Swiss Music Night 2019

 

«Sound of Switzerland» Vol. 2 – A fascinating musical journey throughout varied styles of Swiss Folk music and the presentation of a 100-years musical friendship between Switzerland and Japan

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Switzerland has a vivd and rich tradition of Folk music. Through a warm relationship and tourism between Switzerland and Japan an increasing scene of outstanding musicians in Japan started to sing Swiss Yodel-singing and started to play instrumental Swiss Folkmusic on highest level. 

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In this concert some of the most distinguished Folk musicians from Switzerland meet the celebrated Japanese Yodel-singer Keiko Ito with her band „Amsle Quantett“. The nine musicians on stage will present a colorful, vivid and fascinating program showing original Swiss Folkmusic with a great variety of instruments and styles, as well as the astonishing musical developments of this music in Japan.

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Swiss Music Night 2019 – The Artists

 

Keiko Ito - voice, yodeling

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is now considered the most well-known singer in Asia, who has dedicated herself to the traditional Swiss yodel. At the age of fifteen, she discovered yodelling and received her first teaching from Ichiro Shimoyamada in Japan. 1987 lessons with Marie-Theres von Gunten. In 2005 she was the first Japanese woman to be allowed to perform at the Federal Yodelling Festival. In 2013, the CD "Kotoba-asobi"  appeared as a duo with the accordionist Manabu Hatakeyama. In 2014 she appeared at the Klangfestival Naturstimmen in the Klangwelt Toggenburg.

In Japan, Keiko Ito contributed essentially to the vivid scene of Swiss music in Japan. She has created many ensembles and choirs which passionately cultivate Swiss folk music and song and and initiated several Ensembles like among others the „Amsle Quantett“. On her initiative, many renowned musicians of the Swiss folk music scene could perform in Japan as Nadja Räss, Markus Flückiger, Quantensprung u.v.a.

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Josef Rempfler, violin, accordion, vocals

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Born in Appenzell in 1967. At the age of seven beginning with classical violin lessons with Dr.  Josef Signer. 1980 he was co-founder of the "Buben-Streichmusik Weissbad", 1993 of the group "Quartet Laseyer". Since 1997 he is member of "Appenzeller Echo". With this formation he plays a large repertoire of own compositions as well as the whole range of instrumental and vocal Appenzell music.

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Benjamin Rempfler, Hammer dulcimer, vocals

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Born in 1978 in Appenzell, Benjamin Rempfler is considered as one of the most virtuoso and versatile hammers dulcimer players in Switzerland. he started from the age of eight with dulcimer lessons with Walter Alder. He is Co-founder of the formation "Dibi Däbi". 1997 he founded with his brother Josef the Appenzeller formation "Appenzeller Echo". With this countless concerts and tours in Germany and abroad.

 

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Walter Neff, contrabass, vocals

 

Walter Neff is born in Stein AR. He was a member of the legendary Schötzechörli Stein AR. He took Contrabass lessons with the well-known Appenzell musician Horn-Sepp. Since 2003 he is bassist of the Appenzeller-Echo. Additionally he was conductor of the "Chrobeg-Chörli Gonten" from 2006 to 2015.

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Fabian Müller, violoncello, direction

 

Besides his career as composer, he has been involved with Swiss folk music since childhood. 

He spent ten years (1991 to 2002) preparing the publication of the Hanny Christen Collection, a ten-volume anthology of folk music with over 10'000 tunes from the 19th Century. He was the founder and director of the Mülirad publishing company 1990-2006, and initiated the National Swiss Folk Music Institute «House of Folk Music» in Altdorf.

Fabian Müller has sought out new paths in folk music as a member of the ‘New Original Appenzeller String Music Project’ (CD released on Musiques Suisses), and he was furthermore a member of several innovative Swiss Folk music projects.

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Shunsuke Ohkuchi, piano, accordion, arrangement

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graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts. After graduation he was the composer of numerous settings for theater, film, television. In this field he is very much in demand in Japan. Inspired by Keiko Ito he started with intensive studies of Swiss folk music and founded the "Amlse Quantett". In addition to his modern and original arrangements of existing Swiss folk music he has written numerous own compositions.

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Saeko Kurokawa, clarinet

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Saeko Kurokawa studied at the Tokyo University of the Arts. In 2005 she founded the ensemble "Kokoya" with which she produced numerous CDs and soundtracks for TV animations. Fascinated by the New Swiss Folk Music, she founded the "Amsle Quantett" together with Shunsuke Ohkuchi.

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Osamu Imagome, trombone

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2000-2004 he absolved his studies at the University of the Arts of Tokyo. 2005 winner of the 1st Zipang Trombone Quartet Competition. 2009 -2011 studies at the Rostock University of Theater and Music. Currently he is a member of the trombone quartet Krall, the Yoshihide Otomo Special Big Band and the Amsle Quantett.

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Hiroyuki Yamamoto, double bass

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Born in 1985 in Yamaguchi. Since his childhood he took lessons in piano and electric bass. Later he studied contrabass with Makoto Saito. As a partner of the drummer Riki Takeshi and the pianist Yuichiro Aratake excellent reputation in the jazz scene in Japan. He is member of the Amsle Quartett since its founding.

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Musical concept and artistic direction „Swiss Music Night“

Pi-Chin Chien & Fabian Müller