The Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble (SYTE) -- an amazing Japanese Taiko drumming group -- is scheduled to perform at Macey Center in Socorro on Friday,April 28th at 7:00 p.m.
Taiko is the Japanese word for drum. The playing and use of this musical instrument dates back over 2,000 years to ancient Japanese history. It has gone through an amazing evolution over those years to arrive at the way Taiko is played today.
For those who may not know, Taiko is much more than just performance drumming. It also involves more than just striking a drum skin. It is an ancient art form and spiritual ritual in its own right involving the fusion of movement, rhythm, philosophy and form. It has been an important part of the lives of the Japanese for centuries. The idea of becoming one with the drum is a key element of taiko. Playing taiko also has much to do with expressing and freeing the spirit of taiko. Therefore, it's important to treat both this art form and the instruments with great respect.
SYTE is comprised of four multi-faceted and classically trained artists who blend a unique mixing of rhythms, world inspired melodic woodwinds and strings, original costumes, theatrical sets and lighting, and a modern movement/dance vocabulary. Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble brings a new perspective to the art of taiko by focusing on modern compositions and visual motifs that step outside of the mainstream.
The Taiko artists who will be performing at Macey include Naoko Amemiya, Ellen Reiko Bepp, Hiroyuki Jimi Nakagawa, and Kallan Yoichi Nishimoto. All four performers studied taiko under Grand Master Seiichi Tanaka who teaches at San Francisco's Taiko Dojo.
The Ensemble's original performance blends the ancient art of taiko drumming with contemporary choreography and instrumentation, maintaining taiko's historic percussion and movement elements but incorporating modern music, choreography, lighting and visual projections into the program. The result is very impressive indeed.
SYTE was founded in 1999 to explore and develop works that incorporate taiko (Japanese drumming) with other types of performance art. Named after one of the most beautiful cherry blossom trees in Japan, Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble is inspired to balance the sensitive and elegant aspects of taiko playing with the strong and powerful.
Local sponsors for the SYTE performance include TIAA-CREF, the NMT Graduate Student Association, EMRTC, Westaf, and Super 8 of Socorro.
Mark your calendar and be sure not to miss this very impressive local taiko performance.
By: SocorroReporter
© 2006 SONewMex.com - Reprint Permission Granted
The Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble (SYTE) -- an amazing Japanese Taiko drumming group -- is scheduled to perform at Macey Center in Socorro on Friday,April 28th at 7:00 p.m.
Taiko is the Japanese word for drum. The playing and use of this musical instrument dates back over 2,000 years to ancient Japanese history. It has gone through an amazing evolution over those years to arrive at the way Taiko is played today.
For those who may not know, Taiko is much more than just performance drumming. It also involves more than just striking a drum skin. It is an ancient art form and spiritual ritual in its own right involving the fusion of movement, rhythm, philosophy and form. It has been an important part of the lives of the Japanese for centuries. The idea of becoming one with the drum is a key element of taiko. Playing taiko also has much to do with expressing and freeing the spirit of taiko. Therefore, it's important to treat both this art form and the instruments with great respect.
SYTE is comprised of four multi-faceted and classically trained artists who blend a unique mixing of rhythms, world inspired melodic woodwinds and strings, original costumes, theatrical sets and lighting, and a modern movement/dance vocabulary. Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble brings a new perspective to the art of taiko by focusing on modern compositions and visual motifs that step outside of the mainstream.
The Taiko artists who will be performing at Macey include Naoko Amemiya, Ellen Reiko Bepp, Hiroyuki Jimi Nakagawa, and Kallan Yoichi Nishimoto. All four performers studied taiko under Grand Master Seiichi Tanaka who teaches at San Francisco's Taiko Dojo.
The Ensemble's original performance blends the ancient art of taiko drumming with contemporary choreography and instrumentation, maintaining taiko's historic percussion and movement elements but incorporating modern music, choreography, lighting and visual projections into the program. The result is very impressive indeed.
SYTE was founded in 1999 to explore and develop works that incorporate taiko (Japanese drumming) with other types of performance art. Named after one of the most beautiful cherry blossom trees in Japan, Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble is inspired to balance the sensitive and elegant aspects of taiko playing with the strong and powerful.
Local sponsors for the SYTE performance include TIAA-CREF, the NMT Graduate Student Association, EMRTC, Westaf, and Super 8 of Socorro.
Mark your calendar and be sure not to miss this very impressive local taiko performance.