Group History#
Canada’s first professional taiko group, Uzume Taiko, was formed In 1988, by founding members John Endo Greenaway, Kage Eileen and Leslie Komori (taiko drummers) along with Diane Kadota (manager). The non-profit Uzume Taiko Drum Group Society was established in 1989 with a mandate to create and present new works for taiko, especially in collaboration with other performers and to educate audiences about taiko music.
In 1991, Bonnie Soon (modern dancer) and Boyd Seiichi Grealy (classically trained percussionist) joined to become core members in the group, rehearsing, composing, creating and performing in school, community and corporate venues. New core members joined the group; Jason Overy (classically trained percussionist) in 2001, Naomi Kajiwara (dancer) in 2004 and Jordy Riley (taiko drummer) in 2017. Uzume Taiko works as a Duo, Trio, Quartet and Quintet depending on the project.
The Uzume Taiko Ensemble was formed in 1994 to encourage collaborations with a diverse group of musicians and performing artists to develop and perform multidisciplinary and cross cultural works. The Uzume Taiko Ensemble have toured their evening concerts, festival and youth shows throughout BC, across North America, the United Kingdom and Europe for people of all ages.
In 2000, the group began offering community and school Taiko Drumming Workshop Programs and in 2020, published a booklet of their pedagogy. Uzume Taiko has self-produced 7 music CD’s and 1 concert DVD available on Bandcamp.
Founding Inspiration#
To create new music for the instruments and educate the Canadian public about taiko music.
Notable History#
Uzume Taiko School Performances have been offered to BC School Districts from 1992 to the present and the troupe have given over 1500 performances during the 30+ years of touring the province. Uzume Taiko School Workshops offer a hands-on taiko drumming experience to students and the troupe can accommodate up to 350 participants in one school day.
The Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre in New Denver celebrated their 30th Anniversary in June 2024 and Uzume Taiko gave an outdoor Performance and led a Community Taiko Drumming Workshop. Uzume Taiko performed at the NIMC Opening 30 years ago and has returned through the years to perform in NIMC Community Events.
The Uzume Taiko Drumming Basics Book presents the Taiko drumming form through the lens of Canada’s first professional taiko drumming ensemble. The handbook introduces the basic types of hitting, stances, sticking drills, movement exercises, Japanese terminology, musical form, soloing and some of Uzume Taiko’s repertoire. The Uzume Taiko Drumming Basics Video Tutorial Links is a series of 21 short videos that support each drill in the Book. This Guide is emailed to Book Purchasers for on-line training support. Bonnie and Jason self-produced the video tutorials in the Uzume Taiko Studio.
Uzume Taiko & Friends: An Intimate Portrait is a self-produced series of three Recorded Events from the Uzume Taiko Studio with changing collaborators for each Event. Adam PW Smith, Cinematographer/Editor/Producer and Marc L’Esperance, Audio Engineer transformed the Taiko Studio into an intimate performance setting and achieved high quality visual and sound production for the Series.
Uzume Taiko 2017 (A)Live in Concert Playhouse Theatre production involved a large cast of 17 performers (12 taiko drummers, 5 contemporary dancers). The self-produced event required a large investment of time both administratively and artistically. The troupe’s sixth CD, “(A)Live in Concert” was released at the Concert. Jason Overy mixed and Dave Corman mastered the live recording of an exceptionally good Holland concert performance from the troupe’s 2015 European Tour.
Future Goals and Values#
Community-building / Health & Wellness
Performance Material Sources#
Group members compose original material sometimes in collaboration with musicians and artists from different cultures and disciplines.
Taiko Community Mentors in the Group#
- Boyd Seiichi Grealy – mentoring for taiko skills, composing songs, musicianship
- Jason Overy – mentoring for taiko skills, musicianship, sound engineer
- Jordy Riley – mentoring for taiko skills, youth group leadership
- Bonnie Soon – mentoring for taiko skills, choreography, building taiko gear, administration
