Photo Credits: Greg Barret Andrea Molino | Lyndon Terracini | Fabrica's Musicians | TaikOz | The Queensland Orchestra | Bill Bowers | Jethro Louw | Matthias Neutzner | Fabrica's Contributors | Dresdner Sinfoniker TaiKoz With ancient practice at its core, TaikOz combines tradition with the latest Australian and Japanese compositions. Combining the primal power of the Japanese taiko drums with the ethereal tones of Riley Lee’s bambooshakuhachi, TaikOz is exploring a synthesis of East and West, old and new. Since 1997 TaikOz has grown from a group of four taiko players who performed once a year, to an organization of seven musicians and a year-round schedule of performances, workshops and teaching. The group’s performances regularly take them around Australia and internationally: in particular to Japan, where the group’s unique Australian approach has received considerable acclaim. TaikOz also teaches the taiko to over 120 enthusiasts nine times a week, every week. Ages range from 6 to 66 with people coming from all walks of life and a variety of cultural backgrounds. The sheer physicality of the taiko gives everyone a great workout while having fun making music together. TaikOz members have trained and performed with Sado-Ondekoza, Eitetsu Hayashi and Sen Amano. The group’s aim is to establish a definitive Australian taiko sound. Recent highlights include TaikOz’s 2005 tour of Japan where the group presented and all-Australian program at the ‘Hibike Festival’ in Echizen and collaborative concerts in Kobe with friends, Wadaiko Matsumuragumi. TaikOz and Matsumuragumi have also presented joint concerts and workshops at the Brisbane Powerhouse in 2004. TaikOz’s ongoing collaboration with taiko great, Eitetsu Hayashi and his ensemble Fuun no Kai, continues in 2006 with a national tour of Australia as part of the Japan-Australia Year of Exchange, with a reprise of the their current collaborative program in Japan next year. This follows on from joint concerts for the Sydney Festival, ‘Kaikyousai’ Festival in Kobe and concerts at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre. TaikOz has long championed the complete taiko works of composer Maki Ishii, including numerous performance seasons of Monoprism for Wadaiko and Orchestra,with the Sydney, Melbourne, West Australia and Queensland Orchestras and conductors Hiroyuki Iwaki, Takuo Yuasa and David Porcelijn. 2003 marked the group’s first national tour for Australia’s premiere chamber music presenters, Musica Viva. The association has continued over the years with extensive regional touring for their CountryWide program. TaikOz is also embarking on a seven-week tour of the Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria and Queensland in August and September of 2006. The group has released three CDs and a DVD, recorded ‘live’ in Sydney’s City Recital Hall, Angel Place.