Arts, Etc.Music

Eastern sounds open Sundays at the Morgan series

Yukiko Matsuyama rehearses the same set repeatedly for the East Meets West World Music Concert in Morgan Auditorium Sunday. Matsuyama practices her koto while the Koto Yuki Band coordinates with her as the stage is being set. All ticket donations for the Sundays at the Morgan concerts go toward music scholarships at the University of La Verne. / photo by Terrence Lewis
Yukiko Matsuyama rehearses the same set repeatedly for the East Meets West World Music Concert in Morgan Auditorium Sunday. Matsuyama practices her koto while the Koto Yuki Band coordinates with her as the stage is being set. All ticket donations for the Sundays at the Morgan concerts go toward music scholarships at the University of La Verne. / photo by Terrence Lewis

Celene Vargas
Arts Editor

The fall Sundays at the Morgan series began with a performance by the Koto Yuki Band, featuring Yukiko Matsuyama, an international recording artist, and special guest Mike Penny, for an audience of about 80 people Sunday in Morgan Auditorium.

“Yukiko really carries the band,” said San Gabriel Valley resident and friend of Matsuyama, Shih-wei Wu.

Wu said he felt Matsuyama led each musician to their solo and tied everything together, making the band feel they are being taken care of.

Matsuyama plays a traditional Japanese string instrument known as the koto, while Penny plays a Tsugaru-shamisen, a three-stringed Japanese style lute.

The band consists of keyboardist Diana Dentino, drummer Mike Bennett and bassist/vocalist Elizabeth Hangan.

Together they mix the traditional sound of the koto with contemporary music such as jazz, new age and pop.

The show opened with Matsuyama on the koto and Dentino on the keyboard, followed by a powerful drum sequence by Bennett using a cajon, which is a flamenco style drum that looks like a wooden box.

Hangan joined with vocals before Matsuyama and Penny dueled back and forth with the koto and shamisen. The whole piece had a commanding sound and was fast-paced.

The second song, called “Missing Piece,” was more calm. However, the percussion drums still gave it a kick that was a nice contrast to the smooth sound of the koto.

For the third song, Matsuyama played with fast strumming while Dentino’s keys were slow and steady, rising in sound. Matsuyama slowed down, carefully alternating between strumming and plucking the strings, giving the piece a fairy tale feel.

The song then shifted, the koto sounding like raindrops before turning suspenseful, like there was an impending danger, as Dentino’s keyboard further enhanced the feeling.

Bennett’s soft brushing of the cymbals contrasted with Dentino and Matsuyama’s rising tempos.

“I played on Yukiko’s record years ago,” Bennett said. “She was a friend of a friend here in town and years later I was in town and was able to play one of the gigs.”

Penny then did a solo with his shamisen, having a more traditional sound. His pace would rise before steadying into a fun piece interspersed with harsh strumming.

During the performance, Penny’s thickest string broke, but he was not deterred and was able to finish the song without pausing.

He played a second song, jokingly calling it “a two-stringed improvisation.”

“It was an adrenaline run,” Penny said. “You just have to power through.”

One of the most notable songs of the night was called “Yapping Dog,” which opened with a soundbite of a howling dog.

Matsuyama said the song was inspired by a dog that would not let her sleep.

The piece was a bit more modern compared to the rest of the songs thanks to Penny on the electric guitar and Hangan’s bass making its presence known.

The song also had a whimsical feel to it because of the sound of barking dogs in the background.

The band played an encore before finishing to a standing ovation.

Celene Vargas can be reached at celene.vargas@laverne.edu.

Other Stories
Terrence Lewis
Other Stories
Previous article
Law Gallery exhibit makes impact
Next article
ULV honors victims of atomic bombing

Latest Stories

Related articles

Arts, Etc.

Concert evokes Shaker teachings

Soprano Anne Harley was accompanied by harpist Alison Bjorkedal and percussionist Yuri Inoo performing Richard Cornell’s “Voluspa Verses” Christine Southworth’s “Ann Lee Songs” Sept. 4 in the Balch Auditorium at Scripps College.
Arts, Etc.

Happenings

Campus and community arts events for the week of Sep. 11, 2026.
Arts, Etc.

Summer Concert Series comes to an end

The Pomona Concert Band held its final performance of the summer season Aug. 27 in Palomares Park.
Arts, Etc.

Happenings

Campus and community arts events for the week of Sep. 4, 2026.