AKI NAKAMURA: MUSIC, CIRCULAR BREATHING & ZEN: EP. 248

AKI NAKAMURA began his professional journey as a quantum chemist, having graduated from the Department of Applied Chemistry at Yokohama National University. However, it wasn’t long until he turned to the shakuhachi for his future career.

Aki studied under numerous shakuhachi masters, including Katsuya Yokohama. He then went on to study composition and jazz theory at Berklee College of Music, USA, graduating summa cum laude. He finished his tertiary studies at the New England Conservatory of Music as a scholarship student in the Master of Music Composition and the Third Stream program. His compositions are diverse and include orchestral music, choral music, chamber music, big band music, and traditional Japanese music.

He has established a performance method that makes full use of overtones, multiphonics, the traditional Japanese breathing technique of ‘Missoku’, and his own originally developed method of ```, which involves exhaling and inhaling at the same time.

While staying true to the traditions of the Komusō monks, collecting, analysing, and performing their repertoire, he is also active as a performer of rock, jazz and classical music. He has performed in more than 150 cities in over 40 countries, at events and venues such as the Montreux Jazz Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall (London), the Lincoln Center (New York), Blue Note (New York), the Kennedy Center (Washington DC), the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, the Polish National Opera, under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japan Foundation. His numerous performances have been shared worldwide through over 40 broadcasting platforms.

Book: “Breathing with Missoku:The Undiscvered Zen Secret ofJapanese Culture”