Volume 30 Issue 5 | April & May 2025

CLASSICAL AND BEYONDA

CLASSICAL AND BEYONDA CELEBRATIONOF SAKURARon Korb, flutist andmulti-instrumentalistALLAN PULKERIfirst met Ron almost 45 years ago when we were bothstudying with Robert Bick at York University. Bickhad recently returned to Toronto from Brattleboro,Vermont where he had been studying with the greatFrench flutist and teacher, Marcel Moyse, who beforethe Second World War had been the flute teacher at theParis Conservatoire. Moyse’s own roots went back toPaul Taffanel, remembered as the founder of the FrenchSchool of flute playing, and to Philippe Gaubert, Taffanel’sstudent and successor at the Conservatoire. AfterTaffanel’s premature death in 1908, Gaubert compileda collection of “daily exercises” that he had learnedfrom Taffanel, now known in the flute world simply as“Taffanel-Gaubert”, the study of which was a central partof our work with Robert Bick.Ron Korb in his studio. The flute he is playing is the Bansuri.On the stand: another bansuri and a shakuhachi.For me that time (1989-90), was euphoric: the flute class grouplessons with Robert Bick at his home in Toronto’s Annex led not onlyto breakthroughs in our playing but also to a profound sense of camaraderie,from our shared appreciation of and reverence for MarcelMoyse’s teaching, which our teacher brought to us so authentically.Our common goal at the time for studying the flute was simply torealize our potential as musicians by becoming better flutists. Ronmoved on to enter the performance program at the University ofToronto. “Like most young flute performance majors,” he told me, “wewere inspired by the likes of Galway, Rampal, Bennett, Robert Aitken,and dreaming of careers similar to theirs. However, for me, my inspirationalso came from jazz flutists like Hubert Laws and Moe Koffman.Even back then I was already writing, arranging and recording in myspare time.”Korb’s craft: After graduating from the performance program atUniversity of Toronto, Korb began learning the craft of music productionthrough a company he co-founded, called Oasis Productionswhere he spent ten years honing his skills and learning the fundamentalsof putting an album together, while at the same time establishinghimself as a studio musician, playing various flutes onnumerous TV and film productions.JADE YEClassical MusicAPRIL 24, 8 PMSPADINA THEATRE16 | April & May 2025 thewholenote.com

in Los Angeles, where two projectsin which he had played werenominated!SAMPHORS SAYSakura cherry blossoms (2024) at the Japanese-Canadian Cultural Centre.I asked him at what point the idea of playing and performing onnon-western flutes came into focus. “A number of things converged atonce,” was his reply: ”Growing up as a Japanese Canadian, I’ve alwaysbeen drawn to the music and culture of Asia. Jean Pierre Rampaland Lily Laskine’s album, Japanese Melodies for Flute and Harp,was especially transformative for me. Although it was played on thesilver flute and classical harp, Rampal’s tone and phrasing are absolutelyexquisite and the arrangements by Akio Yashiro are stunning.When Donald [Quan] and I recorded Tear of the Sun, based on a storyI wrote with strong Asian subject matter, it felt natural to include thesound of bamboo flutes.”That project led him to feel a strong desire to immerse himself evenmore deeply in Japanese culture and to study the Japanese flute moreseriously. Moving to Tokyo, he studied Gagaku – Japanese court music –with flute master Akao Michiko, which he described as “a truly magical”time of his life. Another significant meeting at this time was withHiroki Sakaguchi with whom he wrote and recorded his second album,Japanese Mysteries, which went on to become very successful. The twoof them performed several concerts together, and, as he put it, “one thingled to another and my touring eventually expanded across Asia.Fast forward to the present, and at the time of writing this Ron is inTaiwan, having just returned from India, where he was invited to do arecording and video project in the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu pilgrimagefestival attended by 660 million pilgrims, marking a full orbital revolutionof Jupiter around the sun. En route he attended the GRAMMYSWe in Toronto will be able tohear Ron perform at the Japanese-Canadian Cultural Centre in NorthYork near Eglinton Avenue East andthe Don Valley Parkway. Describedby the presenter as an interpretationof a traditional cherry blossomviewing party, the concert, titled ACelebration of Sakura, will featureRon on Japanese flute as well as thewestern flute and bass flute; Taikodrumming, traditional dance,singer, koto and shamisen playerAido Fuji, bass player Steve Lucas,pianist Bill Evans, drummer LarryCrowe, and guitarist and kotoplayer, Ray Hickey Jr..The concert has been scheduledto correspond with the blossomingof the 100 Sakura cherry treesgrowing on the grounds of theCentre. Ron told me that he andJames Heron, the JCCC executive director, “have been discussing theidea of presenting a concert for years, and James came up with the brilliantconcept of tying it to the blooming of the Sakura cherry blossomsin spring.” The Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre is home to over 100Sakura cherry trees, which were planted through the generous effortsof the Consulate General of Japan’s Sakura Project and Shiseido Canada.In the program Ron wanted to incorporate a mix of his originalcompositions with an Asian influence, along with music from hisnew album, Global Canvas (reviewed in the February/March issueof The WholeNote). He will also include “a variety of music fromCeltic, Latin, classical and jazz traditions. After the long winter it willbe a wonderful way to celebrate the coming of the warmer weather.”Indeed. And, I will add, a fitting way to welcome Ron Korb back fromhis late winter travels in the east.Ron Korb – A Celebration of Sakura takes place Thursday, April 17,2025, at 7:30pm.Allan Pulker is a Toronto-based flautist, and The WholeNote’sfounding publisher.thewholenote.com April & May 2025 | 17