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Mark H Rooney Taiko

Taiko Instructor & Performer

Coming up this winter: Meet the Artist Virtual Concerts

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Please join us for our upcoming series of Meet the Artist virtual concerts!

meet the artist

Whether you’re an experienced taiko player or someone looking forward to seeing taiko for the very first time, a Meet the Artist event as presented by Mark H will be an evening of taiko that you’ll never forget.

Anything can happen at Meet the Artist – we’ve had Mongolian throat singing (courtesy of Shoji Kameda), ukelele (courtesy of Kenny Endo’s special guest, Abe Lagrimas, Jr), spontaneous storytelling (courtesy of Mark H and Kris Bergstrom), and audience members helping to create a special, improvisational piece (courtesy of Tiffany Tamaribuchi).

This winter, we’re ready to help you fight off the cold-weather blues with a special Meet the Artist series featuring our amazing CONNECT 2021 instructors! Help us keep the CONNECT spirit going until we’re all able to get together safely in person once more and join us for an evening of performance and conversation on Zoom.

These are FREE concerts, but you will need to register since there are a limited number of virtual seats available.

Our first Meet the Artist: Yurika Chiba!

Yurika ChibaOur first event in the series, featuring Yurika Chiba, is coming up on Friday, November 20 at 8:00pm EST.

More Info

With more great events coming soon!

Next up is David Wells in December, followed by Unit Souzou in January 2021 and Ryo Shimamoto in February 2021. Stay tuned – all the details on those events are coming your way soon.

We can’t wait to hear these awesome artists play some of their favorite pieces, share works-in-progress, discuss their influences, answer audience questions, and more – and we hope you can join us!

 

 

Virtual Sakura Taiko Fest

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The Sakura Taiko Takeover at the Tidal Basin is our biggest event of the year. Part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, if we’re lucky, it actually takes place among blooming cherry trees, as it did last year. While this year’s event was cancelled, we can still enjoy performances by some of the groups that were planning to participate through the magic of the internet.

Oto-Wa Taiko would have been our first guest group from outside the United States, traveling to DC from the Canadian capital. Oto-Wa Taiko members are celebrating the group’s 30th anniversary this year. The name Oto-Wa Taiko, while phonetically reflecting its community of origin, Ottawa, uses two Japanese characters, OTO (音) and WA (和). OTO means sound while WA means harmony. The character WA symbolizes the harmony of spirit among the players with their taiko as they make joyous sound together. Oto-Wa Taiko also conducts general interest taiko workshops and runs taiko classes for anyone interested in experiencing taiko first-hand.

River City Taiko is a community taiko group in Richmond, Virginia, and has been active for nearly ten years. The group gives lessons in traditional Japanese drumming, and performs at a number of events throughout the year in Central Virginia as well as Tidewater and the Charlottesville area. River City Taiko’s mission is to let people of all ages and backgrounds know that taiko is both something that they can enjoy and a community that they can become a part of. If you’d like to learn more, please visit River City Taiko on Facebook and Instagram.

 

Our neighbors Nen Daiko have performed at every Sakura Taiko event since the tradition began! Nen Daiko is the taiko ensemble of Ekoji Buddhist Temple in Fairfax Station, Virginia, and has been performing in the Washington DC metropolitan area for over 25 years.

While we don’t have video, we’d also like to give a shoutout to the other groups that were planning to travel to DC: Taiko Tides from Stony Brook, Columbia Taiko from Columbia University,  and the Swarthmore Taiko Ensemble. And stay tuned for another post with video of our Mark H Taiko groups!

 

 

 

Celebrate 2019 with lots of great taiko!

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Domo arigatou gozaimashita! ありがとうございました!

It’s almost Thanksgiving, which means it’s the perfect time to say THANK YOU to all of the wonderful folks who are part of the Mark H Taiko community!

Thank you to all of our wonderful students, to all of the amazing members of Miyako Taiko, to all of the phenomenal peeps who attended and supported CONNECT 2018, to all of the rockstar groups who played with us at our Sakura Taiko Takeover at the Tidal Basin (on a ridiculously cold day!), and to every single person who’s taken a workshop or attended a performance with us in 2018!

And what’s the very best way to express our gratitude? Well … what could possibly be better than bringing you lots of great taiko in 2019?

We’re kicking off 2019 with a weekend of FOUR awesome workshops!

Whether you’re a local or from out of town, it’s a great opportunity to hang with your fellow taiko players and jump start your practice before getting back to your regular post-holiday routine.

Saturday, January 5

Shin-En 101 Workshop (2 – 4:30pm PLUS a bonus hour from 5 – 6pm!)
Learn (or review!) the basics of this simple, dynamic song!

Shin-En Fue Workshop (4:30 – 6pm)
If you’re a fue player but don’t know the melody that is an integral part of this song, now is the time to learn!

Sunday, January 6

Advanced Shin-En Workshop (10 – 1pm)
Kick your “Shin-En” up a notch by finessing your choreography, learning new parts, & more!

Bachi Maneuvers Workshop (2 – 5pm)
Experience Mark’s most often-requested workshop & add some flair to your new year!

But wait! There’s more…

We’re ready for new (and returning!) students!

Have a friend or family member who wants to try taiko? Our next Introductory Taiko Workshop is coming up on Sunday, January 13 and our Winter Recreational Taiko Class begins on Sunday, January 27! (pssssst, remember that experiences are scientifically proven to be better gifts than things! Want to give the gift of taiko? Contact Mark H and we’ll hook you up with a sweet gift card!)

And we’re excited about our Sakura Taiko Takeover!

Join us on Sunday, March 31 among the cherry blossoms for another Sakura Taiko Takeover at the Tidal Basin: a full day of taiko performances, featuring groups from up and down the East Coast! Does your group want to participate? Stay tuned – more info coming soon on the Mark H Taiko Facebook page!

Happy Holidays … and see you in 2019!

from all of us here at Team Mark H 🙂

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