Well, April 18th has come and gone, and while it seemed really short (as all good things do), it was great! Now, when I begin to tell you exactly what my birthday consisted of, you're going to probably be thinking, "you're birthday was great?" Don't believe me? Well here is what my birthday primarily consisted of.
Work.
Yes, work. Me sitting in front of computer all day and currently now at night. Of course I did get up, eat, take a nap, check my email, and do some other stuff, but it mainly consisted of me working. Now...its not totally bad. Working means that I'm making money, because my job does, afterall, depend on how busy I am to be making any sort of real money (because I work as a freelance designer). So...being not busy is not really good (even though its good for relaxation) because it means that I'm in the poor house. But of course, working on your birthday isn't all that great either.
So...you're probably asking now, "You're birthday was great?" I told you, you would. And no, work did not make my birthday great. But I will tell you what did. Friends. My birthday doesn't so much remind me of how old I am, but more of how many friends I have, and how grateful I am to have so many friends. I received an unbelievable number of facebook wallposts and messages, emails, text messages, and phone calls from friends I speak to often, and those who I haven't spoken to in a long while, and everyone's well wishes really reminded me of how lucky I am to have so many friends in my life. My friends are really what made my birthday great (not the work), so thank you to everyone for sending so much aloha my way.
Of course...there is also one other thing that made my birthday great...dinner with my landlord. Now unless you know Andy, you're probably really thinking, "okay, this guy has been spending too much time in front of the computer. Dinner with your landlord?!?" But that's right folks, my landlord Andy, probably the best landlord I will EVER have, took me out to a fantastic dinner at Alan Wong's "The Pineapple Room" in the esteemed Ala Moana shopping center. To roughly sum up the expensive meal, I ate a fantastic Kiawe grilled steak, a pear salad, some sort of chocolate desert I can't remember the name of (but was incredibly delicious), martinis, wine, cognac, and some awesome Kau coffee. The dessert was actually compliments of the restaurant because it was my birthday, and they even wrote "happy birthday Adam" on the plate!" All in all, a fantastic meal, with my fantastic landlord, and my (of course) fantastic housemates (David and Kelsey).
So, even though I spent most of my day working, I really couldn't have asked for a whole lot more on my birthday. (okay...maybe I could've asked for no work to do) Thank you everyone!! I really appreciate and love you all!
P.S. I really need to start getting some posts with pictures, don't I? =P
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Birthday Love
Monday, March 24, 2008
The 56th Cherry Blossom Festival Ball (aka, Cherry Blossom Festival Ball Round 2)
So...my last really eventful post (before this past one), was about the Cherry Blossom Festival....and strangely enough, a full year has gone by and we're here again- The Cherry Blossom Festival Ball.
To my surprise, if you type "Cherry Blossom Festival Ball Hawaii" into your Google search window, my blog post from last year comes up 2nd!!! One of the contestants from this year actually mentioned to me that she read my blog post from last year to get an idea of how formal the event is so her boyfriend could dress appropriately. Incidentally, she also also read about my mismatching shoe debacle from last year. =P
But that was not to occur this year!! I checked, double-checked, and triple-checked those shoe bags to ensure that I had the proper shoes with me, and I even came extra prepared with a change of watches, hair gel, toothbrush, and cologne. I was completely ready for the event this time. But before I begin my explanation of the event itself, a little backstory is needed. Gather 'round my children, papa has a story for you.
When I arrived in Hawaii in January one year ago, I was not only greeted by the humid Hawaiian weather, but also a whole group of beautiful young ladies. Okay, okay, so it's not exactly as picture perfect as you are probably imagining, but its not too far from the truth either. On my first evening in Hawaii, I was picked up from the airport and taken straight to taiko practice, where the 55th Cherry Blossom Queen Contestants were receiving an introduction to taiko.
So, one year later, its already come back to that time of year. Starting in January, the new group of 15 Cherry Blossom Queen Contestants began their 10 workshops of taiko training for the opening number of the festival ball. Its really "natsukashii" (Japanese word meaning something close to "nostalgic") to be going through this experience again and to be teaching Sakura Mikoshi (which I admittedly had forgotten despite having helped write it).
