Initially trained as a concert pianist, Elliot Kallen played keyboards for many bands and on many stages. A chance encounter led him to the Japanese bamboo flute. He is a long-time student of David Kansuke Wheeler of Boulder, CO. Elliot also studied with Kawase Junsuke III, the third-generation head of Chikuyusha, the largest shakuhachi teaching organization of its kind in Japan. He was given his Shihan (master teacher license) and performance name, Kanshin (勘心) in 2018.

He plays shakuhachi in a wide variety of contexts, from traditional solo meditation music of Zen, to classical Japanese ensemble music with koto and shamisen, as well as the modern exploratory sounds of the avant guard.

Elliot is the current President of the International Shakuhachi Society (see www.komuso.com). He performs, teaches, and facilitates workshops on Japanese classical music and the shakuhachi from his home base in Northern California.