The University of Hawaii at Hilo Performing Arts Center presents the Big Island Taiko Festival 2015 featuring Taishoji Taiko, Hui Okinawa Kobudo Taiko, Puna Hongwanji Taiko Club, Kona Daifukuji Taiko and Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko.
The University of Hawaii at Hilo Performing Arts Center presents the Big Island Taiko Festival 2015 featuring Taishoji Taiko, Hui Okinawa Kobudo Taiko, Puna Hongwanji Taiko Club, Kona Daifukuji Taiko and Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko.
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
“This exhilarating weekend of vibrant drumming and physical choreography brings together the best of Big Island taiko,” said Lee Dombroski, performing arts center manager and festival producer. “Taishoji Taiko, under the direction of Chad Nakagawa, was founded under the direction of Yoshihumi Ono at Taishoji Soto Mission in Hilo. Their energetic, dramatic style will have the audience feeling the rhythm right to their core.”
Hui Okinawa Kobudo Taiko, under the guidance of adviser Milton Yafuso and Troy Sakihara, practices and performs a drumming style based on Okinawan martial arts.
“Our threefold mission builds leadership and promotes and preserves the interest in and appreciation for the history and traditions of Okinawan culture and the arts,” Yafuso said.
The Puna Hongwanji Taiko Club, under the direction of the Rev. Earl Ikeda and Paul Sakamoto, was founded in 2003 by Ikeda as a community-focused group with drummers of all ages and experience, striving to perpetuate taiko as a cultural and recreational activity.
Kona Daifukuji Taiko was founded in 1988 by the Rev. Ryuji Tamiya and his wife, and is comprised of elementary through high school youth under the direction of instructors Akemi Iwamoto and Amy Nakade.
This year, the festival adds Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko from Kohala. Imported from Okinawa and nurtured by sensei Akemi Martin, the group has more than 100 active members across the Hawaiian Islands.
Tickets are $10 general admission and $5 for seniors, UH students (with ID) and children 17 and younger. Box office hours are 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday-Friday. Tickets also can be purchased by calling 932-7490 or ordering online at artscenter.uhh.hawaii.edu.