A great weekend at the 2009 North American Taiko Conference!

I'll try not to get carried away by my enthusiasm while I write this...

Got back just before midnight yesterday from the taiko conference. 11 of us from Odaiko New England attended - more than half our group! (In the days prior to the conference, 3 of my fellow Community Members attended the 3-day Summer Taiko Institute (STI for short) led by ON Ensemble - after hearing about it, I wish I'd attended that as well...) We had a GREAT time there...the workshops and instructors were truly excellent, the taiko playing was inspiring, energetic, and also challenging (some of the other groups out there kick major ass - there's just no more direct way to phrase it). Some highlights from the 4 days - I'll go into more detail later:

Thursday - some 495 taiko players were in attendance, besides volunteers, observers, photographers and staff. Registration went smoothly, and in the afternoon many of us participated in the Leadership Forum. A very good discussion of some of the challenges and 'larger questions' many groups face. This was followed by the welcome reception/potluck dinner - kudos to the taiko players who prepared all that delicious food! One taiko group performed afterward, then there was a fun jam with players rotating in and out based on their # of years playing (i.e. 0-5 years began, then 6-10 years rotated in and so forth).

Friday - Opening Session, a really fun Taiko Games session presented at lunchtime, led by Kris of ON Ensemble, Workshop Session 1 (I attended Western Notation for Taiko Players, taught by Meg Suzuki of San Jose Taiko), a special video tribute to Daihachi Oguchi, the first Japanese taiko master to introduce the concept of kumi daiko (ensemble drumming), and the Taiko Ten concert. More on THAT soon - because I performed in it!

Saturday - Workshop Session 2 (I attended All-Around Musicianship, taught by Eien Hunter-Ishikawa), then I parted ways with some hard-earned income for various and assorted taiko goodies at the Taiko Marketplace - so many vendors with cool merchandise to beguile and tempt us taiko'ers! After lunch there were discussion groups; I sat in on 'Studying & Performing Taiko in Japan'. That discussion group was incredible - it deserves a special blog post all of its own. This was followed by Workshop Session # 3 (I attended the terrific WRISTS!, taught by Adam Weiner of San Jose Taiko). Odaiko New England members gathered to take Tanya out for her birthday (this effort was coordinated & planned by her daughter Jadelyn), then we headed back for the incredible Taiko Jam concert (more on that later - some phenomenal performances!!).

Sunday - Closing Ceremony and the group photo. I saved my purple member's Odaiko New England tee for Sunday, and it turned out to be a wise decision - as Mark observed, because of my height, size and wearing a purple tee, I served as a beacon for any of the other members lost in the crowd.

More to come, but I just had to get an overview posted now. NATC '09 was such a great experience & I met so many cool people. What an affirmation of taiko!