The girls began their taiko journey in mid January through a series of weekly Wednesday workshops (10 total) to (in very crash-course fashion) learn some history about taiko, the basics of playing, and learn the piece which they would perform in front of their friends, family, and an audience numbering in the hundreds as the opening number for the Cherry Blossom Festival Ball. The girls were all very dedicated, and great to teach because they were so eager to learn and to improve, even if they would never play taiko again after the end of the workshops. Even though our lessons technically were supposed to go from 8:00pm to 9:15pm or so, we would frequently stay until around 9:45, not because we forced the girls to, but because they wanted to run the piece one more time, or wanted one more chance to get a part right.
The workshops flew by quickly, and before we knew it, it was the end of March and we were rehearsing in the ballroom where the festival ball would be taking place. The festival ball took place at the Sheraton Waikiki, the flagship hotel of the several Sheratons throughout Waikiki, and one of the largest hotels in Waikiki. The ballroom was among the largest in the hotel, with high ceilings, and chandeliers with red accent lighting. The stage was very prominent at the back of the room (and also very wide), and draped with black curtains. It was simple, and even more minimalist than the previous year, but very elegant for the most elegant and grand of Cherry Blossom Festival events.
Now, before I continue any further, I'm sure you're thinking to yourself, "yes, this story is nice, but where are the pictures of the girls?!" Unfortunately my friends, I didn't bring my camera (which has now been replaced with an older version of the model I formally owned) to any of the events or practices, but you can see the contestants on the Cherry Blossom website here
As you can imagine, the girls looked stunning for the evening of the ball. Each of the girls was decked out with professionally done hair and make-up, and had a lineup of western formal evening gowns and Japanese Kimono to wear for the evening. However, despite looking so beautiful, the girls were nervous (and rightfully so given the lineup of things they had ahead of them for the evening). So, before we got on stage for Sakura Mikoshi, I held a short focus session as I had done one year prior to calm the girls and get them mentally prepared for the big evening ahead of them.
After a wait (which seemed like forever) we finally got on stage, the lights went up, the announcer began his introductory speech, and we began the piece. Despite having only had 10 practices to learn and perform the piece, despite their nervousness, despite all of the things that were running through their minds, despite the crazy club-esque lighting going on, and even despite a couple dropped sticks (which were recovered very well), the girls performed beautifully. Everything came together with so much energy and enthusiasm that I can really only say as their teacher that I was proud of them for what they accomplished in such a short time.
It was great getting to know the girls over the course of the 10 weeks, and really see them for than just a pretty face, but as deep people with great ambitions and cute, unique personalities. Its unfortunate that only a select number of them can make it to the court (because I'm rooting for all of them), but for their effort and growth, and I think they all won.
Its been great getting to go through this process a second time, and it'll definitely be something that I'll remember for some time to come (...and not just because I was working with pretty girls...although that does help jog the memory). Congratulations to the new Cherry Blossom Court! ..and for my readers...sorry for the lack of pictures. =P
Sunday, March 23, 2008
I'm Aliiiiiive!!!!!!!
Yes folks, this blog has just been resurrected from the grave like a zombie out of (insert favorite zombie movie title here). Its been a long, long, looooooong, time in coming, but this blog is out retirement and back in action like Rocky Balboa and Michael Jordon (but hopefully a better comeback than the previously mentioned names). So enough with the analogies, what's been going on since the last time I wrote?!
So...I'll do this in as brief a manner as possible. Which may or may not be possible given that its really hard to put a whole year's worth of events into a single (hopefully concise) post. But here's my attempt:
Since my last uneventful post, quite a bit has happened. I've acquired a moped out here in Hawaii, which has been a very very good investment. I purchased the vehicle from a store only a few blocks toward Waikiki from our house for $650. Unfortunately, after purchasing the $120 lock (because moped theft is one of the highest crimes in Hawaii), the vehicle registration, etc, etc, the cost of the machine went to somewhere around $800. After a few early problems, its been great! Its great to have a means of getting around the island. It provides an unbelievable amount of freedom and independence, even if I can't go on the freeway or go faster than 33 mph. =P
As you can probably guess, I've also played a whole lot of taiko since my last post. I'm a teacher of the Beginning II class at the taiko school here, and I also assist the Beginning 1 class that Sensei teaches. As far as performances go, I've been to quite a few places now. I've actually now been to every island in Hawaii except for two, one which used to be a military bombing site (and thus no one lives there), and the other you can only go to by invitation (and they only speak Hawaiian on this island). So...where have I been? Let's see...Oahu (I live here, so...duh), Kauai (beautiful place, rainiest spot on earth is here), Maui (great Chocolate factory here called "Maui Specialty Chocolates" and also a great youth taiko group called Zenshin Daiko [whose leader runs the chocolate factory]), Molokai (there's only one stop light on the entire island, famous for "sweet bread"), Lanai (two very, very, very exclusive hotels here. Bill Gates "rented" the island for his wedding...yes, the whole island), and the Big Island (has every major climate zone in the world, yes...even snow). I was actually just on the Big Island for the much referred to Big Island Tour that I went on last year. I was also on Maui for a short corporate gig, and on Kauai for less than 8 hours for two school performances.
