My shakuhachi experience began in graduate school at Florida State University with Dr. Dale Olsen.  I began playing as part of the curriculum requirements for an ethnomusicology degree, and performed two pieces on my flute master's recital after studying for a couple of years.  My fascination for Japan and all things Japanese grew over the years, and as part of my doctoral studies at CU Boulder, I had the good fortune to cross paths with David Kansuke Wheeler and participated in the first US-based World Shakuhachi Festival in 1998.  After moving to San Antonio, Texas, I became a student in the Mujuan dojo of Stan Kakudo Richardson in Dallas.  As I prepared to visit Japan for the first time, I made arrangements to study with Yodo Kurahashi II, head of the Mujuan dojo in Kyoto and have continued studying with him for 20 plus years now. I traveled to Japan twice more, to present a lecture-recital "Tsuru no Sugomori and Nesting of Cranes: Mother and Child," at an academic conference; to conduct research with Japanese women shakuhachi players; and to absorb more of Japanese culture, particularly that related to the komuso, or itinerant, shakuhachi playing Buddhist priests of prior centuries.  I have participated in World Shakuhachi Festivals in Texas, New York City and in Sydney, Australia as a performer and scholar. In 2018 I received my teaching license and the name Reika from Kurahashi sensei.  One of my greatest joys in life is being able to share the music of this most sublime of instruments with audiences around the world and students of all levels.