About Taiko at MNU

At the first performance of the MNU Steel Drum Ensemble in August 2001 an official from the Olathe Public Schools was on campus giving a tour to some Japanese students. This person mentioned that there were Japanese drums in storage in Kansas City that were not being used. Dr. Baldridge began to pursue this and made contact with Dianne Daugherty, the Japanese language instructor for the school district. The Consulate General of Japan in Kansas City was then approached about the possibility of using these drums. By December, permission had been granted for the set of ten taiko (4 shime-daiko, 2 sumo-daiko, 3 nagado-daiko, 1 oshime-daiko) to be loaned to MNU for the purpose of beginning a taiko ensemble.

Throughout this period Dr. Baldridge began to learn all he could about taiko and the music. He attended workshops offered by the San Jose Taiko Group and St. Louis Osuwa Taiko. Late in the semester an announcement was made to the student body for all interested persons to sign up for an interview. Sixteen students were interviewed and eight were chosen to be in the ensemble.

On the first day of the spring semester the ensemble met for its first rehearsal. Half of the original members had no previous musical experience of any kind. This first semester was both challenging and rewarding as the ensemble prepared for performances.

On April 25, 2002, MNU presented its first World Music Celebration. The taiko and steel drum ensembles both performed at this event. Guest performers included Dr. Baldridge on shamisen and Dianne Daugherty on koto.

During the following summer, Dr. Baldridge made two shime-daiko and two okedo-style drums called oshime-daiko. One large hira-daiko, two smaller hira-daiko, and two nagado-daiko were also purchased. These drums are the core of MNU Taiko Ensemble.

In September 2002 Dr. Baldridge attended the Sonoma County Taiko workshop in California and had the privilege of meeting Daihachi Oguchi, the founder of kumi-daiko in Japan in 1951, and Seiichi Tanaka, the person who began kumi-daiko in America when he founded the San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1968.

During the academic year the MNU Taiko Ensemble rehearses two afternoons each week and performs in a variety of settings. The primary focus of the group, however, is on those events sponsored by the Japanese community of the Midwest.

With the spring semester of 2007 the taiko ensemble ceased to be a regular performing ensemble. It has now been incorporated into a world music ensemble class offered primarily for MNU music students.