KETE (Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble) had a big concert in front of the Hawaii State Art Museum on Nov. 2, 2007, where we played a slew of 20 minute sets in a span of less than 3 hours. It was a great concert, and we even played one of my pieces, which you can view by clicking here .
We actually another big concert coming up on June 27th at the Hawaii Theater (big performance venue in Hawaii) that we'll be sharing with a group from LA called Taiko Project . It should be a great show with several new pieces, and a new arrangement of my 3 Sizzlin' Beets piece with...4 people!
I'll also be going on my first Mainland tour from April 20th - 28th in Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan! I'm really looking forward to the experience, and preparing as much as much as possible for the concerts we'll be doing over there. I'll hopefully have the chance to actually perform "Symmetrical Soundscapes" (you can view Taiko Project performing the piece by clicking here ), one of my favorite of compositions of Sensei's since I was a child. Its always been my dream to perform this stage, and I will hopefully have the opportunity to do so on this tour.
Outside of taiko, I spent a lot of time with activities related to a non-profit called Volunteers in Asia (VIA) . I spent the past two summers involved in a program called American Language and Culture (ALC), a really great language and culture exchange program for students from Taiwan and Japan. These students spend a month at Stanford living in the Stanford dorms and taking English and American culture classes, while Stanford students (or ex-Stanford students like myself) plan activities for them and act as "hosts". I visited students from my ALC experience in Taiwan and Japan in June last year for two weeks, and I spent my July and August participating in the program again as a senior staff member with my good friend David Wells. I'll actually be participating in the program again (which most people can't believe) for my third and final time this summer as a senior staff member again.
As far as work related activities are concerned, (which aren't terribly exciting), I've actually started my own business as a freelance graphic and web designer (so let me know if you need web or graphic design work done). Its great working for myself- I get to wake up at noon and go to bed at 4am. =P I also get to do every taiko activity out here possible (which is the whole reason why I came out here). The only problem is that I have to spend most of my waking hours working on projects when I'm not playing taiko (which makes the experience feel a lot like school), and I'm not really making any sort of regular income.
To assist the regular income problem, I actually started working as a part-time after school teacher at a local high school in Hawaii through the Pacific Asian Affairs Council (PAAC). I never, EVER thought I'd be a teacher (especially when I was still in school), let alone a high school teacher. I've always had a great deal of respect for teachers, but after being a "real" teacher I must say that I have infinitely more respect than I already had for all teachers out there. It is NOT easy work. And its quite stressful (even though I only teach on Mondays and Wednesdays!). You have to constantly think about the material that you're going to teach your class, and worry about the effectiveness of your teaching, and if the students are actually learning or being receptive of what you're teaching. The experience was really stressful for me at the beginning, but now that I've been doing this, its starting to get a lot easier. The experience is definitely a great learning experience for me though, and I have sooooooo much respect for teachers. So, so, so much respect.
Still with me over there? So that's what I've been doing and have been up to in a very, very small nutshell. My apologies for the lack of pictures. My camera was unfortunately lost on my last Big Island Tour, but I'll try to make more "visual" posts in the future for those of you who (like me) don't have the attention-span to stare at a page full of letters and words.
So...I'm back in action now!! Look forward to my next post on the 2008 Cherry Blossom Festival pageant ball! Yay for pretty girls!
