Concert by Kenny Endo, one of the most renowned taiko players in the world, celebrating 48 years of career and playing for the first time in Scotland!

Kenny is at the vanguard of the taiko genre, continually paving new paths for this Japanese style of drumming. A performer, composer, and teacher of taiko with numerous awards and accolades, he is a consummate artist, blending Japanese taiko with rhythms influenced from around the world into original melodies and improvisation.

Originally trained as a jazz musician in the Asian American cultural renaissance of 1970s California, Kenny began his taiko career first with L.A.’s groundbreaking Kinnara Taiko, then with the renowned San Francisco Taiko Dojo, the first kumi daiko (ensemble drumming) group outside of Japan. In 1980, he embarked on a decade-long odyssey in his ancestral Japan, studying and performing with the masters of classical drumming, traditional Tokyo festival music, and ensemble drumming. Endo has the honor of being the first non-Japanese national to have received a natori (stage name and masters license) in hogaku hayashi (classical drumming). In the hogaku world, Kenny Endo is known as Mochizuki Tajiro.

Kenny Endo has recorded numerous CDs of original taiko compositions, and was a featured artist on the PBS special “Spirit of Taiko.” He has performed for musicians Michael Jackson, Prince, as well as Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana. He opened for The Who, performed a duet with singer Bobby McFerrin, and is featured on the soundtracks for Kayo Hatta’s film “Picture Bride,” Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now,” recorded in motion capture suit for James Cameron’s “Avatar,” as well as numerous TV commercials. Endo’s taiko skills have taken him to the Microsoft Global Meeting in Atlanta, the Smithsonian, the National Museum of American History, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the Lincoln Center in NYC, the Theatre de Champs-Elysee in Paris, the Kabukiza, and the Japan National Theater. He has performed as a soloist with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Honolulu Symphony, the Stanford Symphony, the Tokyo Symphony, and the Brazilian Orquestra Experimental. He has traveled across Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania, the former Soviet Union, Australia, and the Americas in his effort to share taiko with the world.

“Island Breeze,” a trio featuring Endo, Grammy award winning Jeff Peterson (Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar) and Riley Lee (shakuhachi) was nominated for Na Hoku Hanohano awards (Hawaii’s version of the Grammys) for “Album of the Year” and “Na Pali” for “Instrumental Song of the Year” in 2015. Endo joined forces with front-ranking tabla player Abhijit Banerjee, and five-time Grammy nominee John Santos in recording “Uncommon Time: Taiko, Tabla, and Timbales,” a CD released in 2016. Do not miss this unique opportunity to see Kenny Endo in concert at Killearn Village Hall!

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Ticket: Full Price - £20, Concesssions (Over 65s, Students) - £15, Kids -£10