Kojiro Umezaki

Shakuhachi, composer (Japan) Kojiro Umezaki grew up in Tokyo with a Japanese father and Danish mother. He studied Western flute and the shakuhachi, and his career encompasses both traditional and technology-based music and a range of electronic media. Ko is Assistant Professor of Music at the University of California, Irvine where he is affiliated with the Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology group. 

Recent commissioned works and producer credits include those for Brooklyn Rider (2009), Joseph Gramley (2009, 2010), Huun Huur Tu (2010), and the Silk Road Ensemble (2012). He performs regularly with the Grammy-nominated Silk Road Ensemble and has recorded on the Sony BMG, World Village, and Smithsonian Folkways labels.