Tue 7/14 @ 6:30-8:30PM
Westlake’s Unity Spiritual Center has a non-sectarian approach to Christianity that sounds positively Unitarian/Universalist. “Unity honors the universal truths in all religions and respects each individual’s right to choose a spiritual path,” they say. Hey — that’s exactly what I learned in Unitarian Sunday school!
This week the center is hosting a “FUNdraiser” where the only belief you need to have is in the beauty of music. It will be showcasing three Japanese guitar players: International Fingerstyle Champion Shohei Toyoda, Japan’s “Player Plus Studio Sessions Contest” winner Koyo Morita, and special guest Fingerstyle Champion Hikaru Komatsu.
Toyoda lives in Kyoto but he grew up in Dublin, Ohio outside Columbus and attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. And he claimed country fingerstyle pickers such as Jerry Reed and Chet Atkins as influences, so he’s as much American as Japanese. Both Morito and Komatsu also claim American country-style influences. Morita released a popular country guitar instruction book last year, along with his new album One Story. And Komatsu, inspired by country blues, has busked in Australia, and placed in competitions in Indiana and east Japan
Tickets and more information are available here.