Meet our Miyako members…
Taiko folx are some of the most interesting people around! When you share a drink or a snack with a taiko player, there’s a good chance you’ll learn an unusual fact, find out about a cool hobby (not JUST taiko!), or discover something new and unique. Enjoy this opportunity to get to know the current members of Miyako Taiko, the community group that is part of the Mark H Rooney Taiko School!
Abena Oteng-Agipong
2014-Present
Abena’s favorite Miyako song is “Ringu” and she loves to play odaiko and also the chappa! The “Taiko Orchestra” exercise, which was first taught to the group by Shoji Kameda, is one of her favorite ways to connect to her fellow drummers – its non-verbal cues have given Miyako new ways to communicate and learn from each other… plus, it always ende up being a fun jam session!
Abena loves to try a new hobby or activity every year. “In fact, taiko was my new ‘thing to try’ one year and I stayed with it all these years. But even if it doesn’t become a hobby or activity that sticks, I find there is value in regularly being a beginner in something or trying to learn a new skill.”
“I believe more money and resources should go towards libraries and literacy programs. Libraries serve the public in so many ways, such as acting as community center, hosting summer programs, learning and makerspace zones, and sometimes just being a safe and calm place.”
Calvin Chiang
2019-Present
Before moving to the DC area, Calvin spent a year playing with Taiko Masala Dojo (Brooklyn, NY). His favorite Miyako song is “Soka” and he loves to play Odaiko. A memorable Mark H Taiko moment “when Chieko Kojima came to teach Hana Hachijo. It was nice seeing taiko in a more graceful, yet still very powerful form.” He was reminded of the importance of community while working with fellow Miyako members and a member of MHTX to prepare for the 2024 Taiko Taikai in LA: “it was a great experience learning and practicing the piece together and then supporting each other at the competition.”
Calvin enjoys “puzzles of all sorts (jigsaws, crosswords, Rubik’s cubes, etc.)” as well as playing video games and board games
Sweet Corn flavor Turtle Chips
Carissa Aoki
2023-Present
Before moving to the DC area, Carissa had played taiko with Soh Daiko, Taiko Maine Dojo … and she also took online classes with Mark H during COVID lockdown. “The first in-person school recital after the pandemic, I got to fly down (my first post-pandemic flight) to play the songs I learned online – with actual people! An incredible and slightly surreal experience!” She loves to play “Shin-En” and her most memorable Miyako performance was Sakura Taiko Fest in 2024: “it was amazing to play in an incredible location with fellow taiko players from all over!”
“I’m yonsei (fourth generation Japanese American) on my dad’s side, sansei (third generation) on my mom’s side, and equally non-Japanese-speaking all around.”
“I teach ecology and environmental justice to college art and design students. I hope that we are teaching students – and the public who sees their work – that social justice and saving the planet are two sides of the same coin.”
Crystal
2019-Present
Crystal’s favorite Miyako song is “Tsumugu” and her most memorable Miyako performance was “the Sakura Taiko Fest when we played through cold and graupel but still survived!” A favorite taiko memory was “CONNECT 2022: my first taiko conference – it was amazing meeting folks from around the world and devoting a long, uninterrupted time to taiko.”
“I am willing to try foods that most people wouldn’t. For example: brisket ice cream, ant larvae (it’s popular in Mexico!), etc.”
Food security
Jim Barnds
2019-Present
Jim’s favorite MHT song is “Kiyohime” and – as anyone who has met Jim surely knows – he loves to play odaiko! His most memorable Miyako performance was a Shinshun Matsuri when “I was almost impaled by a flying bachi.”
“I have a strong sense of continued connection with a cat I had when I lived in Pakistan. She is the fiercest creature I have ever known across four continents. Her attitude toward humans informs much of the way I interact with controlling personalities.”
“Blue cheese on baguette, with a chaser of grapes and pomegranates”
John Maniha
2014-Present
John’s favorite Miyako song is “Kashmir.” He loves the tradition of Miyako retreats and how they help members get to know each other better. His most memorable Miyako performance is the group’s first performance at the East Coast Taiko Conference in 2018: “We performed ‘Kashmir’ and really pulled it off beautifully… Not to mention that Tara caught a falling odaiko with her bare hands!”
“New Orleans Mufaletta sandwiches are a thing of beauty.”
“Wilderness preservation. There are too few wild spaces left in the world to disregard their well-being.”
Joyce Yang
2021-Present
Joyce loves playing naname style as well as the gong, and her favorite Miyako song is “Shin-En.” The Bubble Tea Festival is one of her favorite gigs because “the atmosphere is fun and the weather is just starting to cool down for the fall.”
Joyce was a second-place finisher on Jeopardy!
Sardi’s Peruvian Chicken
Kim Morrison
2018-Present
Kim loves to play naname style! Her most memorable Miyako performance was at the 2019 East Coast Taiko Conference: “I was sick with a nasty case of bronchitis and I probably should have stayed home to recover. But I was so excited to attend ECTC, and especially excited for my first performance as a newly official member of Miyako. I was determined to perform at that concert, especially because we were performing ‘Ringu,’ my all-time favorite taiko piece. I will be forever grateful for the incredible support I received from my fellow Miyako members, whose strength and positive energy helped me to get through that performance without falling over in a coughing heap!”
“I was recruited for the US Olympic rowing team for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.”
Kim is a self-described “podcast junkie! You can catch me listening to podcasts in the morning when I’m getting ready for work, driving in my car, doing chores around the house, etc. My favorite podcasts are stories about the art and craft of storytelling and lately, I’ve been really getting into true crime podcasts.”
