San Jose Taiko: Rhythm Journey – March 23, 2015
Date: Monday, March 23rd, 2015; 11:30am to 1pm
Address: Billy Johnson Auditorium, Newark Museum; 49 Washington St. Newark
Cost: Free
Press Release:
The Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience at Rutgers University and Newark Museum presents San Jose Taiko: Rhythm Journey.
The pounding of Taiko drums will reverberate throughout the Newark Museum on Monday, March 23, 2015, as San Jose Taiko introduces the Newark community to the spectacular art of taiko drumming. The lecture/demonstration by San Jose Taiko, “Rhythm Journey,” will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. in the Billy Johnson Auditorium. Admission is free.
San Jose Taiko has mesmerized audiences and critics alike with the powerful, spellbinding and propulsive sounds of taiko, the Japanese drum. Inspired by traditional Japanese drumming, company performers express the beauty and harmony of the human spirit through the voice of the taiko as they strive to create new dimensions in music and movement.
San Jose Taiko was founded in 1973 by young Asian Americans searching for an outlet to convey their experiences as third generation Japanese Americans, or Sansei. Looking to Japan for inspiration, they were drawn to the empowering sounds of the taiko, the Japanese drum, an instrument that embodies the spiritual essence and heartbeat of Japan. Since then, San Jose Taiko has become a world-class ensemble, performing extensively both nationally and internationally, reaching more than 75,000 audience members each year. By studying with masters of other traditions and cultures, the musicians of San Jose Taiko have broadened and embellished this historical art form into a style that joins the traditional rhythms of Japanese drumming with the beat of world rhythms, including African, Brazilian, Filipino, Latin and Jazz. With a deep respect for cultural traditions, San Jose Taiko is dedicated to the advancement of taiko through innovative performances and outstanding educational programs, and use the power and beauty of taiko to transcend cultural barriers and foster a greater understanding of Japanese American culture. For more information, visit the San Jose Taiko web site at: www.taiko.org
“Rhythm Journey” is presented by the Rutgers Institute on Ethnicity, Culture and the Modern Experience and co-sponsored by the Newark Museum.
About the Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience at RU
The Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience at Rutgers University-Newark is an interdisciplinary academic center that, through public partnerships and programming, offers the Newark metropolitan area the finest thinkers and artists engaged with key issues of modern life. Through an array of lectures, fellowships, symposia, film screenings, performances, exhibitions, and other programs, we foster broad public discussion on the arts and culture; urban life and development; diversity and race relations; local, national, and transnational history; and education. The Institute promotes intercultural understanding, civic and historical empathy, and community engagement as crucial elements in the development of civic life in Newark and beyond.