Oh Taiko

Well, this is a long overdue update and I'm sorry, sorry, sorry. It makes me a little sad that it's been so long since I've posted here, but my hope is that in due time I will be posting quite regularly again. Thanks for your patience--I haven't forgotten about ATT.

I've been consumed with graduate study in the Music Department at the University of Hong Kong and, while this takes up the majority of my time, I have been lucky enough to find some lovely folks to play taiko with as well.

O-Daiko sprouted around 2003 from the passion of a group of women who fell in love with the art form. The name may seem generic, but it actually merits some explanation. The Cantonese name, 大点鼓, translates as "big dot drum." The characters for "taiko" are 太鼓, so the original thought was to separate the "dot" from 太 to make 大(big)点(dot)鼓(drum). In Japanese, 大 can be pronounced "Oh". From there, the O came to represent the dot of the original name. Hm... somehow this is more difficult to explain than anticipated...

Anyway, things are coming together for the group this year, with its first full-length concert on March 19, 2011. The concert will premier one of my new pieces, Kyoka (鏡花), inspired by the original Cantonese poem of the same name by O-Daiko member, Chu Sau Man.

You can see us in action in the video from the University of Hong Kong's Centennial Celebration Kick-Off Parade. We play right at the beginning for about 30 seconds. Click here to watch the Parade!

Have some time? Let me know in the comments how your group chose its name!

Tam Kung Festival

Every year on the 8th day of the 4th month of the lunar calendar in Shau Kei Wan of the Eastern District in Hong Kong, there is a celebration of Tam Kung. Local residents, particularly fisherman, worship this god of the sea at the Tam Kung Temple, also located here.

This year, on May 21, I attended the festival celebrating Tam Kung. A parade of most (maybe all?) of the lion dance groups in Hong Kong wrapped around the neighborhood for 3 hours. The weather was hot, thick, and sticky, the streets packed with people all trying to get a glimpse of the lions.

After an hour or so, I needed a break from the mayhem and my friend and I slipped into a small dim sum restaurant. Taking away the visual aspect, I noticed that each group had their own distinct drum rhythm during the parade, and soon I could guess which group was about to pass the restaurant. I snapped a few shots and caught a little footage, check it out:

Waiting for the show to start.

Children posing with the lion heads.

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It was tough to get the lion dancing on video with so many people around, but this is the best I could do:

Watch this one for a taste of the drumming:

Tam Kung Festival

Every year on the 8th day of the 4th month of the lunar calendar in Shau Kei Wan of the Eastern District in Hong Kong, there is a celebration of Tam Kung. Local residents, particularly fisherman, worship this god of the sea at the Tam Kung Temple, also located here.

This year, on May 21, I attended the festival celebrating Tam Kung. A parade of most (maybe all?) of the lion dance groups in Hong Kong wrapped around the neighborhood for 3 hours. The weather was hot, thick, and sticky, the streets packed with people all trying to get a glimpse of the lions.

After an hour or so, I needed a break from the mayhem and my friend and I slipped into a small dim sum restaurant. Taking away the visual aspect, I noticed that each group had their own distinct drum rhythm during the parade, and soon I could guess which group was about to pass the restaurant. I snapped a few shots and caught a little footage, check it out:

Waiting for the show to start.

Children posing with the lion heads.

----------------------------------------------------------

It was tough to get the lion dancing on video with so many people around, but this is the best I could do:

Watch this one for a taste of the drumming: