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Mentors and Artists
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With Canada’s long history with taiko, Canadian taiko artists and performers are happy to share their learned lessons. See below for a list of available mentors in Canada’s groups. Connect through their group contacts.

On this page:
Mentors by Category  |  Mentors by Performing Group  |  Working Canadian Artists

Mentors by Category
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Practice and Everyday Management
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  • Steve (Ame no Ato): effective practice planning
  • Erez vanHam (Arashido Taiko): general administration
  • Elizabeth Ready (Hinode Taiko): grant writing
  • TL (Midnight Taiko): group management
  • Mila Mendez (RAW Taiko): grant writing
  • Young Park (RAW Taiko): group leadership
  • Jordy Riley (Uzume Taiko): youth group leadership
  • Bonnie Soon (Uzume Taiko): administration
  • Esme Friesen (Uminari Taiko): communications

Group formation and connections
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  • Steve (Ame no Ato): group dynamics and cohesion
  • Valerie (Ame no Ato): group dynamics and cohesion
  • Brenda Joy Lem (Inner Truth Taiko Dojo): community building and solidarity work
  • TL (Midnight Taiko): group formation
  • Gayle Nye (Uminari Taiko): group building

Performance and Workshops
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  • Steve (Ame no Ato): small group performance
  • Valerie (Ame no Ato): small group performance
  • Erez vanHam (Arashido Taiko): workshops
  • Hiroshi Koshiyama (Fubuki Daiko): workshops
  • Naomi Guilbert (Fubuki Daiko): workshops
  • Nick (Hetonick): Performance and workshops
  • Yuko Nozoe (Hinode Taiko): workshops
  • Brenda Joy Lem (Inner Truth Taiko Dojo): workshop (re: long-term playing)
  • Atsuko Yamashita (Katari Taiko): performance
  • Carley Okamura (Kita no Taiko): beginner workshops, taiko fundamentals

Musical Skills
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  • Erez vanHam (Arashido Taiko): taiko skills
  • Hiroshi Koshiyama (Fubuki Daiko): taiko skills, composition
  • Naomi Guilbert (Fubuki Daiko): taiko skills, composition
  • Nick (Hetonick): taiko skills, composition
  • Yuko Nozoe (Hinode Taiko): taiko skills, composition
  • Brenda Joy Lem (Inner Truth Taiko Dojo): taiko skills
  • Marty (Midnight Taiko): taiko skills, composition
  • Young Park (RAW Taiko): taiko skills, composition
  • Boyd Seiichi Grealy (Uzume Taiko): taiko skills, composition, musicianship
  • Jason Overy (Uzume Taiko): taiko skills, musicianship, sound engineering
  • Jordy Riley (Uzume Taiko): taiko skills
  • Bonnie Soon (Uzume Taiko): taiko skills, choreography
  • Gayle Nye (Uminari Taiko): taiko skills
  • Esme Friesen (Uminari Taiko): “Drills and Thrills” workshop

Equipment
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  • Erez vanHam (Arashido Taiko): taiko reskinning
  • Hiroshi Koshiyama (Fubuki Daiko): building taiko
  • Dave Emmond (Hinode Taiko): building taiko
  • Dan Kinoshita and Kevin Kanak (Kita no Taiko): drum repair and reheading
  • Bonnie Soon (Uzume Taiko): building taiko
  • Esme Friesen (Uminari Taiko): building and maintenance of taiko

Various
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  • James Coleman (Hinode Taiko): resource for deaf/hard-of-hearing drumming
  • Brenda Joy Lem (Inner Truth Taiko Dojo): Canadian taiko history (from 1986), ties to the Asian American movement, chi and body alignment for long-term playing
  • Carley Okamura (Kita no Taiko): Japanese Canadian history

Mentors by Performing Group
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Ame no Ato
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  • Steve: effective practice planning, group dynamics and cohesion, small group performance
  • Valerie: group dynamics and cohesion, small group performance

Arashido Taiko
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  • Erez vanHam: general administration, workshops, taiko skills, taiko reskinning

Fubuki Daiko
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  • Hiroshi Koshiyama: workshops, taiko skills, composition, building taiko
  • Naomi Guilbert: workshops, taiko skills, composition

Hetonick
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  • Nick: performance and workshops, taiko skills, composition, building taiko

Hinode Taiko
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  • Yuko Nozoe: workshops, taiko skills, composition
  • James Coleman: resource for Deaf/hard-of-hearing drumming
  • Dave Emmond: building taiko
  • Elizabeth Ready: grant writing

Inner Truth Taiko Dojo
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  • Brenda Joy Lem: community building and solidarity work, workshop (re: long-term playing), taiko skills, Canadian taiko history (from 1986), ties to Asian American movement, chi and body alignment for long-term playing

Katari Taiko
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  • Atsuko Yamashita: performance

Kita no Taiko
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  • Carley Okamura: beginner workshops, taiko fundamentals, Japanese Canadian history
  • Dan Kinoshita and Kevin Kanak: drum repair/reheading

Midnight Taiko
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  • Marty: taiko skills, composition
  • TL: group management, group formation

RAW Taiko
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  • Mila Mendez: grant writing
  • Young Park: group leadership, taiko skills, composition

Uminari Taiko
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  • Esme Friesen: communications, “Drills and Thrills” workshop, building and maintenance of taiko
  • Gayle Nye: mentoring for taiko skills, group building

Uzume Taiko
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  • Boyd Seiichi Grealy: taiko skills, composition, musicianship
  • Jason Overy: taiko skills, musicianship, sound engineering
  • Jordy Riley: youth group leadership, taiko skills
  • Bonnie Soon: administration, taiko skills, choreography, building taiko gear

Working Canadian Artists
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  • Akemi Akachi
  • Aki Takahashi
  • Ame no Ato
  • Alcvin Ryuzen Ramos
  • Andrew Czink (Katari Taiko)
  • Atsuko Yamashita (Katari Taiko)
  • Bonnie Soon (Uzume Taiko)
  • Booming Tree
  • Fubuki Daiko
  • Hiroshi Koshiyama
  • Kiyoshi Nagata
  • Heidi Chan
  • Margaret McKenty
  • Nagata Shachu
  • Naomi Guilbert
  • Noriko Kobayashi
  • RAW
  • Scott Kokichi Kusano
  • Steve Kubota (Katari Taiko)
  • Yuko Nozoe