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Photo: K.R. Deepak

Musical extravaganza T.M. Hoffman in concert

It was one of the rare occasions for music lovers of the city to witness the musical confluence of two countries - Japan and India. US-born musician T.M. Hoffman, who is a teacher of classical music in Japan, gave a unique presentation of Indian classical music with the use of Japanese musical instruments. The music concert by T.M. Hoffman was jointly presented by Nippon Care-Fit Service Association (NCSA) India and Lebenshilfe, a special school for the mentally challenged at Kalabharathi auditorium on Thursday. Using the stringed instrument ‘koto’ (a Japanese musical instrument) he rendered ragas from Hindustani classical music with all the appropriate nuances. He played the veena, the santoor and the violin on the simple instrument to produce authentic tunes. He also gave a delightful performance on the Japanese vertical bamboo flute shakuhachi while elaborating on the subtle nuances of Indian. The Bhatkhande Music College, Lucknow, awarded the Visharad degree on Hoffman in 1991 and the use of shakuhachi and koto for expression of ragas was found fully suitable after extensive musical research and through public performances and workshops in India. Hoffman is presently on a tour of India giving performances on a Senior Performing and Creative Arts Fellowship 2006-07 of the American Institute of Indian Studies under the Indo-Japanese Music Exchange Association.

Hoffman has rendered Japanese classical and Hindustani raga on shakuhachi in numerous live concerts and TV and radio in Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, England and USA. He has also conducted workshops and organized visits to India for Japanese musicians and to Japan for Indian musicians for cooperative performances and workshops.

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