Dawn Singh Publicity 75 Rossmore Road #4 o Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 o 857-544-0739 o (f) 617-522-8633 dawn@dawnsinghpublicity.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JANUARY 15, 2004 CONTACT: DAWN SINGH 857-544-0739

Japan Society of Boston Hosts Third Annual New England Regional Japan Bowl Competition

The third annual New England Regional Japan Bowl Competition will be held Sunday, February 29, 2004, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Children[base ']s Museum of Boston, 300 Congress Street. The event is co-sponsored with the Children[base ']s Museum of Boston. The Japan Bowl is an academic competition for high school students who have studied the Japanese language and is held in more than 18 regions across the US. In 2003, more than 1,200 students enrolled. Qualifications include knowledge of the language and culture, grammar, kanji, katakana, kotowaza, current events and listening comprehension. The competition is open to students of Japanese at Levels II, III, and IV. Those who speak Japanese at home or have had significant exposure to the language outside of the traditional high school curriculum for more than three months are ineligible. A team is made up of two or three players representing one level of competition. Schools may submit a team for any or all three levels, but only one team per school, per level is permitted. Approximately 150 students attend from the following New England schools: Brien McMahon High School, Norwalk, Connecticut Classical High School, Providence, Rhode Island Simsbury High School, Simsbury, Connecticut Boston Latin Academy, Boston, Massachusetts Noble & Greenough High School, Dedham, Massachusetts Phillips Exeter High School, Andover, Massachusetts Brookline High School, Brookline, Massachusetts Moses Brown Preparatory School, Providence, Rhode Island Snowden International High School, Boston, Massachusetts

The schedule is as follows:

8:30 am Registration 9:00 am Opening Ceremony and Announcement of Rules and Procedures 10:00 am- 12:30 pm Preliminary Competitions (45 min. for each level: Bethune, Freire, Montessori, Seuss) 10:00 am- 12:30 pm Cultural Workshops for students when not in competition (Guest speaker, Ian Condry, on Japanese Hip-Hop; guest artist, Nancy Moore Bess, on Bamboo Basketry) 12:30 pm Lunch 1:15 - 4:00 pm Final Competition 4:00 pm Awards Ceremony and Reception 5:00 pm Closing

Winners of the New England Regional Competition travel to Washington, DC for the national Japan Bowl competition on April 4 during the Cherry Blossom Festival. For more information, contact the Japan Society of Boston, One Milk Street, Boston, Massachusetts or call 617-451-0726. The Japan Society[base ']s Centennial Celebration kicked off on January 1 and will continue through 2005 with dozens of special programs including Kabuki Theatre at the Wang Center, exhibitions of Japanese art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Children[base ']s Museum and Peabody Essex Museum, conferences and presentations at Harvard, Tufts, Wellesley and MIT, film retrospectives, sporting events and many more explorations of Japanese culture. The Japan Society of Boston is a tax-exempt American organization whose mission is to promote cultural and economic ties and active interchange between Japanese and Americans for mutual understanding, benefit and enjoyment. The oldest Japan Society in the US, it serves as a bridge for a network of individuals, cultural and academic institutions and business and financial firms who are linked together by a strong interest in Japan and a shared recognition of the importance of the US-Japan relationship. The Children[base ']s Museum of Boston recently opened a new exhibit, "Five Friends from Japan: Children in Japan Today." This interactive exhibit is designed to entertain and educate the young and old by highlighting similarities and differences between Japan and the US through stories of five Japanese children. The exhibit runs through May 17, 2004, before embarking on a five-year, ten city national tour. The Children's Museum of Boston exists to help children understand and enjoy the world in which they live. It is a private, nonprofit, educational institution that is recognized internationally as a research and development center and pacesetter for children's exhibitions, educational programs and curriculum. For more information on the New England Regional Japan Bowl or the Japan Society of Boston, contact Dawn Singh at 857-544-0739 or dawn@dawnsinghpublicity.com.
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Dawn Singh Publicity 75 Rossmore Road #4 o Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 o 857-544-0739 o (f) 617-522-8633 dawn@dawnsinghpublicity.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JANUARY 16, 2004 CONTACT: Dawn Singh 857-544-0739

