Pardon my sentimental blubbering. A few days ago in a shinnenkai celebration, with cheers, laughter and more than a few damp eyes, we welcomed two new members to Odaiko New England: Greg and Shane. It was with enormous pride in their efforts, accomplishments and promise that we bestowed on them in our welcome ceremony the [...]

So, here we are, coming out of our anniversary concert, and there isn’t much time to rest. It’s my first chance to organize a gig. I rashly volunteered to organize a performance for the Waltham Riverfest.  Megan Gleeson of the Waltham Cultural Council approached me about this performance some time ago, and since Waltham is [...]

You can learn taiko at our upcoming workshops! Here’s the info from our website: In our popular workshops, new drummers learn taiko fundamentals such as kata (form), kiai (vocalization) and kumidaiko (ensemble drumming). Translation: Look really cool while yelling and hitting things with friends! Using our entire bodies to drum, we’ll explore first-hand the mesmerizing, [...]

Odaiko New England is looking quite fabulous these days. In anticipation of our 15th year anniversary concert, reVISION, (Arlington Regent Theatre, 7 Medford Street, Arlington, MA, May 30th and 31st, 2009), we will be quite colorful in our new happi coat costumes. What are happi? Happi is a traditional Japanese robe imprinted with a distinctive [...]