The Yamato Drummers Hit the Peace Center
Carrie Henderson, Staff Writer
Photo from freeimages.com
The concert hall vibrates and yelling fills the room.
An earthquake?
No, it’s the Yamato Drummers.
The Yamato Drummers performance description on Vancouver Presents says “[Presented with] [a] ferocious mix of theatrics, agility, and rapid-fire speed, audience members will be hypnotized by the impressive display of physicality and visual fireworks.”
On Wednesday, Feb. 17, the Yamato Drummers will be visiting the Peace Center in Greenville, S.C., according to the Peace Center Events page.
Tara McNamara, Director of Public Relations at the Peace Center, said “[The audience should expect] a dynamic performance. . . great for all ages.”
Satomi Ikeda, founder, drummer, and artistic director of Yamato, said, “[When Yamato began] [o]ur slogan was ‘Let’s go wherever people call us,’ and we still carry it on as our key word. . . [W]e are continuing to here.”
The Yamato Drummer’s mission statement centers around a certain drum called the Taiko, according to its website.
In the About Us section, Masa Ogawa says “We [the Yamato Drummers] are committed to preserving its [the Taiko’s] traditions and. . . to create ever more opportunities for the boom of Taiko to resound worldwide.”
Yamato has toured in over 53 countries and given more than 3,000 shows, Ikeda said.
“It is difficult for us to say where is our favorite place [to perform],” Ikeda said. “However. . . we. . . love the reaction of the USA audience because they are giving us the best reaction of the world. . . [It] gives us a chance to spend our energy more!”
So far this year, the Yamato drummers have toured places such as Alberta and British Columbia in Canada and California and Texas in the U.S., according to its tour page.
While most of their tours this year will be focused in locations the U.S. and Canada — such as Ontario and Washington, D.C. — they will also be touring in Frankfurt and Berlin in Germany in the summer.
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