity in NY Tri-State area.

NYPFF, started in 2007, presents films from around the world that advance global peace. Their mission is to screen films which not only highlight the advantages of peaceful solutions to international conflicts, but also deal constructively with and identify root causes of war, and define peace in new or creative ways. Also of deep interest are films dealing with the proliferation and consequences of nuclear arms and energy. Annually, NYPFF solicits original works from filmmakers the world over on the topic of peace. Additionally, they present poetry/staged readings of related topics to raise the awareness of surroundings. Mar Creation, Inc., established in 2003, is a full-service, one-stop resource for all of creative needs – video/music production, graphic/web design, event planning/booking, PR, artist management. In recent years, Mar Creation has been involved with and supports various charitable events/activities for AIDS, Japan earthquake/Tsunami relief fund and peace-making projects.

Greenwich Library is located at 101 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830. Call the library at (203) 622-7900 for directions.

Fee: $30.00 (adults) / $20.00 (students)
Inquiry/Registration: contact@marcreation.com / 201-840-5984
* Japanese language will be used for this entire session.
* Please come in comfortable outfit as participants will sit on the floor during the session. Also, bring lap-robe, towel, yoga mat as needed.

An improvisational performer specialized in ethnic musical instruments, Yuji Nara, will come back to NJ again! He is also known for his a spiritual sound artistry on ‘Gaia Symphony No.6 – empty sky sound.’ This will be a rare opportunity to experience the music world of Yuji Nara who travels and performs all over the world. Let your spirit free, feel your lights and enjoy this special show with full of lights and sounds. Another featuring guest is an Intuitive Reflexlogist, MICA (Rebirther), from NYC.

A talk session of Yuji Nara and MICA will follow after the performance. Let’s hear their intriguing experiences.

Yuji Nara – started improvisational performances using ethnic musical instruments in 1994 and has been playing at welfare/educational facilities and hospitals numerous times as part of his life work to communicate with people. Mr. Nara also appeared at peace event at the Ground Zero in New York in May, 2004.
web: http://www.narayuji.com

Hosted by Mar Creation, Inc.
Supported by Hanamizuki

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/49650050930/