Pulsating Power
SLIPPERY ROCK — Recording artist Kenny Endo will present the powerful and propulsive sounds of Japanese Taiko drumming when his drum ensemble performs in Slippery Rock University's Advanced Technology and Science Hall Auditorium at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The concert is free and open to the public.
Taiko — Japanese for fat drum — blends traditional Japanese sounds with rhythms from Africa, Brazil and Latin America to create resonant syncopations.
As a percussionist and composer, Endo, of Honolulu has several recordings and film and television appearances to his credit.
He has released three CDs, "Eternal Energy," "Hibiki" and "Jugoya," and has performed across the United States and in Germany and Belgium.
Trained in Western drums and percussion from early childhood, Endo began his studies of kumi daiko, or ensemble drumming, in 1975 with Kinnara Taiko of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Taiko Dojo.
Endo later studied for 10 years with several daiko masters in Japan.
He holds a master's degree in music specializing in ethnomusicology from the University of Hawaii.
David Glover, who teaches percussion at SRU, said Thursday's event will mark Endo's third performance on campus.
His last concert featured a trio that included a Japanese bamboo flute and Glover playing "more Americanized" percussion along with Endo's massive handmade drums, which required multiple vans to transport.
"They're pretty amazing, and he beats the heck out of those things. It's quite a physical instrument to play. It's usually done wearing next to nothing because they sweat so much.
"It's almost like watching marshall arts," Glover said, describing the grunts and chants that sometimes accompany the drumming.Glover said although taiko drumming has become more known in Western culture over the last 10 years, skilled performers are scarce."(Endo) is a wonderful communicator and an expert in Japanese taiko drumming — which is pretty rare."The SRU International Arts and Cultures Series, the College of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts and the International Services Office are sponsoring his appearance.The Advanced Technology and Science Hall auditorium is located at the southern end of the campus off Kiester Road.
