Internationally performed composer and master shakuhachi performer Shawn Renzoh Head continues to transcend borders through his music; mixing Japanese traditional music with a distinct western compositional style. Shawn earned his Shihan degree under the tutelage of Michael Chikuzen Gould and became the youngest non-Japanese Shihan in shakuhachi. He also earned a bachelor's degree in composition from the prestigious conservatory, the Cleveland Institute of Music under Professor Keith Fitch and Professor Steven Kohn.As a performer Shawn has made it his goal to popularize the shakuhachi both in its traditional form and a modern western by commissioning a plethora of composers to write engaging music. Recently he has commissioned composers: Hsin-Jung Tsai, Bo Li, David Vayo, Eric Charnofsky, and more. He aims to commission and performer twenty new works by the year 2020. He has also made it a point to lecture as often as he can at a variety of schools such as: Ball State University, The Ohio State University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the University of Kansas City Missouri, and Cypress Lone Star College among others. As a composer, Shawn has made a substantial output of music that reflects the complex aesthetics of Japanese Music. His recent composition, “Burning Roots Sketch No. 4,” commissioned by violinist, Misha Vayman is an example of the connection between his western roots and with Japanese sounds. Vayman says that Shawn’s music is "A deeply felt Japanese sentiment structured with a virtuosic western filigree." Other performers have said, "When playing Shawn's music, I feel that I need to open my musical perspective to colors, techniques, and tonalities I don't get to use often while playing western repertoire."-Leah Stevens, flutist.