Taikoz Artists
About Taikoz
2023 TAIKOZ ARTISTS
Appearing in Taikoz's 2023 Schools, Mainstage and Non-mainstage performance season:
Ian Cleworth | Kerryn Joyce | Sophia Ang | Ryuji Hamada | Silvana Imperatori | Haruka Kunimune | Salina Myat
Samantha Newton | Nerida Wu
Ian Cleworth and Riley Lee formed Taikoz in 1997. Over the past twenty-six years, the group has developed a wide and original repertoire of works and productions that has seen them perform on the stages of Australia's finest concert halls, in the theatres of regional Australia, and in leading theatres and concert halls worldwide. Taikoz has performed in Japan, Paris, Bangkok, Taiwan, Abu Dhabi, and the USA where the ensemble headlined the Taiko Nation concerts at the 2014 World Taiko Gathering in Los Angeles. Most recently Taikoz toured India, receiving much critical acclaim for CHI UDAKA, their collaboration with Lingalayam Dance Company.
Appearing in Taikoz's 2023 Schools, Mainstage and Non-mainstage performance season:
Ian Cleworth | Kerryn Joyce | Sophia Ang | Ryuji Hamada | Silvana Imperatori | Haruka Kunimune | Salina Myat
Samantha Newton | Nerida Wu
Ian Cleworth and Riley Lee formed Taikoz in 1997. Over the past twenty-six years, the group has developed a wide and original repertoire of works and productions that has seen them perform on the stages of Australia's finest concert halls, in the theatres of regional Australia, and in leading theatres and concert halls worldwide. Taikoz has performed in Japan, Paris, Bangkok, Taiwan, Abu Dhabi, and the USA where the ensemble headlined the Taiko Nation concerts at the 2014 World Taiko Gathering in Los Angeles. Most recently Taikoz toured India, receiving much critical acclaim for CHI UDAKA, their collaboration with Lingalayam Dance Company.
Esteemed collaborators include composers Sandy Evans, Lachlan Skipworth, Gerard Brophy, Andrea Molino and Michael Askill, and artists as diverse as John Bell and the Bell Shakespeare Company, taiko greats Eitetsu Hayashi, Yoshikazu Fujimoto, Chieko Kojima and Kaoru Watanabe, the Sydney Improvisers Composers Kollektiv Orchestra, First Nations Artist Waangenga Blanco, art-music ensembles Synergy Percussion and Ensemble Offspring, as well as distinguished choreographers Meryl Tankard and Anandavalli. The group has also collaborated with Kodo on a nation-wide tour of Australia.
Taikoz has appeared in concerto works that include 13 performances of Maki Ishii's ground-breaking MONO-PRISM, Gerard Brophy's BOOK OF CLOUDS and Andrea Molino's multi-media WINNERS, which premiered at the Brisbane Festival and the Pompidou Centre in Paris. Collaborating orchestras are the Sydney, Melbourne, West Australian and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Dresden Sinfoniker in Europe. Most recently, Taikoz, Riley Lee and Kaoru Watanabe were featured soloists with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, performing their own works in arrangements for the ensemble and orchestra, culminating in a newly commissioned work by Lachlan Skipworth, THE BREATH OF THUNDER.
Taikoz has appeared in concerto works that include 13 performances of Maki Ishii's ground-breaking MONO-PRISM, Gerard Brophy's BOOK OF CLOUDS and Andrea Molino's multi-media WINNERS, which premiered at the Brisbane Festival and the Pompidou Centre in Paris. Collaborating orchestras are the Sydney, Melbourne, West Australian and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Dresden Sinfoniker in Europe. Most recently, Taikoz, Riley Lee and Kaoru Watanabe were featured soloists with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, performing their own works in arrangements for the ensemble and orchestra, culminating in a newly commissioned work by Lachlan Skipworth, THE BREATH OF THUNDER.
In 2016, co-founders Ian and Riley were both awarded the Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation for their contributions towards promoting friendship and goodwill between Australia and Japan.
