May 31, 2004

Zenshin Daiko's 5th Annual Taiko Festival
June 26, 2004 at the MACC.

The Taiko Center of the Pacific - Youth Group will headline Zenshin Daiko's 5th Annual Taiko Festival will feature .

Maui Okinawa Taiko will open this year's concert at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's Castle Theater.

Zenshin Daiko’s 5th Annual Taiko Festival concert will be held on June 26 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Castle Theater. This year’s concert will start with performances by Maui Okinawa Taiko and Zenshin Daiko. Then after a short intermission the Taiko Center of the Pacific - Youth Group will perform for the entire second half. The concert is sponsored in part by the State Foundation on Culture & the Arts.

The Maui Okinawa Taiko Club was formed in May of 1997. Their style of taiko originates from a town called Kitanakagusuku, in Okinawa, Japan. In Okinawa, their parent club Mukaito Daiko, which means “dream crossing the sea”, was formed in 1991. Maui Okinawa Taiko consists of over 30 students ranging from 8 years old to adult. The premise for the creation of the Taiko club was to create an activity at the cultural center that would attract the younger generations and to promote and preserve the Okinawan culture.

Zenshin Daiko will close out the first half with a performance prepared especially for the concert. It will feature the premier of two pieces written by Zenshin Daiko members. 9th graders Bree-Ann Tamaye and Leslie Asato wrote a lively piece called Odori Bachi - Dancing Drumsticks. 14 year old Christopher Hisamoto, composed Tatsu no Kokoro - Heart of the Dragon, a very difficult and powerful piece. This year’s concert will also feature the debut of Zenshin Daiko’s large hiradaiko. (See page 4.) 16 year old Elise Fujimoto, composed a solo piece called Internal Reflection and will perform it on the new drum.

Taiko Center of the Pacific Youth Group was established in 1994 and since then, they have performed at numerous community events and festivals on Oahu and on the mainland. Current performing members range in age from 9 – 18 and individually have been studying taiko for 4 – 13 years at Taiko Center of the Pacific, a school of traditional and contemporary Japanese drumming based in Honolulu. The group is currently under the direction of Gabriel Ishida, a performing member of the Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $7.50 for children 12 and under are available at the MACC’s Box Office, 242-SHOW. See zenshindaiko.org for more information.