Get ready to be amazed because master taiko drummer Kenny Endo and the Taiko Center of the Pacific will be taking the stage at the Hawaii Theater on Friday, March 24 at 7 p.m.
Kenny Endo joined Wake Up 2Day with a preview.
Some comments from Endo’s interview:
There will be several collaborations going on: taiko with dance, east meets west, taiko combined with various kinds of music. There will be big drums, vocals, vibraphone, ukulele, jazz vocals, Japanese folk singing, shamisen and more.
Endo wrote the title piece AME, Tears of the Earth after 9/11. Although AME means “rain” in Japanese, I interpret this as “tears of the earth.” The piece is dedicated to all victims of aggression so prevalent in today’s world.
Special guests include innovative local choreographer Peter Rockford Espiritu and Tau Dance Theater (who just returned from New Zealand) and local percussionist-in-demand phenom Abe Lagrimas Jr. Plus three out of town guests from New York (Sumie Kaneko on koto, shamisen and vocals); Portland (Amelia Lukas on various flutes); and Toronto (Aki Takahashi on shamisen and vocals).
Sumie, Abe, and Amelia are members of my touring ensemble based on the mainland and we have performed together many times but this will be a first in Hawaii.
This is a rare concert, particularly I’d like people to experience the music and musicians which I tour with on the mainland. For two of them, it is their first experience performing in Hawaii although they have performed all over the world.
For more information and tickets, view this website.
