The shakuhachi is an end-blown bamboo flute that has been played in Japan for over 1200 years. It is the only instrument associated with the practice of Zen Buddhism, and was performed during religious rituals by priests of the Fuke sect. During the Edo Period (1600-1868), shakuhachi-playing monks known as Komusô (“Priest of Nothingness”) wandered throughout Japan playing the shakuhachi in exchange for food or alms. They would pass from temple to temple, learning pieces that were played at the various temples, as each temple had developed its own music. Thus their repertoire expanded and shared as they sought to strike a perfect sound that would enlighten the world.

Traditional shakuhachi music, or honkyoku, are performed solo and are considered to express the original voice of the bamboo.

Dr. Nora Suggs, flutist, is a graduate of Houston’s Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine, with extensive private education in music and degrees in biology, English literature, medicine, and surgery. She has played in England, Canada, Japan, Italy, Alaska, and throughout the continental United States; and is now active as a teacher, recitalist, and chamber musician in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. Dr. Suggs is the flutist and Artistic Director of the Pennsylvania-based chamber music ensemble SATORI, now in its 29th season, and for 23 years has also performed with Two Part Invention, a flute and classical guitar duo.

Please note the museum galleries are on the second floor, which is accessible only by stairs.

Seating is limited; reservations are highly recommended.