KotoWorld: About the author

The koto is a 13-stringed harp-like Japanese musical instrument.

Guide to the site

• Basic Information: KotoWorld Home
• Contemporary koto stars (see KotoWorld Home)
• Meet my koto pals: Peter Coates, Curtis Patterson, Darin Tokuo Miyashiro
• Discography
• Other information about koto and Japanese music in general: See Guide
• A list of instructors (Japan and overseas): forthcoming

Basic Information: KotoWorld Home
Site guide and links to related sites

Who made KotoWorld?

My name is Rick Lavin, and I've been studying the koto for some eleven years now. I live in Kumamoto in southern Japan with my wife, Akiko.

In addition to private and group tuition, I give lectures on the koto and Japanese music in general. I also compose for the koto, and now I'm involved in making information about the koto more widely available through this website.

Compositions

I've written four pieces so far:

• Amakusa Rain: A Fantasia, koto solo, 1990
• Silence, koto solo, 1991
• The Face in the Glass, for koto and voice (or for koto solo), 1992
  This piece won 3rd prize at the Nissoren composers' concours.
  Listen to a short excerpt (performed by Richard Lavin, koto, & Chinatsu Kurahayashi, voice):
  • au format, 460 k
    
• Two Paraphrases, koto solo, 1996

Unfortunately, I've yet to get round to publishing any of these pieces officially. But, assuming I can find them, I'm willing to send the scores (and live tape of the world premier performance of The Face in the Glass!) to anyone who's interested.

Where did I study?

My story

• 1987:
  At age 25, came to Japan to teach English at a senior high school in Amakusa, an island in south-west Japan. Came across the koto soon after my arrival, and soon became obsessed. I did as much as I could evenings and weekends for 3 years, then decided to go to Tokyo to study with the Sawais, probably the top players in the world.
• 1990:
  I couldn't find any work in Tokyo itself, so took a job at a private girls' high school in Saitama, a neighboring prefecture. I traveled to Tokyo at weekends to study with Kazue Sawai, one of the world's top players.
• 1992:
  I got too busy at work to go for regular lessons, so saved up as much money as possible to move to Tokyo, where I studied koto nearly full-time with Kazue Sawai and also got my Japanese Profiency exam, Level 1. Just as my money was about to run out, I found a flexi-time, home-based job as Chief of Foreign Language Systems Development at Yamato Pharmaceutical Centre.

What else do I do?

During my second year in Tokyo, I worked as chief of Foreign Language Systems Development at a small pharmaceutical company. That got me involved with the Mac in a big way. I was based at home so I was able to do other work, too. I started getting various koto jobs coming in: things like playing at weddings and parties, etc. In those days, I was single and didn't think too much about the future. My basic idea was to do as much non-koto work as I needed to survive, in the meantime getting better and better (and better- and better-known) and gradually increasing the proportion of koto work.

But koto's a difficult field to make a living. For that matter, so is music and even art as a whole. So, once I'd got engaged, I diversified. My wife and I now run a small business, Columbia Academy, which is basically an English school. I also teach at Kumamoto University and other schools in the area.