The “dedicated art”
Zenshin Daiko celebrates its 25th anniversary with a special concert at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on June 15
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KAHULUI – Dedicated to teaching children the Japanese art of taiko drumming, Zenshin Daiko celebrates its 25th anniversary with a special concert at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on Saturday, joined by acclaimed drummer Kenny Endo and L.A.'s On Ensemble.
Valerie and Anthony Jones founded Zenshin Daiko on Maui in 1999. The couple also run Maui Specialty Chocolates. A family relative initially introduced them to taiko drumming. "My wife's cousin was a hula dancer and after graduating she went to Stanford and came back the first break and she goes, 'I play taiko drums'," Anthony Jones explains. "I'm like, what's that? I had no clue."
After watching a video of her performing, the couple got hold of film of the legendary Japanese taiko group Kodo, who performed on Maui in the 1980s.
"My son was two years old at the time, and that's all he watched," Jones continues. "No 'Barney,' no 'Sesame Street,' Kodo, all day long. So eventually we ended up starting our own group."
Jones remembers being blown away when Kodo performed in Baldwin Auditorium. "I've never seen anything like it. I was totally mesmerized by the intensity and level of physical endurance that those guys displayed. It was just incredible."
The Maui taiko group later developed a relationship with the Japanese drummers. "We've been to Sado Island twice and had workshops," says Jones. "We've actually shared the stage with them in Japan. We played in a concert in Japan that is sponsored by Asano Taiko, the oldest, biggest taiko maker in Japan. He was an early supporter of Kodo before they became famous. So we got invited to perform at that concert. I think we were only the fourth group from North America that ever got invited in their 20 years at that time. We got to close the first half, and we got to watch Kodo play in the second half. It was incredible. We've had several Kodo instructors come to Maui to give workshops with our kids."
Zenshin Daiko is a children's group with almost 50 members, ranging in ages from five to 17. The founders adopted the name Zenshin for moving forward and Daiko as a reference to the large taiko drum (Ō-daiko means large drum).
Jones says he enjoys working with kids and "trying to unlock the potential that kids have, because the society and the system doesn't really allow for that. It's all about conformity. And letting them try and dig deep and find out what they've got inside that they didn't know existed, and be able to do amazing things. How many people do you know went to Japan and performed in a major concert? Who gets to do that before you graduate high school? We just went to San Antonio. We played at the Alamo."
Their efforts and diligence has paid off as Zenshin Daiko has been invited to perform at prestigious events. "Zenshin is kind of famous in the taiko community because we've played at the North American Taiko Conference, which is a really prestigious event for taiko groups," he notes. "We've actually got invited twice. I think we're the only all kids group that ever played there."
At their MACC concert they will be joined by Kenny Endo and On Ensemble. Originally trained as a jazz musician, Endo began his taiko career first with L.A.'s groundbreaking Kinnara Taiko, then with the renowned San Francisco Taiko Dojo, the first kumi daiko (ensemble drumming) group outside of Japan. He has the honor of being the first non-Japanese national to have received a natori (stage name and masters license) in hogaku hayashi (classical drumming).
"Over the years, he has given us workshops and performed with us," says Jones. "It's been a lot of fun for our kids to work with somebody of that caliber."
Established in 2002, On Ensemble is one of the most respected ensembles in the taiko world. Led by childhood friends Shoji Kameda and Masato (Maz) Baba, On Ensemble is recognized for infusing the powerful rhythms of taiko with a wide range of musical influences from jazz and rock to central Asian overtone singing. They were the first American taiko group to be invited to perform at the National Theater of Japan for the prestigious Nihon no Taiko concert series.
Zenshin Daiko's 25th Annual Taiko Festival Concert is presented on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the MACC's Castle Theater. Tickets are $26 for adults and $13 for children 12 and under, plus applicable fees.