Schedule 5

SCHEDULE & CONTENT

EVENT#5

ESS SUNDAY BRUNCH

special Summer School Athens 2026 edition

SUNDAY 3 MAY 2026 latest schedule

Welcome	10h00 – 10h10	Welcome and general introduction to the ESS Summer School. (Thorsten Knaub)
Introductions from Athens 2026 invitees	10h10 – 12h25	10h10 – 10h20 Thorsten Knaub 10h20 – 10h50 Gunnar Jinmei Linder + Ashigaki Kōmei (VIDEO) 10h50 – 11h05 Véronique Piron 11h05 – 11h10 Jin Rei (VIDEO) 11h10 – 11h25 Emmanuelle Rouaud 11h25 – 11h40 Horacio Curti 11h40 – 11h50 Jim Franklin (VIDEO) 11h50 – 12h05 Kiku Day (could not be there) 12h05 – 12h20 Philip Horan 12h20 – 12h30 Yerasimos Dimovasilis
Q&A	12h25– 12h30	Time-slot for if there are any remaining questions about Athens 2026 programme, teaching or general organisation.

About Athens 2026 Brunch

This being a special brunch event focusing on our Summer School in Athens which take place from 23. to 26. July 2026. (see below for more information about ESS Athens 2026).

We will have introduction from the teachers on their teaching programme for Athens as well as getting a glimpse of the school or style they will represent. The plan is also to teach a few representative extracts/lines of relevant pieces or to demonstrate what participants can expect to be covered in Athens.

In detail that means we will have introductions (live and video) from Athens 2026 teachers, including aour Japanese guests Ashigaki Kōmei and Jin Rei as well as our European guests (in alphabetic order) Horacio Curti, Kiku Day, Yerasimos Dimovasilis, Jim Franklin (video), Philip Horan, Thorsten Knaub, Gunnar Jinmei Linder, Véronique Piron and Emmanuelle Rouaud.

Horacio Curti will be teaching KSK honkyoku (for elementary, for intermediate and also for advanced level), as well as one session on shakuhachi techniques and the organisation of the practice and one session on his approach to improvisation from the shakuhachi.
During the brunch he will present the notation to be used in the teaching of the pieces as well as introduce what he is preparing for the sessions on improvisation and the one on techniques and practice, so it will be a great opportunity to see if this might interest you and ask any question that might help you understand the content, teaching approach and his intentions with the sessions.

Kiku Day who will present Zensabo and Myoan pieces at the Summer School could not make it to the Brunch.

Yerasimos Dimovasilis our local organiser in Greece, will introduce the “Greek Theme” workshops, presenting shakuhachi with santour in Triantafyllia as well as Cherubic Hymn (Byzantine Hymn).

Philip Horan will present the Tozan-ryū repertoire as ell as having a session on film music and a talk about his work on Irish music on shakuhachi.

Jim Franklin will present extracts of Chikuho pieces and explain about his workshop on shakuhachi and electronics.

Gunnar Jinmei Linder will give a brief background introduction to Kinko-ryū and Chikumeisha and introduce some central aesthetic aspects of the style and exemplify this with some audial examples played live. I will also give a brief introduction to the notation system and the concept of time (ma) by using a presentation with visual and audial exemplifications.

Véronique Piron will use audio files to introduce the content of the different courses – traditional Minyō, shinkyoku style, modern shakuhachi ensemble – she wil be presenting in Athens and focusing on her teaching of Minyô to explore in which contexts this music can be performed and used.

Emmanuelle Rouaud will present short extracts of her teaching programme – the honkyoku Ukigumo (KSK), the contemporary composition De Vagues et d’Elans and her Anime session.

Thorsten Knaub (ESS chairperson) will talk about the Summer School in general as well as presenting details of the general schedule and planned concerts.
In his role as a guest teacher he will briefly explain the planned session on shakuhachi jiari making as well as his session on image and improvisation.

This is a great opportunity to get an insight and help you plan your attendance as much as possible beforehand. And of course it is also a taster and ideal forum to ask questions for anybody who has not been at an ESS event in the past and is thinking about joining us this year.

You can view/download the full workshop schedule for Athens 2026 here on a dedicated Summer School website. summerschool.shakuhachisociety.eu/schedule/


The ESS Sunday Brunch in general
The Sunday Brunch is a free event to attend and is usually led by an experienced shakuhachi player and teacher. We envision a mix of informal gathering and more formal teaching open to all levels, but in particular we welcome all you shakuhachi beginners and elementary players.

Each brunch contains some form of blowing ro-buki together to get into the spirit and the teaching of a specific piece and/or teachings about techniques. Furthermore there is an open forum with an open mic kind of slot, where you can present your playing to get feedback from the session leader, talks and other type of presentations or discussions as well as Q & A about shakuhachi related issues.