Maz and I will be performing at DROM in New York this month with Kaoru Watanabe (flutes and taiko), Yuka Yamamoto (vocals, ukele), Shanir Blumenkranz (bass) and Barbara Merjan (drums and taiko). Kaoru has been faciliting a performance series at DROM ever since we performed there together back in January of last year and he always gathers together a great group of interesting musicians. Should be a lot of fun come check it out if you are in NY.
Maz and I are headed to New York this month! First we will performing Tuesday June 15th at Carnegie Hall for the New York premiere of Eric Whitacre’s Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings. We were lucky enough to work with Eric two years ago when he premiered Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings at the Boston Court Theater in Pasadena. The New York performance will be the concert version which probably means no elaborate fight to the death angel battle scenes but it’ll be an experience none the less!
Then on Saturday June 19th at 9pm we’ll be performing with at DROM with Kaoru Watanabe (flutes and taiko), Yuka Yamamoto (vocals, ukele), Shanir Blumenkranz (bass) and Barbara Merjan (drums and taiko) as a part of NakaNaka a performance series that Kaoru facilitates. Should be a lot of fun!
A student in Stanford University’s taiko seminar created a wikipedia page about me. Like Shoj said about his page, I feel a little shy about having one, but feel free to edit it to portray me as the doob I really am!
We have just returned from a fantastic trip to Tacoma and UC Davis.
Tacoma’s Broadway Center for the Performing Arts presented On Ensemble at the Rialto Theater. We did a performance for elementary school kids, a hands-on workshop, and an evening performance for the public. This was our first theater performance with Chris Hartz sitting in for Kelvin. The show turned out really well and the audience was very enthusiastic. Thank you, Tacoma!
Maz and I then continued on to UC Davis to teach at the annual Collegiate Taiko Invitational, hosted this year by Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan. Maz taught a workshop on multi-drum taiko as a representative of TaikoProject and I taught slant drum form and my most recent thoughts on bon festival taiko, representing On Ensemble. Maz and I then did a joint session on composition. Thank you to Jackson and all the Invitational coordinators!