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On October 17, 2012 East-West welcomed the Korean percussion group, Sonagi Project, which consist of five musicians, led by Chang Jea Hyo.  The group has created modern, original music on the basis of Korean traditional rhythms and chants, performing to audiences both domestically and abroad.  They are a leader of Korean music among a new generation of artists and performers that continue to engage in cultural exchange, and are a vibrant force in the world music scene that now florishes around the globe.

Sonagi Project performing at East-West

Mr. Hyo demonstrates how he learned to play the janggu.

East-West students playing "Air-Janggu"

Hands-on workshop playing the janggu and dungbuk

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East-West School has been invited by the Japan Society to send a delegation of students to a very exciting education program for high school students:

Sharing Personal Stories: Atomic Bomb Survivors meet Harry Truman's Grandson: on Wed, 10/17.

The program is co-sponsored by Hibaskua Stories, an initiative of Youth Arts New York, and is offered in cooperation with Peace Boat.

Clifton Truman Daniel*Setsuko Thurlow*Yasuaki Yamashita*Akira Kawasaki

More than 67 years have passed since President Harry S. Truman authorized the use of the atomic bomb against Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Two survivors, Ms. Setsuko Thurlow and Mr. Yasuaki Yamashita, share their reflections, remembrances and personal testimonies with Truman’s grandson, Mr. Clifton Truman Daniel and Peace Boat Executive Committee Member Mr. Akira Kawasaki. Mr. Daniel will recount his own journey toward understanding this event, including encounters with survivors during a recent trip to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, while Mr. Kawasaki will introduce the work that Peace Boat has been doing to help survivors share their stories worldwide. High school student groups are invited to hear these eyewitness accounts and reflect on the events that shape their own personal narratives.                                                                               #####

Japan Society’s Education Program sparks interest in Japan through a suite of family, school and educators programs. The interactive website, About Japan: a Teacher’s Resource, and social networking site for students, Going Global, provide educational tools and connect classrooms throughout the world.

Founded in 1907, Japan Societyis a world-class, multidisciplinary hub for global leaders, artists, scholars, educators, and English and Japanese-speaking audiences. At the Society, more than 100 events each year feature sophisticated, topically relevant presentations of Japanese art and culture and open, critical dialogue on issues of vital importance to the U.S., Japan and East Asia. An American nonprofit, nonpolitical organization, the Society cultivates a constructive, resonant and dynamic relationship between the people of the U.S. and Japan.

Hibakusha Stories, an initiative of Youth Arts New York, has organized the week of programming for Mr. Daniel, Ms. Thurlow and Mr. Yamashita. Dedicated to bringing living history into the classroom, in the last three years Hibakusha Stories has brought atomic bomb survivors to over 10,000 high school students throughout the metro area. This is Hibakusha Stories second collaboration with the Japan Society.

Excerpts from Mrs. Matthusen:

Here's a few pictures from our journey to the Japan Society today. It was very interesting, the testimonials were moving and emotional. There were several good questions from the audience afterwards, including one from our own Darwin Pringle.

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