On January 26, 2022, the United States Artists (Chicago, IL) announced the Fellows for 2022. I am deeply honored to have been selected one of sixty-three individuals to receive this award. Thank you United States Artists for believing in artists like me.
As the covid19 omicron variant continues to create havoc throughout the world, we are emerging recharged and raring to go. Our life in Hawaii is slow to rebound….performances are a mere sprinkling of in-person events and we still have not been able to return to in-person classes. Taiko Center of the Pacific’s student base has been reduced to 20% of pre-pandemic numbers.
Three performances tours were cancelled in 2020. My 45th anniversary celebration tour of 2020 has been reformatted to move forward starting March 2022. Thanks to Taiko Arts Center, the Japan Foundation New York, Karen Fischer, and all the presenters, I’m really looking forward to playing with Kaoru Watanabe, Abe Lagrimas, Jr., Sumie Kaneko, Sho’on Shibata, and Chizuko in places such as: Macon GA, Fredericksburg VA, New York NY, Philadelphia PA, Swarthmore PA, Marysville OH, Dublin OH, Oberlin OH, Champaign-Urbana IL, Phoenix AZ, Tucson AZ, Stanford CA, Oxnard CA, Los Angeles CA, and Beaverton OR. And hoping to get to TaikoPalooza in Ulm Germany and other European locations this summer 2022. Good Luck! I am also grateful to both the adult and youth Taiko Center of the Pacific performing ensembles and all the students who have navigated the pandemic by pivoting to the online zoom world. Stay Safe. Eat well. Get fit. Practice. Can hardly wait to see you all in person this year!