Saturday, May 12, 2007
This Blog Needs an Update
Yes folks....this blog indeed needs an update. I would say that I've been super busy with things, which is partly true, but the other part is that I've also been super lazy. =P However, I do have lots of stories to share and exciting things to talk about, like my two sets of spring break visitors, my (now month-old) moped, my performance on Molokai, my trip to Stanford, my new job, and of course...the ever elusive...ever on-going post about my Big Island trip back in January. =P Don't worry, it'll all eventually be up here in very exciting, witty, and entertaining fashion! Keep checking back! :)
Monday, April 2, 2007
The Cherry Blossom Festival Ball
Many months ago I started teaching taiko to the Cherry Blossom Girls as part of the Cherry Blossom Festival and for a performance they would be giving at the opening of the Festival Ball- a black tie affair where the girls would be decked out and the Cherry Blossom Court of 6 would be chosen.
The girls received 10 workshops that were lead by Kelsey, Yoko, myself, and sometimes Sensei- workshops that taught them the basics of playing taiko but were geared heavily toward preparing them for the opening number they would be playing for the festival ball. Kelsey, Yoko, and myself wrote a modified version of a piece called Mikoshi Daiko for the girls and named it "Sakura Mikoshi" in honor of the festival and the girls.
The workshops met on Wednesday evenings...at first just every other Wednesday, and then every Wednesday as the festival ball neared. It was great fun working with the girls and they made quite a bit of progress in those 10 weeks, especially in the last two weeks before their performance. At one point we (and the staff of the ball) were a little concerned about their progress, but they really stepped it up in the end, and like any college student, pulled it all together for the moment it all counted.
Which brings us to the Festival Ball itself.
Held in the Molokai ballroom of the Sheraton Waikiki- the flagship hotel of the numerous Sheratons throughout Waikiki- the event played host to hundreds of guests from around the islands, as well as the mainland, and Japan. The extremely high ceilings adorned with chandeliers coupled with the white tablecloth-laden tables, created a grand atmosphere for the grandest of the Cherry Blossom Festival events.
The stage created for the event was simple, but created a nice backdrop for the girls. Black curtains hung around the stage and along the wings, while contrasting silver branches held strings of silver origami cranes that danced over lights of red, yellow, and blue. A blue Kimono highlighted with a spotlight was laid out high above the stage and just below a large projection screen. There was quite a bit of lighting around the stage which changed colors depending on activity happening on stage and which girl was on stage. Overall, the presentation was quite nice.
That night the girls wore our blue dragon Happi with a pink hachimaki for the event while we wore a special set of costumes created by a famous designer in Hawaii that I have not only never seen before (and didn't know we had) but have only been worn a few times total. The costume was pretty neat looking, with very long MC-Hammer-esque pants and a sleeveless top with the KETE logo in gold in the center. The sides of the top were held together with two pieces of reddish-orange kimono fabric, creating a stark contrast against the black pants and top.
As one would expect, the girls were nervous. I was nervous for them. And if I were in their shoes, I probably would've been hiding in the bathroom. And for good reason.... They had quite an evening lined up ahead of them. Not only did they have to perform an art form they had only 10 practices to learn, but they also had to impress the judges with walks and speeches in Western and Japanese formal wear. All eyes were on them that evening, and to have that much attention on you for 5 hours is really nothing short of (as I would imagine) nerve-racking.
Before the performance, I had all of the girls focus (the same way we would in Stanford Taiko) to help calm everyone's nerves and get everyone in the correct mindset for the performance and the evening ahead. We stood in a circle, eyes closed, holding hands, taking deep breaths. I led the focus, by giving the girls a short, motivational speech about the importance of the evening and the taiko performance, and also how proud myself, Yoko, and Kelsey were of the girls for their progress over the past few weeks and how ready they were for the evening.
And the girls performed wonderfully. All of the worries of the previous weeks just went straight out the window when they went on stage. The girls, as my first taiko teacher Hongo Sensei would say, went for broke- performing with energy and purpose. In fact, I think the girls actually did a better job than KETE that evening. =P For our set, we played Yodan Uchi, a piece from the Oedo Sukeroku Daiko group in Tokyo. And while nothing disastrous happened, three people dropped their sticks during the performance (including myself). The crowd was also a little difficult, and not as responsive as I hoped they would be...which may or may not have been correlated with the fact that we dropped our sticks so many times.
