I cannot believe the amazing taiko opportunities that 2009 has brought me. I was lucky enough to have played in at least 33 shows. Each one taught me something about taiko, performance or myself. I decided to write down a thought about each one as way to summarize my year.
My snow driving [...]

At the risk of sounding like an advertisement, I absolutely love and recommend Kristofer Bergstrom of On Ensemble’s program 30 Days to Better Shime. I first heard about the course while attending this year’s North American Taiko Conference in Los Angeles, California. Not being one to often play the shime (a small, high-pitched [...]

While we were at Summer Taiko Institute, Tanya, Beth and I had the unique opportunity to join Kris Bergstrom of On Ensemble in a demonstration of the Taiko March, a piece he had composed and choreographed as part of the Taiko Games at North American Taiko Conference. He had had everything planned out, but [...]

There are two things a taiko player likes to do: banging on drums and going out to eat. At least these are two of my favorite things! Taiko Conference was not only about learning new techniques, songs, and drills. It was also about making new friends, and then…… going out together to eat!
The opening reception brought [...]

The first full day of the North American Taiko Conference (NATC), Friday the 7th, was even more of an eye-opener than I thought it might be. While it may be that not every North American taiko group currently in existence was represented there, the experience, skill level, and chops of those in attendance both inspired [...]

I’m sad to say that Summer Taiko Institute is already over.  Tanya, Joy, and I had a wonderful time.
I think it is rare to see such impressive musicianship and excellent teaching skills in the same person, and even more amazing to find a group of four people who work so well together in both of [...]

Days one and two of Summer Taiko Institute are over and Joy, Beth and I are pleasantly exhausted. We’ve spent two days absorbing techniques on timing, articulation, form and stance, all while learning a new song written by Shoji Kameda of On Ensemble. There has been a lot packed into our 8:00 – 5:00 [...]

It’s finally August, and that means Taiko Conference and Summer Taiko Institute!
Tanya, Beth and I have never been to Taiko Conference before, and we decided to jump in with both feet and do it all! Beth and I arrived in LA this afternoon and joined Tanya, who’s been visiting here with her daughter the [...]

Great news! Odaiko New England has been selected to perform at this year’s Taiko 10!!! The Taiko 10 is a free outdoor community concert held in association with the North American Taiko Conference, a biennial gathering of taiko enthusiasts from all over the world, which is taking place in Los Angeles on August 7-9 this [...]