Basic Information
| We are our own non-profit corporation | ||
| Artistic Director + Consensus | ||
| amateur |
Background Information
Group's Mission and Motivation
Our mission is to educate the community about taiko and Japanese culture through taiko performances and workshops.
Structure and Philosophy
Describe the ensemble's organizational structure and philosophy, including leadership structure, membership policy, and instructional process.
Our group has board as a 501(c)(3) organization. Under the board, we have a president, a vice-president, a secretary, and a treasurer.
In practice, we have an artistic director, although we try to make sure everyone has a chance to share ideas.
We have several business managers who manage performance and workshop requests.
We have many committees, such as PR, Education, Sales, etc., with members and chairs.
This sounds like a lot of people. They are mostly the same people. 😁
Group History
Describe how, where, and why the ensemble was founded. What was its inspiration?
Our group was founded in 1986 when Daihachi Oguchi, the grand master from Osuwa Taiko, visited St. Louis, the sister city of Suwa in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. He brought a set of drums as a gift to the city and taught a kids' group to play. The kids played until 1992, when they all went off to college. One of the kids, Joe Kimura, who had continued playing while he was at Stanford, came back to St. Louis for medical school. He re-founded the group at Washington University. Now, we have evolved from purely a student group to a community group and 501(c)(3) organization.
Now, we perform about thirty shows per year, and have gone twice to Japan as the guests of Osuwa Daiko to perform at the Okaya Taiko Festival. We perform traditional, communal, and original pieces.
We offer regular classes year round for our Community Group. They typically consist of 10 week sessions and run quarterly. If we do not have a class session open, you can sign up for our mailing list to be notified when classes open.
List of Founding Members
Oguchi Daihachi (1st time)
Joe Kimura (2nd time)
List of Current Members
http://stltaiko.com/about/us
Biggest Changes
Describe two of the biggest changes that have characterized the group's development since its founding
The biggest changes were the change from a kids' group, which of course was followed by four years of inactivity. The reformation of the group as a student group was the biggest change we've gone through! The second biggest change was when Joe Kimura, who refounded the group, left St. Louis to do his residency in San Diego. That really stirred up questions about who was doing what and how the group should be run; before, Joe had done it all!
Performances, Recordings, Publications
Performances
List a selection of your regular performance venues (for example, Denver Sakura Matsuri, Seabrook obon, business conventions, Manzanar Pilgrimage, Maui Marathon, etc.)
http://stltaiko.com/#calendar
Instructors, Teachers & Mentors
List the instructors, teachers and mentors who have worked with the ensemble.
Current instructors include Andrew Thalheimer, Katie Lee, and Helena Converse, but we all teach when we know something to share.
Non-Taiko Collaborators
List a selection of non-taiko players or groups that have collaborated with the ensemble.
Circus Harmony Youth Circus Troupe
American Chamber Chorale
Meramec Symphonic Band
Afriky Lolo
...and so many others
Audio & Video Recordings
List a selection of publicly accessible audio and/or video recordings featuring the ensemble.
Signature Works
Please include title, composer, date of composition, special reason(s) for composition, and what the work represents to the group.
http://stltaiko.com/music
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