After our performance we changed into nice clothes and watched the event from a table that was right up near the stage. We had to bring our nice clothes with us, and unfortunately the nicest thing I have is a pair of khaki's and a business shirt and tie, so I had my friend Brett (who was visiting me at the time from Arizona...more on that in another post) bring me a suit, shirt, and tie from home. All I had to do was provide the socks and shoes... Yes, that's all I had to do. And I screwed that up. Despite careful planning the night before and remembering to pack my shoes, I actually packed the wrong shoes because they were in little shoe bags. Instead of bringing my black shoes that I wear with slacks, I brought my brown shoes I wear with jeans. So...I was wearing my friend's nice gray suit, black shirt, and white tie with a pair of brown shoes that didn't match in the least bit.
Despite my mismatching shoes, the event was fun to participate in. Complete with a great meal, we also got to see the girls giving speeches and anecdotes about themselves in beautiful western evening wear, and even more beautiful Japanese Kimono. I'm normally not a fan of pageants, but I was particularly fond of this one because I cared about each of the contestants after having the opportunity to get to know them over the past few months. Each person wasn't just a pretty face, but a person that I knew (although not well) and wished the best for.
Unfortunately, knowing the contestants makes the final decisions on who makes the court simultaneously more joyous and painful. I was definitely happy for those who made the court, but also sad for those who didn't. Ultimately, however, the girls gave their best that evening, and as a friend and their teacher, that's really all I could ever ask for. They should definitely be proud of their accomplishments because in my mind, they all already won before the decisions were made.
I'm hoping to keep in contact with the girls after the event, because it's been great getting to know them, I would love to get to know them further. I suppose we'll see what happens...
This post has been a little shy on pictures (in fact...I had none because I forgot my camera), so I hope my elaborate story-telling painted the picture for you. =P
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Da North Shore
Wild, untamed, and vastly unpopulated, the North Shore is truly the picturesque island paradise envisioned by minds seeking a tropical escape. With it's astounding 40-foot waves during the winter, it's also heaven for elite surfers and casual onlookers. Divided from the bustling, urban, hotel and tourist-filled Honolulu by sprawling green mountains, the North Shore is really like being in another world. No Zippy's on every other corner (the Hawaii equivalent of Denny's), no plate lunch places on every street, no mess of hotels and tourists, no bars and late-night eateries, and quite frankly not many roads. However, pineapples, lush greenery, beautiful beaches, and astounding sites are plentiful.
But, my story of the North Shore begins in the most unlikely of places...a place that, if anything, is the antithesis of the North Shore. My story begins in the Ala Moana Shopping Centre between Waikiki and Downtown Honolulu. The massive shopping complex is the biggest (and probably most expensive) shopping center in Hawaii- complete with 3 floors of shopping ranging from Japanese department stores, to Macy's, to Armani and Gucci, and the fast-food of McDonald's to the fine-dining of Alan Wong's "The Pineapple Room". The size of the shopping center is quite massive and the number of Japanese tourists within the shopping center is even more incredible. But...i didn't come here to shop.
Nope, I was there for taiko. And...actually, unless I was wearing a wig, I couldn't be in this performance because it was an all female performance for the Cherry Blossom Festival. I went as a roadie and to watch (something I don't do often enough) the performance with a new friend of mine by the name of Aya, who recently moved to Hawaii with her husband to open up a Tonkatsu (Pork Cutlet) restaurant in Waikiki. I actually met Aya through Kelsey and Kaoru (the one who sold me the fue) because Aya also plays taiko. In fact, Aya played taiko with the same group that Kaoru started playing with in the United States- St. Louis Osuwa Daiko.
It was great getting to watch a performance for once, and it's definitely quite different being the audience. All in all, (despite having to make some last minute changes to accommodate an equally last minute request for a shorter program) the performance went pretty well.
So...from the hustle and bustle of the Ala Moana Shopping Centre, I went slightly north to Aya's apartment, where we would meet the other people going to the North Shore with us, Greg (member of the intermediate TCP classes), Matt (member of the beginning II TCP classes), Cara (member of KETE), Kelsey, and Yoko. Aya's apartment is actually in a high-rise on a hill overlooking downtown and the Waikiki hotels, so the view is pretty incredible. I stood on the balcony for quite awhile taking pictures and admiring the scenery.
And now the real journey begins....but in the rain. What started off as a beautiful sunny day in Honolulu, turned into a monsoon as we headed out of Honolulu and north toward Wahiawa (where the pineapple plantations are) and eventually the North Shore. It was luckily only slightly monsoon-like on the North Shore, but still not the beach-perfect weather I envisioned (especially a downer because I was in my swimsuit).