_________________________________________________________
A brief overview of Taikoz' history:
- Over thirty original works by ensemble members for taiko, often featuring such instruments as shakuhachi, shinobue, nohkan, koto, voice, percussion, marimba, drum set, saxophone, guitar and didgeridoo
- New works for taiko and other instruments by distinguished composers Michael Askill, Gerard Brophy, Timothy Constable, Graeme Koehne, Andrea Molino, David Pye, Philip South
- Major collaborations:
Waangenga Blanco and Ensemble Offspring in Coming Together (2022)
Sydney Improvisers Composers Kollektiv Orchestra (SICKO) in Intermode (2021)
Sydney Improvisers Composers Kollektiv Orchestra (SICKO) in Intermode (2021)
Anandavalli and Lingalayam in Chi Udaka (AsiaTOPA 2020, Australia & India Tours 2016, Sydney Festival 2014)
Phoenix Central Park in Toward The Rain (Film 2019)
Chieko Kojima and Riley Lee in The Beauty Of 8 (2019, 2017, 2015)
Lachlan Skipworth, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Riley Lee and Kaoru Watanabe in The Breath Of Thunder (2018)
Kaoru Watanabe in Future Directions (2014)
Satsuki Odamura in Crimson Sky (2014, 2013, 2012)
Kodo in Kodo and Taikoz In Concert Australian Tour (2012)
150 taiko players, drummers and percussionists in Fireworks / Sydney Festival First Night (2010)
John Bell and The Bell Shakespeare Company in William Shakespeare's Pericles (2009)
Senior members of Kodo – Yoshikazu Fujimoto, Chieko Kojima, Yoko Fujimoto, Motofumi Yamaguchi and Eiichi Saito –
in Kodo and Taikoz In Concert (2009)
Eitetsu Hayashi and Fuun no Kai (Japan 2008, Australia 2006, 2002, 2001, 2000)
Director and choreographer Meryl Tankard in Kaidan: A Ghost Story– a dance, music, theatre work / Sydney Festival at the Sydney Opera House (2007) (World Premiere Work)
Wadaiko Matsumura-gumi in Australia and Japan (2005, 2004)
- International performances:
Chi Udaka, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Mumbai (2016)
Womad, New Plymouth, New Zealand (2015)
World Taiko Gathering, Los Angeles USA (2014)
Abu Dhabi, UAE (2013)
Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung and Tainan, Taiwan (2011)
Kitakami Michinoku Geinou Matsuri, Japan (2010)
National Theatre of Japan, Tokyo, Japan (2008)
Winners, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2006)
Hibike Festival, Echizen, Japan (2005)
Bangkok International Music Festival, Thailand (2004)
Kaikyōsai Festival, Kobe, Japan (2001)
- Performances with orchestra:
Breath Of Thunder by Lachlan Skipworth with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Riley Lee, shakuhachi, Kaoru Watanabe, shinobue, and conductor Gerard Solonga (2018)
Mono-Prism by Maki Ishii with the Sydney, Melbourne, West Australian and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, and conductors Hiroyuki Iwaki, Ryusuke Numajiri and David Porcilijn (1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2009, 2010)
Book Of Clouds by Gerard Brophy with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Riley Lee, shakuhachi and Synergy Percussion conducted by Tadaaki Otaka (2008) (World Premiere Work)
Winners by Andrea Molino and the Queensland Symphony at the Brisbane Festival, and Dresden Sinfoniker at the Pompidou Centre, Paris, conducted by the composer (2006) (World Premiere Work)
- Major tours of regional Australia:
The Beauty Of 8 (2019)
Chi Udaka (2016)
Crimson Sky (2014)
Shifting Sand (2012)
Blessings Of The Earth (2010)
The Gathering (2008)
Da Ha-Pounding Wave (2006)
- Awards:
Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation for contribution towards promoting friendship and goodwill between Australia and Japan / Ian Cleworth and Riley Lee (2016)
Limelight ‘Best New Composition Award’ for Kaidan (2007)
Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award in recognition of Taikoz's commitment to Australian music (2006)
Drover Award for regional touring and education (2005)
- Filmed performances appear on Taikoz's Vimeo site
‘You don’t just listen to this music. You see it and feel it, too. Totally compelling.’
Sydney Morning Herald
‘It’s the seeing that turns an exhilarating aural experience into something close to dance theatre with a spiritual bent. The virtuosity is thrilling but even better is the sense of pure joy the players transmit.’
Weekend Australian
Sydney Morning Herald
‘It’s the seeing that turns an exhilarating aural experience into something close to dance theatre with a spiritual bent. The virtuosity is thrilling but even better is the sense of pure joy the players transmit.’
Weekend Australian
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What's On
January Intensive 2024: Update!
