Posts

Ghost Walk 2012

Performance, Posts / By

We had the grand opportunity to perform both days at the 21st Annual Ghost Walk, organized by the Calfornia Riverside Ballet!  This family event allows various tours around Downtown Riverside such as the Metropolitan Museum, the Old Coroner’s Morgue, and the Fox Theatre, just to name a few.

We performed various repertoire songs including Nanohana, Matsuri, Tatsumaki, Nagare Watari, Ichi Ji, Kodama Jam, and Mukashi Mukashi.  Three of our members, Audrey, David, and Warren performed several transitions, including one with a shamisen, and another with okedos and chappa!

Those nights were very windy (the tombstones kept on falling over!) and a bit chilly, but that didn’t stop us from making music!  We weren’t able to see much with the wind in our eyes and hair in our faces, but we did see everyone else dressed up in their spooky attire!  Performing in our costumes definitely amped the Halloween spirit in all of us!  We hope everyone had a fantastic time touring and had a safe Halloween at Ghost Walk and we hope to see you next year!

Check out the “Media” tab for the lovely photos taken by our dear friend, Wesley Ng!  Shout out and thanks to Wesley!…

Block Party 2012

Performance, Posts / By

Hi Everyone!

This is Audrey Tu, the Performance Director of Senryu Taiko, here to talk about our participation at Block Party 3 weeks ago!

On Friday, October 2, Senryu Taiko had the honor of being the opening for the set of student organization performances on the stage by the Bell Tower that evening. In addition to our performance, Collective Faction and 909 Hip Hop performed on the big stage. With a small team of 6, we performed Nano Hana, Ichi Ji, and Mukashi Mukashi— Oh! In fact, that performance of Ichi Ji was the first for a few of our “newbies.” Congratulations! You guys have grown so much. Also, we’d like to thank everyone who watched and cheered for our performance. The energy of the crowd was great and encouraged us to give it our all!

In addition to performing, we also tabled for the event, along with many other student orgs. Since we set up early, we reserved a space that had a lot of foot traffic—Score! Thank you to everyone who visited our table! It was a great pleasure to talk to you all.

We hope to see you all again!…

Informational Meetings 2012

Posts / By

Hello, this is Jennifer!  On behalf of our members, I would like to thank everyone who made it out to our informational meetings on Monday and Wednesday!  We had a great time meeting potential members of our next generation: Generation 15!  Wow, what an exciting milestone!

We hope to see everyone next Monday, October 8, at the Barn Theatre (where we held the general meetings) for our first official practice of the school year!  We’ll have practices every Monday and Wednesday, from 6:30PM-9PM.  Feel free to come earlier, around 5PM, if you want some extra practice.  Remember, there are also optional extra practices on Fridays and Sundays starting at 5PM.  Don’t worry if you have class conflicts, but please let us know beforehand.

Another thing I would like to note is that the acceptance into our group is not solely based on one’s audition.  We realized only afterwards that we forgot to mention this crucial fact; there are many other factors based on the directors’ decisions, so please keep that in mind.  Of course, this doesn’t mean that the audition should be taken lightly, but we do not want to discourage anyone from trying out.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or message on our facebook fan page or email us at senryutaiko@gmail.com.…

Farewell to Manzanar

Performance, Posts / By

On Tuesday, September 18, we made our way over to the Corona Public Library for another installment of their “Prime Time” event (every 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7PM!).  They wanted something related to Japanese culture, hence a Japanese taiko group, since they are hosting many events related to the memoir, “Farewell to Manzanar.”

Our audience consisted of many children, parents, and community members.  One of our recent alumni, Christine, watched us too!  Our setlist included Nanohana, Mukashi Mukashi, Tatsumaki, Ichi Ji, and Kodama Jam.  After playing Tatsumaki, there was a chance for a follow-the-leader style audience participation.  Volunteers repeated a rhythm played by Warren, one of our members.  There were so many willing volunteers that we decided to have a third round, when we originally planned for only two!  Some were bold while others were shy at first.  Nonetheless, everyone seemed to have a fun time!

Initially, the thought of making so much noise in a library seemed weird, but we were glad to be welcomed and enjoyed playing for an attentive audience.  It was great to see the intense concentration of the children while they followed the leader, and the pure joy of hearing the sound of the drums by even the youngest kids.  During the performance, I overheard a young girl asking her mom if she can get one, referring to a taiko drum!  We were honored to be part of this educational experience and hope that we did our best in providing a good show and sharing our knowledge of taiko!…

Joint Practice with Jishin and Asayake

Posts / By
Group photo!

