Shawn Head is shakuhachi flutist and composer whose goal is to popularize the shakuhachi in both traditional Japanese and modern Western forms. He is the youngest non-Japanese shakuhachi flutist to receive a Shihan (Master’s Certification). He earned his undergraduate degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and has studied with shakuhachi masters including Michael Chikuzen Gould and Kaoru Kakizakai. His compositions, which combine Japanese traditional music with a distinct western compositional style, have been commissioned by organizations including Performers and Artist for Nuclear Disarmament to mark the 70th anniversary of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima nuclear bombings.
Eric Charnofsky is a pianist and composer who holds degrees from California State University and The Juilliard School. He currently teaches keyboard ensemble at Case Western Reserve University. Mr. Charnofsky served on the faculty in the pre-college division of the Juilliard School, and was an Associate Faculty member for eight summers at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. The Omomuki grant will commission Mr. Charnofsky to compose, and Mr. Head to record and perform, an original work for shakuhachi flute.