26 Jan 2024
»»»» CHECK OUT ANTON'S STUNNING
January Intensive 2024
26 Jan 2024
»»» UPDATE: DETAILS HERE...
Taikoz Artists
About Taikoz
2023 TAIKOZ ARTISTS
Appearing in Taikoz's 2023 Schools, Mainstage and Non-mainstage performance season:
Ian Cleworth | Kerryn Joyce | Sophia Ang | Ryuji Hamada | Silvana Imperatori | Haruka Kunimune | Salina Myat
Samantha Newton | Nerida Wu
Ian Cleworth and Riley Lee formed Taikoz in 1997. Over the past twenty-six years, the group has developed a wide and original repertoire of works and productions that has seen them perform on the stages of Australia's finest concert halls, in the theatres of regional Australia, and in leading theatres and concert halls worldwide. Taikoz has performed in Japan, Paris, Bangkok, Taiwan, Abu Dhabi, and the USA where the ensemble headlined the Taiko Nation concerts at the 2014 World Taiko Gathering in Los Angeles. Most recently Taikoz toured India, receiving much critical acclaim for CHI UDAKA, their collaboration with Lingalayam Dance Company.
Appearing in Taikoz's 2023 Schools, Mainstage and Non-mainstage performance season:
Ian Cleworth | Kerryn Joyce | Sophia Ang | Ryuji Hamada | Silvana Imperatori | Haruka Kunimune | Salina Myat
Samantha Newton | Nerida Wu
Ian Cleworth and Riley Lee formed Taikoz in 1997. Over the past twenty-six years, the group has developed a wide and original repertoire of works and productions that has seen them perform on the stages of Australia's finest concert halls, in the theatres of regional Australia, and in leading theatres and concert halls worldwide. Taikoz has performed in Japan, Paris, Bangkok, Taiwan, Abu Dhabi, and the USA where the ensemble headlined the Taiko Nation concerts at the 2014 World Taiko Gathering in Los Angeles. Most recently Taikoz toured India, receiving much critical acclaim for CHI UDAKA, their collaboration with Lingalayam Dance Company.
Esteemed collaborators include composers Sandy Evans, Lachlan Skipworth, Gerard Brophy, Andrea Molino and Michael Askill, and artists as diverse as John Bell and the Bell Shakespeare Company, taiko greats Eitetsu Hayashi, Yoshikazu Fujimoto, Chieko Kojima and Kaoru Watanabe, the Sydney Improvisers Composers Kollektiv Orchestra, First Nations Artist Waangenga Blanco, art-music ensembles Synergy Percussion and Ensemble Offspring, as well as distinguished choreographers Meryl Tankard and Anandavalli. The group has also collaborated with Kodo on a nation-wide tour of Australia.
Taikoz has appeared in concerto works that include 13 performances of Maki Ishii's ground-breaking MONO-PRISM, Gerard Brophy's BOOK OF CLOUDS and Andrea Molino's multi-media WINNERS, which premiered at the Brisbane Festival and the Pompidou Centre in Paris. Collaborating orchestras are the Sydney, Melbourne, West Australian and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Dresden Sinfoniker in Europe. Most recently, Taikoz, Riley Lee and Kaoru Watanabe were featured soloists with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, performing their own works in arrangements for the ensemble and orchestra, culminating in a newly commissioned work by Lachlan Skipworth, THE BREATH OF THUNDER.
Taikoz has appeared in concerto works that include 13 performances of Maki Ishii's ground-breaking MONO-PRISM, Gerard Brophy's BOOK OF CLOUDS and Andrea Molino's multi-media WINNERS, which premiered at the Brisbane Festival and the Pompidou Centre in Paris. Collaborating orchestras are the Sydney, Melbourne, West Australian and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Dresden Sinfoniker in Europe. Most recently, Taikoz, Riley Lee and Kaoru Watanabe were featured soloists with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, performing their own works in arrangements for the ensemble and orchestra, culminating in a newly commissioned work by Lachlan Skipworth, THE BREATH OF THUNDER.
In 2016, co-founders Ian and Riley were both awarded the Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation for their contributions towards promoting friendship and goodwill between Australia and Japan.
