New Mexico Taiko
Japanese Drumming Group
About New Mexico Taiko
Japanese Drumming Group
The group New Mexico Taiko was originally founded in 1981 through the New Mexico Japanese American Citizens League. At the time the group took part in the annual Omatsuri festival held in Albuquerque. Omatsuri was a time for ethnic Japanese and Japanese-Americans of New Mexico to celebrate their heritage and share it with the greater community. The group was not active from 1985-1995, when a renewed interest brought back seasoned and new members to perform at the American/Japanese Week '95 held in Albuquerque.
Since then New Mexico Taiko has continued to grow and share the art of taiko. Through the years members have come and gone but the spirit of taiko has never diminished. The group members wear traditional kimono-style attire in performance, and each brings their unique personality to the constantly evolving style of New Mexico Taiko.
Today the group New Mexico Taiko performs as a way to share this unique and inspiring art form.
New Mexico Taiko now has two options for drummers, Community Group and Performing Group. Community group is for those that just want to drum and not go through the rigors of being prepared for a performance. The Performing group requires a informal audition and is for the serious taiko player.
Meet Our Members
Calvin Kobayashi
Calvin Kobayashi is the only remaining founding member of NM Taiko. He has trained with professional groups such as Denver Taiko, San Jose Taiko, Sawagi Taiko, Kenny Endo and others when they have come to New Mexico for workshops. He has also made several of the group’s drums and has trained other members to do this as well. Also for a short period of time he dabbled in martial arts. He has lived in New Mexico for many years and has strong ties to the Japanese American community. Currently Mr. Kobayashi is the New Mexico Japanese American Citizen League president.
Angie Tomlinson
Ms. Angie Tomlinson has been with NM Taiko for over 5 years. In addition to her regular taiko training, she has attended workshops with San Jose Taiko, Koji Nakamura, Steven Tokunaga, and Kenny Endo. Ms. Tomlinson is also a member of the Chinese Cultural Center’s drum team and has studied Tai Chi for over 15 years. She has also sewn uniforms and equipment bags for the group. Ms. Tomlinson is also member of the New Mexico Japanese American Citizen League.
Anna Turner
Ms. Turner have been playing with NM Taiko for 4 years. She played in a marching band in high school and a marching band for the Elks chapter in California. She also played in the orchestra in college. She plays a dulcimer, and she is learning to play the fue (Japanese flute). She has attended workshops in Fukui, Japan, Honolulu, Hawaii, San Jose, CA., Albuquerque, NM and Stone Crest, CO.
Kit Turner
Ms. Kit Turner have been playing Taiko for 3 years. Her background in music includes playing Trombone for seven years and learning to play a Bowed Psaltery (an Irish string instrument).
Matthew Turner
Mr. Matthew Turner has played the trombone 6 months, and I have played the baritone for 1 year. Currently learning to play the fue ( Japanese flute). I have been playing with NM Taiko for 4 years.
Larry Lethem
When I signed up for band class about fifty years ago, I wanted to play the drums. So did nearly everyone else who signed up for that class. The band director decided to select his drummers from those who had had drumming lessons. The rest of us had to re-select the instrument that we would like to play, and I settled on the baritone horn. I played the baritone through junior high, high school, and for a time with the U.S. Navy Drum and Bugle Corps. Later in life I developed an interest in music synthesizers and began to compose an extensive amount of original music. However, the frustrated drummer remained within. I had never heard of Taiko prior to attending a performance by the San Francisco Taiko Dojo in Albuquerque. I was awestruck!
I had never experienced anything so powerful; so spiritual. While highly impressed with the performance, it never occurred to me that I might be able to actually participate in such an activity. Somewhere in the year 2001, however, I learned of a Taiko group in Albuquerque that was seeking new members, and I was invited to attend a practice session to see if I might be interested in joining. I attended, I joined, and I have been a proud member of New Mexico Taiko ever since, with the exception of about a year when I left the group before realizing that I really needed to belong.
I have participated in countless performances over the past eight years and have composed a couple of original pieces for the group. While much of the music that we perform consists of variations of standard recognized songs, our group hopes to eventually rely on original music that has been composed by the group members. I feel honored to be a part of New Mexico Taiko and hope to continue performing with the group for a long time. If you are seeking a rewarding outlet for your creativity, try attending one of our Sunday practice sessions to see if you have what it takes to play Taiko!
Karen Patrick
Michiko
Michiko has a background in flamenco dance. She started her taiko training with New Mexico Taiko in 2009 and is now performing with the group.
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