That’s a wrap on our 2022-2023 season!
We ended our season with a trip to Los Angeles for a performance in Asano Taiko U.S.’s EXTASIA! In mid-July we boarded our New York and New Jersey flights and arrived to a warm welcome in Torrance, California. On Thursday, we arrived in LA with bachi and suitcases in hand and made our way to Asano Taiko U.S, a full-service taiko facility selling taiko related products and offering taiko classes for all levels.
We spent the weekend rehearsing, catching up with new and old taiko friends, and getting to know the area. On Friday, we rehearsed with Asano Taiko U.S.’s drums for the first time, running through our program of Soh Daiko signature pieces Yuudachi and Hachidan. Then on Saturday, we joined the other taiko groups at the venue for a technical and dress rehearsal.
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Sunday, July 16 was the big day – we arrived at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Cente bright and early and got ready to start the show! We shared the stage with Miyakejima Geinou Doushikai from Japan, World Miyake Kai, Honoo Daiko from Japan, San Francisco Taiko Dojo, and Asano Taiko U.S.’s own performing groups, LATI-Gumi, UnitOne, UnitTwo, and the Asano Taiko U.S. Youth Groups, for an unforgettable celebration of Asano Taiko U.S.’s 10th anniversary. In addition to our two signature pieces, two Soh Daiko members joined representatives from the other groups for a combined piece called Summer Reprise to close the show.
Asano Taiko U.S. ended the weekend with a celebration banquet to commemorate 10 years in business. We heard stories from the company’s founders, from their students, from taiko groups who’ve been generously supported by Asano Taiko U.S., and our very own Alan Okada. Good food and the comradery of the taiko community made it the perfect conclusion to a long weekend!
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We are so thankful to Asano Taiko U.S. for giving us this opportunity–it was an incredible experience meeting and playing with this incredible group of taiko players, and we’re glad we could bring some East Coast energy to LA. A big thank you also goes out to founding Soh Daiko members Alan Okada and Merle Mieko Okada and former members Nick Loh and Yue Qiu for returning to join us for this concert–we couldn’t have done it without you!
For the rest of the summer, our members will be enjoying a much-deserved break from rehearsals. But we’ll be back at it again in September, starting with our annual recruitment on September 23rd and 30th. Save the date now and check back here for more info in September–we hope to see you there!
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