Koji Otani
2015-Present
Koji loves to play odaiko and his favorite Miyako song is “Soka.” Sakura Taiko Fest is a favorite experience for him each year because it’s a unique opportunity to get to know people from many taiko groups and see their performances. He also enjoys attending the CONNECT taiko gatherings here in the DC area (stay tuned for the next one coming up in 2025!).
Koji enjoys jogging, cooking, brewing (and drinking!) beer, and watching Japanese TV shows
“Equity in education, healthy food, and distribution of wealth”
Meghan C. Kruger
2014; 2018-Present
“Kashmir” is her favorite Miyako song and she also has “a place in my heart for ‘Reimei’” (a deep cut from the group’s early days). Meghan loves taking taiko classes and workshops in the many places that she has visited and lived but he fondly remembers returning to her first Mark H Taiko Recreational Taiko Class “after more than four years as a nomad. The sense of homecoming when I first walked in – the deep feeling of belonging, the joy of seeing Mark and other friends – was overwhelming.” Her most memorable Miyako performance was Sakura Taiko Fest 2022: “being able to perform live in front of an audience after two years of COVID lockdowns was a gift. And the weather was insane! Playing ‘Shin-En’ as the finale with hail pelting my shekere was … memorable indeed.”
“I am enrolled in a part-time art program as part of my long-held ambition to be a children’s book author and illustrator. Keep an eye out for the ‘ABCs of Taiko’ someday…”
Meghan enjoys spending time with her three young sons, AKA “my miniature taiko players” and also of course their dad. “The little ones may have hit baby-sized taiko before they could walk!”
Megumi Fujita
2023-Present
Megumi’s favorite Miyako song is “Kashmir” and her Miyako debut at Sakura Matsuri in 2024 is her most memorable performance. Her favorite Mark H Taiko School memory is 嶋本 龍’s “Sato No Matsuri “Workshop in 2024: “The dance studio was transformed into a beautiful matsuri, learning the song was challenging, and it was kumidaiko at its finest.”
Megumi is learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu!
“Adopting pets, especially cats and dogs. My cats and dog are all rescues.”
Molly Abraham
2023-Present
Molly’s favorite Miyako song is “Soka” and she loves to play naname style. A favorite Mark H Taiko School moment was the end of the first class session when she learned “Shin-En”: “I was asked to open the song and it felt like a tangible moment of success for me!”
“I taught myself some 3D modeling in graduate school and somehow ended up creating a scale model of the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte in Naples, Italy for publication in a catalogue and for use in future exhibition planning. This was unrelated to anything I was actually studying.”
“I’m a strong supporter of the arts and humanities in education and beyond.”
Naoko Ohrtman
2015-2018; 2022-Present
Naoko loves to play the kane! Before finding the Mark H Taiko School, she took a semester-long college taiko class: “clearly it’s altered the trajectory of my life pretty significantly!” A key Miyako memory for her was organizing the 2018 Sakura Taiko Fest: “it was so immensely rewarding to see everything come together the day of, especially since I think everyone had a really good time, despite the fact it was freezing!”
“In the summer of 2018, I spent 38 days walking 500 miles across northern Spain on the Camino de Santiago.”
Prinsesstårta: “a type of Swedish cake that I keep baking for guests who will help me eat it!”
Sadikshya
2023-Present
Sadikshya first played taiko with Genki Spark in Boston in 2016 and then joined Boston Rebel Alliance Taiko (BRATS) during COVID. Her favorite Miyako performance was the 2024 Bubble Tea Festival “because my daughter, my new baby, got to watch me play songs I learned while pregnant with her.” A memorable Mark H Taiko School experience was her first odaiko class: “the reception was so warm and it was such a great learning environment. That class pushed my odaiko understanding to the limit. Owning a song and playing it live was exhilarating and terrifying. All in all, a true Mark H experience and one I will cherish.”
“I have both chased away a bear and gotten chased by a poisonous snake in the wild.”
“I love South Asian (Indian/Nepali) street food and South Indian filter coffee.”
Sara Harris Manda
2015-Present
Before moving to DC, Sara was a member of a community group in Tokyo, Yebisu Taiko (from 1997-2001) and has enjoyed many workshops, taiko retreats, and conferences over the years. Her favorite Miyako song is “Soka” and she loves set playing. Memorable Mark H Taiko School moments include the opportunity to work with visiting artists like Tiffany Tamaribuchi, who helped Sara realize “to what extent you can relax and follow your body’s natural lines to execute at hit.” Her favorite Miyako performance was the 2015 Shinshun Matsuri “because it was my first performance as a Miyako member. I had watched Miyako play and it was a thrill to be able to be on the other side and take the stage!”
Sara loves being out in nature: hiking, biking, and on the water
Setting up an elaborate grilled cheese bar at our Miyako retreats!
Tamra Tomlinson
2017-Present
Before moving to DC, Tamra was a member of the Atlanta Taiko Project from 2014 – 2015. She loves to play naname style and her favorite Miyako song is “Ringu.” She says it is :too hard to choose” a favorite Mark H Taiko experience but one that stands out was “the odaiko intensive weekend with Otoha Asano was a unique opportunity to learn odaiko playing as a means of expression and how to approach it almost as an endurance sport as well.” Her most memorable Miyako performance was “probably my first one, which was not playing but instead driving Mark’s minivan in the Takoma Park 4th of July parade.”
“I didn’t learn to swim or get a driver’s license until I was almost 26.”
Tamra enjoys “reading, photography, studying, languages, walking until I get lost.”
