MOUNT VERNON — Odaiko New England will give a performance on the Japanese drum, or “taiko,” Tuesday, May 6, at 6 p.m. on the Orange Carpet in The Commons at Cornell College. Admission is free.
The taiko is deeply rooted in the everyday cultural and spiritual life of Japan. For centuries, the rhythm of the taiko coordinated the work of farmers in the fields, spoke to the gods during religious festivals and directed soldiers in battle. Performance taiko is a new art form developed in post-war Japan and introduced to the United States in the late 1960s.
Odaiko New England, founded in Brookline, Mass., in 1995, is one of a handful of taiko groups on the East Coast. Today the group performs at festivals, museums, colleges and other venues mainly throughout New England and the Northeast.