Taiko in Hawaii

During the summer before my senior year, I decided to enroll in an introductory taiko class at the Taiko Center of the Pacific. The class met once a week for one hour. We learned how to play "Renshu" by Seiichi Tanaka, the founder of the San Francisco Taiko Dojo. The class was taught by a member of Kenny Endo's Taiko Ensemble. Every now and then, Kenny Endo would drop by and lead the class. I felt so privileged to be in his presence. Although I had never seen him perform live, I had heard so much about him. He studied under Seiichi Tanaka and traveled to Japan where he spent 10 years training with a professional group in Tokyo. Simply put, he is one of the BIG names in American taiko.

In addition to my regular class meeting, I attended the open practices on Sunday. It was at these open practices that I met some really nice people who have been playing taiko for years. Dee and Keith were particularly warm and friendly to me. They happily shared what they knew and helped me keep up with the new patterns and drills.

After the 8 week summer session ended, I was saddened to think that I would have to take a break from taiko when I returned to Wellesley College for my last year. So, I inquired about taiko groups in the Boston area and my teacher recommended Odaiko New England. I quickly went home and researched this group on the Internet. I found their website and emailed the artistic director, Mark Rooney. Mark was happy to help me with my research. After a several ping-pong emails, Mark sent me a surprising email, explaining that he had just been contacted by another Wellesley student who was interested in continuing her taiko studies. To my astonishment, this student was none other than my classmate Maryssa! She studied abroad in Kyoto, Japan but through a different program, and joined a community taiko group in Uji. Talk about fate. With Mark Rooney's help, Maryssa and I decided to form a taiko group at Wellesley.