Group History#
James started Living Sky Taiko in 2009 after seeing good turnout at Saskatoon’s Broadway Theatre for a performance by Hinode Taiko from Winnipeg the previous fall. With experience and drums from Todoroki Taiko in Calgary, James held introductory workshops, and recruited intrepid first members. In summer 2010, the group began playing festivals around Saskatoon, with initial sets pieced together with songs we could find from wherever.
The name was chosen for the group based on the slogan found on Saskatchewan license plates, “Land of Living Skies”, owing to the dynamic sunsets where the colours change by the minute. The group’s happis were designed with this in mind, consisting of blue with accents of orange and gold, although we’re quite excited to show off our new multi-colour “rampaging noshi” happis in summer 2025.
Over the years, the group has performed at various festivals around Saskatoon, building visibility and repertoire as we go. Guest instructors were hired to provide technique or commissioned pieces for new material. We also run workshops to introduce new people to taiko and replenish membership. We practice twice a week and maintain a membership of around 8 people. We love introducing new audience members to taiko, giving very excited audience members the chance to try it, and connecting with the local Japanese community to present this exciting cultural artform, while continuously improving our own understanding and technique.
Founding Inspiration#
Taiko is very exciting to watch and perform, and Saskatoon had nothing like it.
Notable History#
- MitsuBoshi is a piece commissioned from Kiyoshi Nagata in 2013. It was the first time we had distinct parts for odaiko, shimedaiko, chudaiko, with solos, and a level of complexity never before embraced.
- Nidan was the result of a workshop with Margaret McKenty in 2016 where she taught naname style and components of Yodan Uchi. We were left to compose our own piece, our first ever.
- Dokokara was learned by the group exclusively through tutorial videos by Yuta Kato of LATI. The complexity of the song and use of improvisation was another new step for us.
- Ann’s Song was a piece commissioned from Yuko Nozoe using funding from the first grant we were awarded in 2024. The piece is a tribute to our longtime member who passed away recently, and includes drum sets and fue parts, which are another first.
- Urban Games were held in Saskatoon in August 2024, where we collaborated with several non-taiko artists to present a montage at the opening ceremony. This included taiko accompaniment to spoken word poetry and breakdancing.
Future Goals and Values#
Ever improving standard of performance, connection with local Japanese community, diversify performance components into things like fue, koto, odori, etc.
Performance Material Sources#
Commissioned pieces, word of mouth / legacy, open source, minimal composition