Taiko Voices: Gearing up for the busy spring season with Miyako Taiko

02.11.2020 by Linda Lombardi //

This week’s post is by Abena Oteng-Agipong. Abena took her first taiko class with Mark six years ago and is now a member of Miyako Taiko, the community group of the Mark H Taiko School. She says, “My first encounter with taiko was in college when my lion dance group, Cornell Lion Dance, did a collaboration with the taiko group on campus, Yamatai. I tried to drum once in lion dance, decided I was terrible at it, and didn’t try again until I came across Mark’s school. When I am not playing taiko, I work in the ‘fascinating’ world of IT and web development. On a more interesting note, if I am not playing taiko, I may be practicing martial arts (I started wushu – Chinese contemporary martial arts – in college as well) or trying out something new – this year it is ballroom dancing.”

Abena wrote for us about Miyako Taiko’s busy spring season of performing and organizing events. Enjoy! -Linda

three taiko players at a performance — Abena with Kat and Trish at the 2017 Sakura Taiko Fest

Spring with Miyako

The spring season is probably the busiest time of the year for Miyako, but also the most accomplished. It starts off with the Shinshun Matsuri at the Washington Marriott in Woodley Park. This event takes place in late January or early February. As the first performance of the year, it serves as a marker of the upcoming performance season.

Each year that we do this performance, I can see how our group improves in the logistics side of a gig: our sets get tighter, transitions smoother, load in, setup, take down, and load out faster. This year, our set was exactly on time at twenty minutes, which is impressive considering we have twenty people playing, positioning, and moving drums in between songs. We also did a somewhat impromptu procession in the morning before our set as kickoff for the festival. We only talked through what we were going to do the morning of, but we were again, exactly on time at four minutes. As Mark puts it, we are working towards becoming that well-oiled machine. And of course, our playing gets better each time!

Shinshun Matsuri is also a special performance for Miyako as it is usually one that most of our members can participate in. Miyako is a big group, about twenty members strong, so it is hard to get everyone in the same place at the same time. But on the rare occasion that we can all play together, it is amazing! As soon as we started with our first song, Ringu, I could feel the excitement and engagement not only from my fellow members, but the crowd as well. This year, every member of Miyako was able to perform and share our energy with the Japanese community of the DC Metro region.

Miyako Taiko after their 2020 Shinshun Matsuri performance

After the Shinshun Matsuri, we go into full Sakura Taiko Takeover at the Tidal Basin/Sakura Taiko Fest (STF) mode. We may have other events going on, such as attending and sometimes even performing at the East Coast Taiko Conference, but our main focus is putting on this event. One area where I feel like Miyako really shines is supporting each other. Every member of the group will, without hesitation, be there to lend a helping hand to ensure the event runs smoothly.

Organizing a full day event like STF is no small feat, but every year, I am amazed at the show our community puts on. It has been getting bigger each year, involving more groups from the United States and even Canada, different branches of the Mark H Taiko school and, yes, even more equipment and drums. And on top of the organizing, Miyako is also working on our own set for the performance. It is a lot of work to pull all of this off, but it is very rewarding.

Miyako Taiko performs at the 2019 Sakura Taiko Takeover at the Tidal Basin

While Shinshun Matsuri connected us with the Japanese community of DC, STF connects us with community groups, collegiate groups, and other taiko players in North America. I look forward to seeing familiar and new faces each season. Being part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival also allows us to engage with a huge audience. The best audience members, without a doubt, are the kids rocking out in the front while we play. I can’t wait to see them again this year!

We can’t rest quite yet after STF, as we usually have a few more gigs after that. These are usually smaller gigs, such as the Freedom Walk or Lantern Lighting Festival. One of the advantages of having a big group is that we can split up for the smaller gigs. We also play at the Sakura Matsuri, the DC area street festival associated with the Cherry Blossom Festival.

Each performance is a little different in nature, and sometimes not everything goes according to plan, but Miyako has a remarkable ability to recover and adapt. All the members of Miyako put a lot of energy and effort into spring performance season, I really enjoying playing with my taiko family and representing the Mark H Taiko school in the DC area. With these amazing people behind me, I have no doubt we will have another successful performance season this year.

