Home People Pieces Recordings Bibliography Schools Glossary Sites & Events Teachers Join the ISS Log In

Steven Taizen Casano

泰然

Casano, Steven Taizen
Shakuhachi & Scholar
scasano@punahou.edu
http://www.stevencasano.com

As a licensed teacher and active performer of the shakuhachi, Mr. Casano has performed on the documentary soundtrack, Aloha Akebono (KHON TV) and has given performances or guest lectures at the Japanese Consulate, Bishop Museum, Honolulu Academy of Arts, University of Hawaii at Manoa, East-West Center, Hawaii Theater, Chaminade University, and Kapiolani Community College. He has also performed in Osaka and Bisei Japan, Albany, New York, Chicago Illinois and is a frequent presentor at the Japanese Studies Association's Freeman Foundation Summer Institute. A recipient of the prestigious Japanese Ministry of Education Scholarship (Monbushou), Mr. Casano conducted extensive research on the modern history of the shakuhachi tradition at Osaka University and under the guidance of Tsukitani Tsuneko and the Osaka-based shakuhachi kenkyuukai. Mr. Casano has been published in the international journal, "The World of Music" and has served on the faculty of the Hawaii Shakuhachi Festival 2006 and the Kauai Shakuhachi Festival 2014, and the 2017 Shakuhachi Festival of the Pacific. His teachers include Robert Herr and Riley Lee in Hawaii (Chikuho-Ryuu Hawaii) and Ishikawa Toshimitsu and Yokoyama Katsuya in Japan (Doukokyu). In 2000, Mr. Casano received his Jun Shihan license from Yokoyama Katsuya and in January 2016, received his Shihan license from Grandmaster Riley Lee. In 2015, he released his debut CD, "The Voice of Bamboo, " which is available from CD Baby (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/stevencasano).

Mr. Casano is on the piano faculty of the Punahou Music School has been a lecturer in Music Theory and Piano Pedagogy at the music department at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Mr. Casano is a nationally certified teacher of music in piano through the Music Teachers National Association and has served on the executive boards of the Hawaii Music Teachers Association and the Honolulu Piano Teachers Association. He is also a certified teacher through the Royal Conservatory Music in both piano and music theory. His principle teachers of piano were Lisa Kim, Morton Estrin, Rose Tanner, Dolores Johnson (piano pedagogy), and Frank Iogha. He has also had special coaching sessions with David Breitman, Igor Kipnis, Eugenia Tsarov, Gregory Partain, Sanford Margolis, and Martin Canin. He has twice been named a Steinway and Sons “Top Teacher” and most recently has been named a 2020 Teacher of Distinction by the Royal Conservatory of Music.

Teachers

Albums

The Voice of Bamboo The Voice of Bamboo

This recording features pieces of the traditional Japanese shakuhachi flute. Originally brought over from China as part of the ancient Japanese court music, Gagaku, the shakuhachi eventually evolved into an instrument that was used by a sect of Zen Buddhism known as the Fuke sect.

Tracks Recorded

Pieces KanjiLengthAlbumInstrument
Azuma Jishi (Taizan Ha) 吾妻獅子 02'03 The Voice of Bamboo Shakuhachi
Chôshi (Yamato) 調子 (大和) 04'05 The Voice of Bamboo Shakuhachi
Daha 打波 04'24 The Voice of Bamboo Shakuhachi
Hon Shirabe 本調 03'30 The Voice of Bamboo Shakuhachi
Murasaki Reibo 紫鈴慕 05'36 The Voice of Bamboo Shakuhachi
Sagari Ha (Oshu) 下り葉 (奥州) 03'18 The Voice of Bamboo Shakuhachi
San'an 産安 06'01 The Voice of Bamboo Shakuhachi
San'ya (Dokyoku) 三谷 06'26 The Voice of Bamboo Shakuhachi
Shirabe (Nezasa Ha) 調 (根笹) 03'04 The Voice of Bamboo Shakuhachi
Tamuke 手向 03'40 The Voice of Bamboo Shakuhachi
Tehodoki Reiho 手解鈴法 03'17 The Voice of Bamboo Shakuhachi
Yamagoe (aka Reiho) 鈴法 03'34 The Voice of Bamboo Shakuhachi
Yodogawa Sanjukkoku Fune Uta 淀川三十曲船唄 01'38 The Voice of Bamboo Shakuhachi

Publications

Title Kanji Publisher Year Pages Language
Fron Fuke Shu to Uduboo: Zen and the Transnational Flow of the Shakuhachi Tradition to the West. University of Hawai'i Master of Arts in Music Thesis.


2001 169 English