Anne M Norman
SHAKUHACHI PERFORMER AND COMPOSER
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Anne Norman is a shakuhachi performer, improviser and composer, working as a soloist and with dancers, visual artists and fellow musicians; from Byzantine to Baroque to beatbox…
Originally trained on flute, Anne took up shakuhachi in Kobe under Nakamura Shindo, followed by further studies at the Tokyo University of Fine Art and Music under Yamaguchi Goro, and a third lineage under Tajima Tadashi.
In addition to recitals, Anne tours to schools nationwide with taiko drummer Toshi Sakamoto. She also presents story-telling shows Kasa Jizo and Omusubi Kororin in primary schools. From 2015 to 2017 Anne was Artistic Director of Tunnel Number Five: festival of underground musicin Darwin, bringing audiences into the resonant WWII tunnels (built following Japanese air raids) in a spirit of creative reflection and collaboration.
Anne authored the book Curiosi-tea, spawning theatre shows An AFTERNOON absurdiTEA with Camellia Cha, featuring musicians from Tibet, India and China (OzAsia Festival, Adelaide); and Nonchalant Bombasi-teawith tea master Adam Wojcinski.
Anne is featured on many CDs, the most recent recorded in Tunnel Number Five: Beneath the Surface—shakuhachi and violin; Up From the Deepwith Yolgnu songmen. Anne performs traditional and contemporary shakuhachi in concerts and festivals internationally.