Raging taiko drumming at Morinville Culture Days showcase

Of all the events planned for Morinville Culture Days, the must-see showstopper is Booming Tree Taiko drummers.

Led by Gregory Shimizu, a taiko player with 25 years experience and his partner Twilla MacLeod, Booming Tree Taiko is known throughout Canada for its dynamic, energetic performances and electrifying collaborations.

The duo has teamed up with guest artists such as Vibe Tribe Gypsy Circus, Pro Coro Choir, Viter Ukrainian Dance and Choir, National Stiltwalkers of Canada and Hong de Lion Dancers to name a few.

Their versatility is all-encompassing and on Sept. 24 at the Morinville Community Centre, Booming Tree joins forces with Calgary-based world-class hoop dancer Dallas Arcand Jr.

For Shimizu, the driving force behind Booming Tree, taiko drumming is the pulse, the heartbeat of his culture. The seeds of his passion were planted as a young boy in 1975 after seeing Japan’s first taiko super group Ondekozo perform.

By the time his father, Dr. Henry Shimizu arranged to have a taiko group from Seattle perform at the Japan Pavilion at Edmonton’s third annual Heritage Festival, there was no going back.

“It touches a little bit of the every part of me – the mind, the body, the spirit. And in the phrasing the medium is the message. You are able to sing, dance and do music. It is a vehicle that is so raw, so simple, yet complex at the same time,” says Shimizu.

He likens it to a traditional Japanese tea ceremony.

“It’s a ritual, a process, a ceremony. You find all those elements in taiko and things have more meaning. It has strength in the physical presentation.”

While Shimizu’s passion is nurtured from within his culture, MacLeod adds an artistic flair to their presentations. Holding two bachelor degrees – one in music and one in theatre – MacLeod first came into contact with taiko performances when living and working in Japan as an English teacher.

Upon her return to Canada in 2005, she joined Edmonton’s Kita No Taiko where she met Shimizu, also a player. Although both players have moved on, MacLeod has never played anything as visceral as the drums.

“It has a primal root and it resonates with people. It’s smooth and fluid, and like martial arts, it’s a physical, strong dance.”

Shimizu explains that taiko drums were originally played individually in many areas of society: as a signal for warfare, during festivals, as part of Kibuki theatre and at Shinto and Buddhist temple ceremonies.

But in 1951, Daihachi Oguchi invented the kumi-daiko – a taiko ensemble. A former jazz drummer, Oguchi took the ancient rhythms, broke them down and created new arrangements and compositions to cater to an ensemble of anywhere from six to 20.

“The group style is very appealing. It’s just a modern reboot of an old instrument and a way of bringing a group together.”

Not only does group work allow Booming Tree to take control of their work, it allows them to explore and create more hybrid art with other groups.

As an example, they created a Celtic version of Christmas Carol with a jazzy guitar and cello.

“It allows us to be wildly crazy.”

The Morinville show will blend traditional taiko drumming and a combination of Celtic and modern drumming. Shimizu also adapted a Cherokee parable into a specially written fable titled The Three Dragons.

In this multi-chapter show, Booming Tree introduces Celtic advocated cellist Christine Hanson and MacEwan University guitar teacher Jamie Feldman as sidemen.

“It’s going to be a complex interesting show with cultural resonance in so many different ways.”