After performing at the 2018 Sakura Matsuri

Taiko Voices: A Look Back at CONNECT 2018

01.28.2020 by Linda Lombardi //

For today’s Taiko Voices we’re going to meet Kim Morrison, a member of Miyako Taiko, the community group of the Mark H Taiko School. We talked about how she got into taiko and asked her about experience at CONNECT 2018, which will be of interest to those of you who might be considering signing up for CONNECT 2020!

Kim performing taiko at ECTC — Kim performing at ECTC 2019 (photo by Benjamin Pachter)

Tell us a little about who you are outside of taiko and what brought you to the area.

I’m a native of the San Francisco Bay area, born and raised. It was such a unique and wonderful place to grow up. After finishing grad school in Boston, I came to DC in 1996 and have worked in the federal government for 22 years. I have a lot of wonderful friends here and DC is definitely my home now.

How did you first encounter taiko?

So, this is kind of crazy. There were all kinds of opportunities to learn and perform taiko growing up in the Bay area, but I didn’t know about it until I was in college, at UCLA. I was on the women’s crew team. One of the members worked at the performing arts center on campus and one morning she came to practice and she said, “Kim – I saved you a ticket. It’s the last performance. It’s the most amazing and incredible thing you’ll ever see. You HAVE to see this.”

I said “what is it?” and she said it was the Kodo drummers of Japan, and I said, “oh that does sound really cool. How much is the ticket?” Now, this was 1988/89, and I’m a poor undergraduate with student loans. The ticket was 30 bucks or something – it was steep for a student. I immediately backpedaled, but she was bossy, and she insisted. She said, “No, you’re going!” Mind you, she’s a very successful litigator now… And indeed it was one of the most life changing things I’d ever seen. What stuck me was juxtaposition of something incredibly creative and artistic and musical, balanced with the performers who are like Olympic level athletes.

So then, you ran right out and took a class?

As soon as I saw the performance I thought, oh my god I have to take a class to learn how to do that! But then I immediately talked myself out of it for some reason, thinking, oh, it must be like the circus, you have to be born into a family that does it… And meanwhile I’m in Los Angeles, I grew up in the Bay area, there’s all kinds of taiko groups. But this was the days before the internet – we just had the yellow pages – and it didn’t even occur to me to ask.

Years went by, and every time Kodo came to the US, I never missed it. And then, I don’t even know what prompted me to do this – I do think that life puts you on a timeline when things are meant to be – it was January 2016, I was doing some shopping online, and out of the blue, maybe a guardian angel was whispering my ear, I typed in ‘taiko drumming classes Washington DC” and of course Mark’s website popped up. It really was fate. I called and was told there was one spot open in an intro taiko class the next Sunday. From that first day, I was so filled with joy and delight – it was even more fun than I thought it would be. I was completely hooked.

What are some things that stood out about your experience at CONNECT last time?

Kim in PJ Hirabayashi’s workshop at CONNECT 2018

One of the most memorable things was the diversity of taiko players – you’d expect a lot of east coast folks – but we had for example Wendy, who was from Minnesota, and even some from other countries like Naoko from Canada and Meg from Taiwan. It was such a wonderful opportunity to network with like-minded taiko enthusiasts.

I also liked that the four instructors each brought something very very different, so I never felt like I was repeating stuff. I think Mark was very strategic in who he asked to come, because all of it felt fresh and different.

How did it compare to other taiko conferences you’ve been to?

Compared to other conferences where everyone is running off to do their own thing, CONNECT felt more like we were all in it together. It felt more cohesive because the structure of CONNECT is that everyone is rotating though the same four instructors, instead of a whole menu of different workshops. So there’s a common theme and a shared experience tying everyone together. When we’re talking between things, we’re about to go to the workshop that the person is raving about that they just came from.

It also feels more intimate – sort of like how people describe going to a small liberal arts college where everyone knows everyone and it’s more like a family. For me personally that’s more meaningful.

What are you looking forward to at this year’s CONNECT?

I’m especially excited about Ryo Shimamoto, who is coming back – that was one of my all time favorite workshops I’ve ever taken anywhere.

I can understand how he and Mark are close because I see a lot of similarity – their passion for taiko, and their passion specifically for teaching. Mark has said many times that as much as he loves performing taiko, his calling is teaching taiko, and I see that in Ryo – his incredible passion and amazing energy. It’s so inspiring and so much fun to take his workshops.

