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Hiromitsu Agatsuma

Hiromitsu Agatsuma specializes in the Tsugaru-jamisen, a larger Japanese lute with thicker strings than those used in other styles. Beginning at the age of six, Agatsuma quickly gained fame after earning top prizes and honors in prestigious national Tsugaru-jamisen competitions during adolescence and his early career. An accomplished artist in the hogaku, or traditional Japanese music world, Agatsuma avidly experimented in fusing its genuinely Japanese sounds with diverse musical genres. He made his major label debut on Toshiba EMI with the album Agatsuma, named Traditional Japanese Music Album of the Year at the 16th Japan Gold Disc Awards. With over 100 annual concerts, sessions and media appearances, Agatsuma continues to pursue the traditions of and innovations in the Tsugaru-jamisen.

Amanojaku

Amanojaku

Keola Beamer

Asia Pacific Performance Exchange Ensemble

The Asia Pacific Performance Exchange (APPEX) is an international residency program with a particular focus on American and Asian artists. APPEX programs have brought together more than 250 traditional and contemporary artists of varying disciplines from America and throughout Asia – from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines and Vietnam — for six week long intensive residency sessions on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and in Indonesia.

Cudamani (Balinese Gamelan Orchestra)

Comprised of a 60 young virtuoso musicians and dancers, Çudamani is a professional company with a working philosophy much like a family temple or sanggar- that is, their work is dedicated to the communal and spiritual life of the villages. The company is famous for teaching, performing and preserving the rich and rare classical Balinese repertoire. At the same time, the composers contribute to both traditional and contemporary music, dance and shadow puppet projects.

Hitoshi Hamada

Hitoshi Hamada is considered the top jazz vibraphonist in Japan today. Born in Hokkaido, Hamada began playing mallet instruments at the age of six. He took a liking to jazz in high school and used the marimba to practice with. After graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts, he made his professional debut with the group “Force.” Hamada is also an accomplished composer, arranger, pianist, percussionist, and leader of his own ensemble. He has appeared on numerous recordings and has published several albums as a bandleader.

Hamada’s virtuoso technique and joyful, spirited performance enriches Endo’s music adding a fun new dimension to the ensemble. Hamada can be heard on Endo’s CD “Jugoya.”

DeShannon Higa

Shoko Hikage

Yuu Ishizuka

Kapua

Kapua

Chieko Kojima

Abe Lagrimas

Anju Madoka

Anju Madoka

Saburo Mochizuki

Saburo Mochizuki (Professional Kabuki Theatre Musician, Original Member of Famed Sukeroku Taiko)

Saburo Mochizuki (stage name) was born as Yutaka Ishizuka in 1946 in Tokyo. Saburo Mochizuki is his stage name in the hogaku hayashi (classical Japanese music) world. One of the top hogaku musicians in Japan today, he maintains a regular schedule performing in the Kabuki theatre. Before entering the classical Japanese music world, he was the winner of the 3rd annual Yushima Bon Drumming Competition in 1961 demonstrating great technique, persona, and flamboyant style. He is one of four founding members of Sukeroku Taiko, the first professional taiko group in Japan. Named after a Kabuki character who was the epitome of the Edo spirit, Sukeroku Taiko hoped to project that spirit, and style through their drumming. The Sukeroku style of drumming is one of the first styles of taiko introduced to America in the 1960s. This style of drumming influenced nearly all taiko groups in the United States via Seiichi Tanaka of the San Francisco Taiko Dojo. Well known world-class local taiko artist Kenny Endo studied with both Tanaka and Mochizuki.

Derek Nakamoto

Oedo Sukeroku Taiko

Kiyohiko Semba

Kyosuke Suzuki

Kaori Takahashi

Kaoru Watanabe

Todd Yukumoto