Musical Dialogues with Haruka Fujii and the Musubi Trio

An interactive session - for everyone who has held drumsticks, marimba mallets, blown on wind instrument or stroked a bow across a string instrument.

Listen to these world-class musicians about their backgrounds, talk about your ambitions, and share the love of music.

Multi-percussionist Haruka Fujii has become one of the most prominent percussionists and marimbaists of her generation. Since 2010 Haruka has performed as a member of the Grammy Award winning Silk Road Ensemble, joining a group of international musicians founded by Yo-Yo Ma.

In the Musubi Trio, Fujii brings to Tahoe accomplished instrumentalists and an array of instruments. Together they will perform a tour of traditional and contemporary Japanese composers. Ràyo Furuta returns to Tahoe, after his July 2025 concert with Carol Wincence, playing both the Western transverse flute and the Japanese shakuachi flute. Beni Shinohara Assistant Concert Master for the SF Ballet Orchestra plays stringed instruments, including the violin.

This community outreach event is offered collaboratively between Music Wings and Tahoe Music Alive. It is sponsored in part by a grant from the Truckee Cultural District. It is free and open to the community, as seating is available.

A native of Nagoya, Japan, violinist Beni Shinohara studied at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, where she earned a Master of Music degree. She also studied extensively in Europe with Sandor Vegh before coming to the United States. Beni has been the Assistant Principal Second violin for the San Francisco Opera Orchestra since 1988 and Assistant Concertmaster in the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra since 1990. She has appeared as a soloist with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony and the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, the Houston Ballet Orchestra, and the Cabrillo Music Festival Orchestra. Over the years, she has premiered numerous twentieth-century Japanese composers’ works, participating in the “Music Today” Concert Series under the direction of Toru Takemitsu. She also performs with many with Bay Area chamber ensembles such as the Marin Chamber Players, Gold Coast Chamber Players, and the Edgewood Trio.

Renowned as "The Rockstar of the Flute" by the Informador de Guadalajara in Mexico, Mexican-Japanese American flutist Rayo Furuta is a captivating artist and performer of global acclaim with command over the classical, contemporary, world, jazz, and pop realms. His prestigious performances include those with Yo-Yo Ma's Silkroad Ensemble, American Composer's Forum, The United Nations, and the celebrated Annapolis, Banff, Icicle Creek, Mainly Mozart, Opera en la Calle, Okayama, Saarburg, Sarasota, Silicon Valley, and Yellowbarn Music Festivals. As a dedicated chamber musician he has performed alongside luminaries like Jon Nakamatsu, Peter Frankl, and members of acclaimed string quartets like Avalon, Brooklyn Rider, Kronos, Mendelssohn, and Emerson. Additionally, his passion for global music has led to performances with superstars Van Anh Vo (Danh Tranh), Sandeep Da, Ghassan Sahhab (Qanun), and Christina Pato (Galacian Bagpipe). Furuta is a member of the Mexico-city based Contemporary Mexican Jazz Band, Toktli, and is a leading-artist-member of the Common Sounds ensemble. He serves as a Professor of Flute and Chamber Music at San Jose State University.

Haruka Fujii's passion for introducing audiences to new percussion music has put her on stage with diverse orchestras and ensembles: She has appeared as a soloist with the Munich Philharmonic, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Nationale de Lyon, and the NHK Symphony Orchestra. Her world premiere recordings can be found on the SONY, Kosei, ALM Records, and Deutsche Grammophon labels. Born in Saitama, Japan, Haruka studied music at the Tokyo National University, the Juilliard School, and the Mannes College of Music. Haruka joined the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players in 2020.

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