Anything else you want people to know, if they’re thinking of signing up?

I know people have to worry about cost, time off from work, traveling, family – life challenges that don’t make it easy – but I think it’s such a unique taiko community experience and learning opportunity. I think if people knew what they were missing, they’d regret it. For me, during CONNECT 2018, I was supposed to travel for a work training class. I decided to bow out because I figured, I could do that any time – when I am going to get to do this? I’m so glad I made that choice.

Be sure to join us for CONNECT 2020 – registration opens Feb 1st!

Welcome to Taiko Voices

01.14.2020 by Linda Lombardi //

Welcome to our new blog series, TAIKO VOICES! Twice each month we’ll be sharing stories about the events, experiences, and individuals that make up our Mark H Taiko community.

Linda and fellow taiko players at a 2019 workshop

Take a class with Mark and you’ll discover that amazingly interesting people are drawn to playing taiko. Even if you can’t come to post-class dinners at Mark’s Kitchen (that’s a restaurant, not Mark’s actual kitchen) to chat, he has ways of making sure we learn about each other. One of my favorite traditions takes place when we’re sitting in a circle before or after class: he’ll ask a question that we all take a turn answering. You’d probably be surprised what you learn from someone’s favorite ice cream flavor, but he also has a couple of standard questions that dig a bit deeper.

One regular feature of this blog series, then, is going to be Four Questions, where you’ll learn something about one of the members of our community through these questions. As the editor, it seems only fair that I go first, so here we go:

1. Tell us who you are – what you do other than taiko, and a little about your taiko history.

I’m Linda Lombardi. I’m a writer and editor with two main subject area specialties: one, everything about animals (from wildlife conservation to unconventional pets to dog cognition), and two, various aspects of Japan, including travel, culture, and language. (In fact, here’s an article about my experience with taiko for the Associated Press, and you should definitely follow @Yokai_Parade where I tweet about Japanese folklore.) In previous lives, I was a professor of linguistics and a zookeeper. I also admit to being a crazy pug lady, both in real life and online.

I had longed to try taiko for many years, since I first saw a performance at a festival in Little Tokyo while on a visit to LA. I didn’t get the chance until Mark moved to the DC area in 2011 and I stumbled across an ad in the local Takoma Park paper for his first concert. (Yes, long enough ago that there were still local papers, on paper.) I was one of a handful of students in his first Recreational Taiko class, and the rest is history: I have taken the class every semester since then.

What’s special about Mark’s Recreational Taiko class is that it’s open to everyone. Whether it ends up being your first step on the road to a professional career, or whether, like me, you’re thrilled to eventually reach a satisfying level of mediocrity, everyone is equally welcome. Fun and connection are as important as technique — maybe more important. And that seems right to me, because what’s the point of taiko if you’re not finding joy in it?

2. How has life prepared you for taiko?

In high school I was a guitarist and singer, and thought I wanted to major in music; in college and for quite some time afterwards, I played early music, particularly the shawm, a double-reed instrument that’s the ancestor of the oboe but MUCH louder. So playing the shawm was pretty good preparation: loud, and most people don’t really know what it is. But the other thing that comes to mind when Mark asks this question is the fact that I spent several years as a Morris dancer. If you don’t know what that is, search for some videos — you’ll find that it’s a form of traditional English folk dance that sometimes involves hitting the ground with big sticks, definitely involves coordinated movement, and (maybe most relevant) absolutely requires a level of comfort with making a little bit of a public spectacle.

3. How has taiko prepared you for life?

As a work-at-home freelancer who spends most of her work and play time staring at a computer, taiko is one of the few things in my life that forces me to get out of the house, stop overthinking with words, and move more of my body than just my fingers. I will fight to the death anyone who says that online life isn’t real life, but it isn’t the ONLY life. Taiko makes sure I still remember that there’s rewarding stuff that can only take place in the physical world, and that there’s something to be said for face-to-face time with fellow members of my species.

4. To end on a lighter note: What’s your favorite … (your choice)?

My favorite animal is the capybara. The capybara is the world’s largest rodent — if you’ve never seen one, imagine a hundred-pound guinea pig and that gets you most of the way there. It is semi-aquatic, and there is nothing more serene than watching capybaras floating in the water, especially in a Japanese hot spring bath.