Profiles

JASC Tsukasa Taiko

By admin ⋅ July 18, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

JASC TSUKASA TAIKO - JASC Tsukasa Taiko is the leading taiko ensemble in the Chicago area, established as Tsukasa Daiko in 1996 by head Sensei (Instructor) Hide Yoshihashi. In 2004, Tsukasa Daiko, Asian Improv aRts Midwest, and the Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) initiated a collaborative program, establishing the renamed group as a resident arts program of the JASC.

Basing its operations out of the JASC, the organization’s mission is to preserve and pass on the traditional concepts of taiko as a cultural legacy and to utilize these concepts in expanding and evolving the taiko form. Dedicated to building community and being a leader in the taiko drumming culture of the Midwest, it maintains a national and international profile by presenting public performances around the world throughout the year. JASC Tsukasa Taiko has performed at the Malta International Theatre Festival/Asian American Jazz Festival: Poznan (Poznan, Poland), the Smithsonian, the Chicago Jazz Festival, and the MCA among many national cultural institutions. It presents classes, workshops, lectures, and demonstrations on taiko performance and its the role in Asian and Asian American culture. Taiko classes are organized quarterly throughout the year for all levels of experience ages five and above