Playing taiko stretches a different part of my brain than in my working life as a civil engineer. My first experience with taiko was seeing drummers in Southern California. I joined Portland Taiko in the spring of 1998 after attending a taiko workshop. From that first workshop I transitioned into a full performing member and continued to help teach beginning and intermediate classes. Some of my most memorable experiences involve interactions with the audience: it is fun to see so many smiling faces and hear folks talk about how inspired they feel after attending a performance.
