Zenshin Daiko is having it's 9th Annual Taiko Festival Concert on June 21, 2008 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's Castle Theater at 7:00 pm. Zenshin Daiko is a non-profit corporation that is dedicated to teaching taiko to children and sharing it with the community. Since forming in 1999, Zenshin Daiko has performed at over 450 events all over Maui, on all the major Hawaiian Islands and in Los Angeles and recently in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.



The concert will start off with a different type of drumming - the award winning Maui High School Band Drumline. Under the direction of Kerry Wasano, the Drumline impressed the judges at the recent Kamehameha Schools Tournament of Bands on Oahu and captured 1st place in their division. Their drumming style will provide a powerful opening for the taiko concert.



Zenshin Daiko will close the first half with the debut of some new pieces and perform some old favorites. Most of the songs performed are original pieces written by members. The concert will premiere several pieces including Okonomi III - a unique collaboration of differing drum styles written just for the concert. Zenshin Daiko's Advanced Class will also perform Tatsumaki (Whirlwind), a difficult piece written by Hiroshi Tanaka a talented taiko artist and composer formerly a performer with Stanford Taiko and the Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble and currently an instructor at the Mountain View Buddhist Temple in California and member of Jun Daiko.



After a short intermission, the internationally acclaimed TAIKOPROJECT will be the featured guest. The TAIKOPROJECT is an ensemble of premiere taiko drummers dedicated to promoting and advancing the American art of taiko. TAIKOPROJECT incorporates unconventional and innovative concepts to expand artistic boundaries. Through these values, TAIKOPROJECT seeks not only to entertain audiences, but also to inform them about the history and integrity of taiko as an evolving art form. TAIKOPROJECT won the Tokyo International Taiko in 2005 - the first taiko group outside of Japan to win this prestigious event.



Tickets will be available at the MACC's Box Office, 242-SHOW (242-7469) or online at mauiarts.org. $15 for adults, $7.50 for kids 12 & under. For more information contact Anthony Jones at 871-1222 or zenshindaiko.org.