Artistic Director

For more than 25 years, Tiffany Tamaribuchi has been an inspiration to Portland Taiko: as instructor, guest performer and composer. In summer 2023, Tiffany became Portland Taiko’s Artistic Director. 

Tiffany is an internationally-recognized taiko master who studied and performed with San Francisco Taiko Dojo, Ondekoza and many others. In 2002, she won a national odaiko competition in Fukui, Japan, where she was the only female contestant. Recently, Tiffany appeared in the feature-length taiko documentary Finding Her Beat.

To learn more about Tiffany’s trailblazing career, please check out this article and video from KQED Sacramento.

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Executive Director

I first saw Portland Taiko perform at the Regional Taiko Gathering in Seattle (my hometown) in 1998. I had been playing taiko with my youth group for about 5 years, but when Portland Taiko took the stage, I knew immediately I wanted to join them someday. I was a summer intern with Portland Taiko in 2006 and also performed with Tsunami Taiko in Seattle, TaikoProject in Los Angeles and Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble in Honolulu. 

I joined Portland Taiko’s artistic staff in 2009. Since then I’ve been a performer, instructor, performance coordinator and education coordinator. 

I always wondered why a taiko player would want to work for a taiko organization vs. actually performing. Now that I’m a parent, it completely makes sense to me! I don’t have the space in my life right now to attend rehearsals and performances. Until I can return to the drums, it’s truly an honor to be able to support our performers and our mission in a new way for me. 

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Office Manager and Development Coordinator

After taking my first taiko class in 2016, I was instantly hooked and humbled. In addition to being a taiko student, I served on Portland Taiko’s board from 2022-2024. As a Japanese American (hapa/yonsei), I’m proud to be part of an organization that affirms Asian American pride and builds community through the international language of music. 

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