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profile |
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Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers are the UK’s
first and only professional touring taiko group, and Europe’s most
established performing company in this fast-expanding field. Through
performing over 100 concerts a year, the group have built a solid reputation
for their hard-hitting and energetic performances since their establishment
in 1994. |
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Mugenkyo’s main work is touring a full-length concert
at theatres and concert halls, including London Queen Elizabeth Hall, Nottingham
Royal Concert Hall, Swansea Grand Theatre, Reading Hexagon, Bristol Colston
Hall, Perth Concert Hall and York Grand Opera House, amongst others. The
group has appeared on numerous television and radio programmes worldwide,
including the Brit Awards, BBC Last Night of the Proms, the Generation
Game and featured in a Bollywood film. |
| Mugenkyo present taiko in a modern and theatrical style – with
precise choreography, dramatic lighting, and a variety of costumes ranging
from the post-apocalyptic industrial to gorgeous earthy silks. The concert
is extremely musically varied; powerful rhythms, huge taiko drums, delicate
shinobue bamboo flute, and expressive percussion. Most of the pieces performed
by Mugenkyo are modern, composed by the group themselves. Through their
10 years of rigorous touring, Mugenkyo have developed a style that is uniquely
their own. Retaining the traditional spirit of taiko, yet creating a thoroughly
contemporary sound, Mugenkyo are forging a new path with their innovative
approach. |
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| Mugenkyo push the boundaries of Taiko with their various
artistic collaborations. In 2004 Mugenkyo presented the show “Rinnetensho” with
Tokyo-based contemporary dance group “Company East” on the
theme of re-incarnation, a multi-media presentation using taiko, dance,
electronic music and projected visuals. In 2005 Mugenkyo collaborated with
bagpiper and Scottish Musician of the Year, Stuart Cassells, which was
broadcast live worldwide on BBC Last Night of the Proms. More recently
Mugenkyo toured with Hanayui from Sado Island, an offshoot group of the
world-famous Kodo Drummers. |
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Festival highlights over the years have included: the Rhythm
Sticks Festival at the South Bank in London, Glastonbury Festival, Henley
Classical Festival, Phoenix Rock Festival, the Cork Jazz Festival in Ireland.
Mugenkyo have also performed at numerous large-scale multimedia events,
the 2003 Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium, and at the film premiere
of “The Last Samurai”. |
| Mugenkyo perform in Japan regularly: on invitation by the
Japanese government to open the 2005 EU-Japan Year of Exchange, their 10th
Anniversary Concert in 2004, and for the prince and princess at the British
Embassy in Tokyo. To continue their ongoing training at the highest level,
and further develop their strong foundations in technique, Mugenkyo return
to Japan regularly, where founders of the group Neil Mackie and Miyuki
Williams lived and trained intensively in 1992 - 1994 with Master Drummer
Masaaki Kurumaya Sensei. |
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| In 2002 the group established the Mugen Taiko Dojo: Centre
for Taiko Drumming in the UK – the first purpose-built taiko dojo
in Britain, based in rural Central Scotland. Under the umbrella of the
Mugen Taiko Dojo, members of the group tour an award-winning educational
concert at schools, undertake educational outreach projects with local
authorities all over the UK, and run in-depth courses for adults and weekend
residential workshops at the dojo. |
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