This last Saturday, we joined UCSD’s Asayake for a joint practice hosted by CSUN’s Jishin.  Unlike the joint practices I’ve been to where all the groups takes turns teaching then each group performs at the end, we were invited as guests to an actual Jishin practice!

The highlight of the evening was learning Jishin’s version of Matsuri, an open-source song available to the taiko community.  Many groups play a variation of this song, which includes a series of rhythms along with individual solos.  What was most interesting and notable was how they used a swing ji instead of the usual straight ji.  Using swing ji definitely enhanced the happy, energetic mood.  Also, we experienced what they call the “San Fernando Valley ji,” a funky, accented swing ji, which started off the song.

When Jishin’s members demonstrated their Matsuri before we began learning, I was reminded of how they carry such enthusiasm and play with so much strength and power.  I am always taken aback whenever I watch Jishin perform.

Once we finished learning, we input the individual solos for an almost hour-long Matsuri with 26 different solos!  Then we ended the practice after a more formal run-through.

I thoroughly enjoyed the new experience of being part of a different collegiate group’s practice.  It was refreshing to play taiko in an unfamiliar but comfortable setting.  I think I can speak for everyone when I say we all had a fun time learning a different version of Matsuri!  I was intrigued to see everyone’s distinct playing styles, especially during their solos; I was in awe of how such a large group of diverse people from different groups can be unified through taiko.  On top of that, it was great seeing old, and meeting new, friends!

Thank you Jishin for your wonderful hospitality and we hope to see you and Asayake again soon!…

Taiko Gathering 2012

Performance, Posts / By
A snapshot of Shizen

Hello, this is Jennifer again!  Here is our first official post, long overdue, on our performance at this year’s Taiko Gathering!  On August 19, we trekked to JACCC Plaza in Little Tokyo for the 19th Annual Taiko Gathering, a part of the 72nd Annual Nisei Week.  To our surprise, we were the only collegiate group performing among a plethora of community groups.  But we saw many familiar faces from fellow collegiate groups and even some Senryu alumni!

Our performance featured four songs: Nanohana, Somang, Nagare Watari, and Shizen.  Somang, written by Cynthia Kim, and Shizen, written by Warren Macdonald, actually debuted this year during our annual Spring Concert.  We are thankful for this opportunity to showcase our new songs!

Our new directors this year, Audrey Tu and David McKnight, performed together during two musical transitions: a remix of Kyuubi No Kaze and a shamisen/clave piece.  Kyuubi No Kaze, a past Senryu song, was remixed just for this performance.  Also, David debuted his new shamisen, playing an excerpt of his new song, Journey of Dreams.

We had a fantastic time performing and hope that everyone enjoyed the energy and enthusiasm of all of the taiko groups that performed that day!

Thanks to Russell Takahara for taking the pictures!  For more pictures of our performance, feel free to visit our Facebook page!…

Our Newest Installment to SenryuTaiko.com!

Posts / By

Hello, my name is Jennifer and I’m Senryu Taiko’s historian for the 2012-2013 school year.  A little about myself: this will be my second year as an undergraduate student as well as my second year in taiko.  As a student, I major in chemistry, conducting research in a chemistry lab and representing the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) as a Science Ambassador.  Also, I teach Sunday school to fourth graders at my local church.  During my free time, I enjoy baking and doing my nails.

I have previous experience in music and percussion, but I can’t say it has given me an advantage.  I have come to enjoy the challenging and multifaceted nature of taiko.  Also, I have met many interesting friends, because taiko brings together people of various backgrounds and skills.  My involvement in our collegiate group, thus far, provided me with such a unique experience, but those outside of our small community see nothing but our performances.

As a result, I am starting a new section on our website dedicated to posts by myself and other members about performances, practices, and other taiko-related events, just to name a few.  We will also be integrating a series of posts titled “About Taiko,” explaining various playing styles, drums, narimono, costumes, and so on.  Posts will include pictures, and possibly some videos!

I hope we can share our experiences through our perspective and to broaden the knowledge of those who experience only one facet of what we call “taiko.”  I’m looking forward to the upcoming performances, meeting our new tryoutees, learning more taiko, and having a fun time!

-Jennifer An

P.S. If you want to put a face to the name, click on the “Members” tab under our banner!   Just try to imagine me with shorter hair!…

About Senryu Taiko

Front Page, Posts / By

Making noise since 1998, Senryu Taiko is the fourth intercollegiate taiko group to ever form in the United States. Self-taught and self-sustained, the club continues the tradition of kumidaiko by writing music together, teaching incoming members, and forming ties with other collegiate taiko groups across the nation.…