May 26, 1998 School of Music Contact Scott Barkhurst (541) 346-1163 or John R. Crosiar 346-3135 Arts and Entertainment Note: EUGENE--Guest artist Kyoko Okita will present a free performance of Japanese koto music at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, in the Alumni Lounge at Gerlinger Hall, 1468 University St. on the University of Oregon campus. Her program will include "Agitation" by Kengyo Yatsuhashi; "Pegasus" by Kazuhisa Otake; "Plover" by Kengyo Yoshizawa; and "Solo" by Michio Miyagi. Okita began studying the koto, one of the most popular traditional musical instruments in Japan, in 1972 with master Kazuhisa Otake. During her college years, she joined the koto group, "Hibiki" and by 1973 she was performing in concerts regularly and was featured frequently in recordings by CBS/Sony. In 1976, Okita was licensed as an associate koto professor in Otake's school. In 1994, she organized "Mayu," a koto-playing group which presented guest performances in many venues throughout Japan. Japan's largest broadcasting organization, the National Nippon Broadcasting Corp. (NHK), recognized Okita as a professional koto player in 1996. A semicylindrical zither, the first koto dates from the beginning of the Nara period in 710 A.D. It had five strings and was about three feet long. A sixth string was added during the early years of the Nara era. Later in the Nara period, a 13-string koto, modeled after a Chinese instrument, was introduced. It was six feet long and rested on the floor while being played. At first it was used only by court musicians, but from the 15th century on, it became popular among entertainers. The koto has movable bridges for each string, and players tune it continuously while playing. The tuning of the strings is pentatonic--that is, based on a musical scale of five tones--and depends on the mode of each particular work. For more information about Okita's performance, call Claire Wachter, UO assistant professor of piano pedagogy and music, (541) 346-3758. -30- #P-2247/A&E