About Taikoza
Taikoza is a drumming performance group made up of people from all over the world who are passionate about taiko. We are based in Wellington, Aotearoa.
Taikoza was formed in the mid-1980s in Hiroshima, Japan, by veteran taiko drummer Murray McDonald. Murray first learnt to drum with Hiroshima Taiko Hozonkai, a group dedicated to preserving local, traditional rhythms.
In 1991, Murray brought Taikoza to Wellington. He has been teaching and growing the group ever since, supported by musician Ben Whitton in more recent years.
We train together for 4 hours every week and love sharing the joy of taiko at community and corporate events.
What is taiko?
In Japanese, taiko (太鼓) means drum.
Taiko drumming has powerful, deep bass tones, intense, rhythmic patterns, and visually dynamic group choreography.
The drumming style was developed in Japan over many centuries and has its roots in Buddhist influences from Korea and China.
In Japan, taiko rhythms are the heartbeat of the traditional Matsuri festivals and Shinto shrine ceremonies.
