Global Music Lunchtime Concert Series: TAIKOPROJECT

The new Global Music Lunchtime Concert Series, organized by the Department of Musicology and Ethnomusicology of the School of Music, showcases musicians, dancers, and performing artists steeped in non-Western traditions. The series aims to provide students and faculty with opportunities to explore diverse musical practices from the world over, which may otherwise not be easily accessible to them. Accompanied by lectures or workshops whenever possible, this concert series will offer the audience intellectual insights and hands-on experiences in selected performing arts from various parts of the globe.

Los Angeles-based TAIKOPROJECT is an ensemble of premiere taiko drummers dedicated to promoting and advancing the American art of Japanese taiko drumming. Through public performances, education, and outreach activities, TAIKOPROJECT is committed to preserving taiko as a dynamic element of Japanese-American culture and heritage. In addition to maintaining taiko as a community-based tradition, TAIKOPROJECT also incorporates unconventional and innovative concepts to expand artistic boundaries — as exemplified in their collaboration with Stevie Wonder, Kanye West, and Usher. Through these values, TAIKOPROJECT seeks not only to entertain audiences, but also to inform them about the history and integrity of Japanese taiko as an evolving art form.

Sponsored by the School of Music and the College of Fine Arts.