Japan Society of Boston and Museum of Fine Arts Present Film Premiere of "Smoke and Mirrors: A Geisha Story"

"Smoke and Mirrors: A Geisha Story" by Artemis Willis will premiere at the Museum of Fine Arts on Thursday, February 5, at 6 pm. The 63 minute film is Willis[base '] directorial debut and focuses on the life of a former geisha, Kiharu Nakamura, an eighty-eight-year old woman living in Queens, and her relationship with Willis, a young filmmaker in Brooklyn. Their relationship is based on Ms. Nakamura[base ']s unique experience as a geisha and Willis[base '] travels to Japan to explore her life story, gaining a greater understanding of the difficulties and struggles she encountered. Peter Grilli, President of the Japan Society of Boston, co-sponsor of the screening, will introduce the film and pay tribute to Nakamura, a personal friend, who recently passed away. The screening is part of the Japan Society[base ']s Centennial Celebration that began January 1 and will continue through 2005 with dozens of special programs including Kabuki Theatre at the Wang Center, exhibitions of Japanese art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Children[base ']s Museum and Peabody Essex Museum, conferences and presentations at Harvard, Tufts, Wellesley and MIT, other film retrospectives, sporting events and many more explorations of Japanese culture. For more information, visit www.us-japan.org/boston. Tickets are $8 for MFA members, seniors and students; $9 general admission. For reservations, call the Box office at 617-369-3306 or order online at www.mfa.org/film. The Japan Society of Boston is a tax-exempt American organization whose mission is to promote cultural and economic ties and active interchange between Japanese and Americans for mutual understanding, benefit and enjoyment. The oldest Japan Society in the US, it serves as a bridge for a network of individuals, cultural and academic institutions and business and financial firms who are linked together by a strong interest in Japan and a shared recognition of the importance of the US-Japan relationship. For more information on the Japan Society of Boston, contact Dawn Singh at 857-544-0739 or dawn@dawnsinghpublicity.com.
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Dawn Singh Publicity 75 Rossmore Road #4 o Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 o 857-544-0739 o (f) 617-522-8633 dawn@dawnsinghpublicity.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JAN 18, 2004 CONTACT: Dawn Singh 857-544-0739

"A bold, super-confident singer with a voice as big and hearty as a tenor saxophone[sigma]every show is like a bearhug around her fans, who have responded by voting her the number one singer in the Boston Globe Jazz Awards for nearly every year since 1987. She finds endless ways to color lyrics, probing into them so deeply that you feel you're hearing even the most familiar ones for the first time."

James Gavin, Jazz Journalist/Author and Biographer of Chet Baker

Rebecca Parris, Boston's Top Jazz Thrush, Makes Her Debut at Danny's Skylight Room

Boston chanteuse, Rebecca Parris, will perform at Danny[base ']s Skylight Room in New York on Saturday, February 7, for two shows at 9:15 and 11 pm. Called "the Etta James of jazz," Ms. Parris has shared the stage with Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Wynton Marsalis, Carol Sloane and Dizzy Gillespie, among many other jazz luminaries. Gifted with a formidably rich voice, Rebecca Parris has the ability to engage audiences with her passionate vocals, witty humor and wealth of musical knowledge of songs, composers and performers. In the intimate, accessible cabaret setting of Danny[base ']s Skylight Room, Rebecca will perform selections from her wide-ranging jazz and cabaret repertoire (recently opening for Shelly Berman in Boston), accompanied by pianist, Brad Hatfield, and her celebrated sense of humor. A Boston-area native and consistent winner of New England jazz awards, Rebecca is known for approaching a song head-on and creating a generous feeling of bonhomie for her audience. Her style has been called "warm and vibrant" by Joe Williams, "confident and flawless" by Leonard Feather, and her voice "a mood that transcends the ordinary, that in one moment exudes warmth and is poignant, in another driving hard and swinging," by Shirley Horn. Showtimes on Saturday, February 7, are 9:15 and 11 pm. Tickets are $15 plus a $10 minimum food or drink order. Danny[base ']s Skylight Room is located at 346-348 W. 46th Street in New York. For reservations, call 212-265-8130. For more information on Rebecca Parris, call Dawn Singh at 857-544-0739 or email dawn@dawnsinghpublicity.com. (JPEG: Rebecca Parris)
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