_________________________________________________________
A brief overview of Taikoz' history:
- Over thirty original works by ensemble members for taiko, often featuring such instruments as shakuhachi, shinobue, nohkan, koto, voice, percussion, marimba, drum set, saxophone, guitar and didgeridoo
- New works for taiko and other instruments by distinguished composers Michael Askill, Gerard Brophy, Timothy Constable, Graeme Koehne, Andrea Molino, David Pye, Philip South
- Major collaborations:
Waangenga Blanco and Ensemble Offspring in Coming Together (2022)
Sydney Improvisers Composers Kollektiv Orchestra (SICKO) in Intermode (2021)
Sydney Improvisers Composers Kollektiv Orchestra (SICKO) in Intermode (2021)
Anandavalli and Lingalayam in Chi Udaka (AsiaTOPA 2020, Australia & India Tours 2016, Sydney Festival 2014)
Phoenix Central Park in Toward The Rain (Film 2019)
Chieko Kojima and Riley Lee in The Beauty Of 8 (2019, 2017, 2015)
Lachlan Skipworth, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Riley Lee and Kaoru Watanabe in The Breath Of Thunder (2018)
Kaoru Watanabe in Future Directions (2014)
Satsuki Odamura in Crimson Sky (2014, 2013, 2012)
Kodo in Kodo and Taikoz In Concert Australian Tour (2012)
150 taiko players, drummers and percussionists in Fireworks / Sydney Festival First Night (2010)
John Bell and The Bell Shakespeare Company in William Shakespeare's Pericles (2009)
Senior members of Kodo – Yoshikazu Fujimoto, Chieko Kojima, Yoko Fujimoto, Motofumi Yamaguchi and Eiichi Saito –
in Kodo and Taikoz In Concert (2009)
Eitetsu Hayashi and Fuun no Kai (Japan 2008, Australia 2006, 2002, 2001, 2000)
Director and choreographer Meryl Tankard in Kaidan: A Ghost Story– a dance, music, theatre work / Sydney Festival at the Sydney Opera House (2007) (World Premiere Work)
Wadaiko Matsumura-gumi in Australia and Japan (2005, 2004)
- International performances:
Chi Udaka, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Mumbai (2016)
Womad, New Plymouth, New Zealand (2015)
World Taiko Gathering, Los Angeles USA (2014)
Abu Dhabi, UAE (2013)
Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung and Tainan, Taiwan (2011)
Kitakami Michinoku Geinou Matsuri, Japan (2010)
National Theatre of Japan, Tokyo, Japan (2008)
Winners, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2006)
Hibike Festival, Echizen, Japan (2005)
Bangkok International Music Festival, Thailand (2004)
Kaikyōsai Festival, Kobe, Japan (2001)
- Performances with orchestra:
Breath Of Thunder by Lachlan Skipworth with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Riley Lee, shakuhachi, Kaoru Watanabe, shinobue, and conductor Gerard Solonga (2018)
Mono-Prism by Maki Ishii with the Sydney, Melbourne, West Australian and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, and conductors Hiroyuki Iwaki, Ryusuke Numajiri and David Porcilijn (1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2009, 2010)
Book Of Clouds by Gerard Brophy with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Riley Lee, shakuhachi and Synergy Percussion conducted by Tadaaki Otaka (2008) (World Premiere Work)
Winners by Andrea Molino and the Queensland Symphony at the Brisbane Festival, and Dresden Sinfoniker at the Pompidou Centre, Paris, conducted by the composer (2006) (World Premiere Work)
- Major tours of regional Australia:
The Beauty Of 8 (2019)
Chi Udaka (2016)
Crimson Sky (2014)
Shifting Sand (2012)
Blessings Of The Earth (2010)
The Gathering (2008)
Da Ha-Pounding Wave (2006)
- Awards:
Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation for contribution towards promoting friendship and goodwill between Australia and Japan / Ian Cleworth and Riley Lee (2016)
Limelight ‘Best New Composition Award’ for Kaidan (2007)
Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award in recognition of Taikoz's commitment to Australian music (2006)
Drover Award for regional touring and education (2005)
- Filmed performances appear on Taikoz's Vimeo site
‘You don’t just listen to this music. You see it and feel it, too. Totally compelling.’
Sydney Morning Herald
‘It’s the seeing that turns an exhilarating aural experience into something close to dance theatre with a spiritual bent. The virtuosity is thrilling but even better is the sense of pure joy the players transmit.’
Weekend Australian
Sydney Morning Herald
‘It’s the seeing that turns an exhilarating aural experience into something close to dance theatre with a spiritual bent. The virtuosity is thrilling but even better is the sense of pure joy the players transmit.’
Weekend Australian