Oh well...so the weather was kinda rainy, but that didn't stop the North Shore from impressing. First stop was Giovanni's, a shrimp truck (yes you read right...truck) that the North Shore is famous for. In fact, the North Shore is famous for many of these mobile shrimp providers, and especially the deliciousness (and garlickyness) that is the shrimp they serve. We ordered several massive plates (I actually shared a plate because I ate lunch only an hour and a half earlier) of garlicky goodness- each had 12 jumbo shrimp, two scoops of rice, and cloves of garlic everywhere! Despite being full from lunch, it was delicious! And I somehow still managed to eat in the double digits of shrimp.
Next stop, Cholo's, a Mexican restuarant known for their Margaritas. So, we partook in their specialty, each having a pretty exotic Margarita with some chips and salsa as an after lunch/dinner treat. To give you an idea of the Margaritas they had, I had a peach and strawberry margarita, Aya had a pineapple and lilikoi (passionfruit) margarita, and Yoko had a (prepare yourself) li hing mui margarita (li hing mui is a plum powder that Hawaiians basically put on almost anything). Pretty incredible and pretty delicious.
Up until this point, it had been raining pretty much non-stop, not always heavily...but never really stopping. However, after finishing our margaritas, the rain stopped and the clouds were beginning to clear, perfect timing for a most beautiful sunset. We drove to the beach to go watch the sunset, and we stopped at a beautiful and quiet beach well-known as a haven and resting spot for sea turtles. We made our way onto the beach surrounded by trees and coconut trees and were greeted by nothing other than...well..sea turtles!! Three of them...all sleeping on the beach.
So...with our new sea turtle buddies, we watched the sunset from the sandy shore. Actually...none of us actually sat down because we would get all sandy, and actually the sea turtles didn't watch the sunset with us because they were asleep. =P But we did watch the sunset, which was nothing short of beautiful. Glowing orange and casting a faint orange and yellow glow on everything. It was really amazing, and even more amazing to be watching this amazing sunset under the shade of coconut trees next to sea turtles!! Yes indeed, quite amazing.
After watching the sunset..which unfortunately anti-climatically ended behind some clouds, we drove to Waimea beach, home of professional surf competitions and 40 foot waves. The big wave season is (also) unfortunately coming to an end, so the waves at Waimea beach didn't even come close to hinting the greatness that was only a few months before. In fact, the ocean was unbelievably calm! But I could see how the bay itself played host to surf competitions and best surfers in the world. As a looked at the bay from the highway which went above and around the beach under the waning moments of sunlight, I could picture the giant waves and crowds of people watching in amazement and awe at both the power of man and nature.
Waimea Bay is not only famous for it's surf, but also for a giant rock. Okay, okay, that sounds kinda dumb, but it's not just any giant rock, it's a giant rock that you jump off of into the ocean. And while that seems kinda crazy (especially given the height of the rock and how close it is to shore), the water in Waimea Bay gets very deep, very fast. In fact, it drops off like a cliff only a few feet from where the water hits the sand. It's a bit of a daredevil thing to do, and you have to muster up a lot of courage to do it, but I'm definitely all for the challenge.
Unfortunately, however, it was getting pretty late, and I was so full of shrimp that if I did jump in, I probably would've sunk straight to the bottom without the slightest chance of being able to swim back up. So, I never did get to the put the swim trunks that I was wearing all day to use. :\ But, I did see some amazing sights and eat some great food. In a way, it seems almost absurd how much amazing stuff you see out here, but as my Uncle Bob put it (not actually my Uncle by blood, but), "In Hawaii you just see amazing things all the time." And you know what, he's right. You see amazing things all the time. Like the following:
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Officially a member of KETE
This is gonna be a reeeeeally short post, but I just wanted to announce that I am now officially a member of the Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble!! You have to be invited to be a part of Sensei's performing group by Sensei himself, and he'll only ask you if he thinks you're a capable player. Anyway, last week Sensei invited myself, Kelsey, and Yoko to become official members of his performing ensemble, an invitation we gladly accepted. So now I'm officially a part of Sensei's group! Quite an honor! Looks like my taiko career is off to a good start!
