NATC 2025 Phoenix

I'm from San Jose, California (born and raised in St Paul, MN). A PBS special featuring Kodo (late '80s) put taiko on my bucket list, but I had to wait until 2018 to put the batchi to the drum. Luckily, San Jose Taiko offers a special class for seniors--I was all in! I took other classes from Rome Hamner and Kristin Block through their South Bay Beat Institute, and am currently a member of the adult taiko group at Palo Alto Buddhist Temple, which plays a few numbers at our yearly Obon festival. I've really enjoyed the inclusivity of the taiko community that I have been a part of for nearly seven years. The community embraces people of different ages, backgrounds, abilities and interests, who gather to learn and grow and experience joy together through taiko. This is my second NATC experience (my first was NATC-R Hilo). I'm really looking forward to participating in some great workshops, learning some new instruments, and improving my skills!