{"id":107640,"date":"2024-09-16T15:55:47","date_gmt":"2024-09-16T19:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=107640"},"modified":"2024-09-17T08:00:03","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T12:00:03","slug":"interview-kiyoshi-nagata-talks-nagata-shachu-bringing-traditional-japanese-taiko-21st-century-season-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/09\/16\/interview-kiyoshi-nagata-talks-nagata-shachu-bringing-traditional-japanese-taiko-21st-century-season-27\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Kiyoshi Nagata Talks About Nagata Shachu, Bringing Traditional Japanese Taiko Into The 21st Century For Season 27"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_107641\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-107641\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-107641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/09\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-74.jpg\" alt=\"Japanese taiko ensemble Nagata Shachu with shinobue master Tatara Toki (Photo courtesy of the artists)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/09\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-74.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/09\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-74-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/09\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-74-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/09\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-74-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-107641\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Japanese taiko ensemble Nagata Shachu with shinobue master Tatara Toki (Photo courtesy of the artists)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>To launch the ensemble\u2019s 27th season, Japanese taiko ensemble Nagata Shachu will be remounting KAZ\u00c9 (wind). The show, a collaboration with master shinobue player Toki Tatara, was a sold-out hit in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>KAZ\u00c9 will be going on a six-city tour, beginning October 4 in Beloeil, Quebec, before heading to Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, and ending in Burlington. The ensemble will hit the stage in Toronto\u2019s Harbourfront Centre on October 10.<\/p>\n<p>Kiyoshi Nagata founded Nagata Shachu in 1998 to not only celebrate the taiko and its traditional repertoire, but also bring the music and instruments into the 21st century with a sense of continual experimentation and evolutionKiyoshi Nagata . Along the way, the ensemble has collaborated with a variety of ensembles and artists, including Esprit Orchestra.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Xf0yks4zFFQ?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>Along with Nagata himself, the current ensemble numbers nine, including Aki Takahashi, Andrew Siu, Kevin He, Atsushi Kato, Tatsuki Shimoda, Brian Liang, Eriko Murata, and Sakura Ariga. We spoke to the master drummer about the organization, and the upcoming concert.<\/p>\n<p>We spoke to Kiyoshi Nagata about the ensemble, and the new season\u2019s opener.<\/p>\n<h2>Kiyoshi Nagata &amp; Nagata Shachu: the Interview<\/h2>\n<p>Did he imagine, back in 1998, that he\u2019d still be presenting concerts 27 seasons later? \u201cThat was a dream when I started,\u201d Nagata says. \u201cI\u2019m quite surprised it actually survived. It was a combination of things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Strong support from the Japanese Canadian community is a cornerstone of the ensemble\u2019s success. The other, though, comes from the connections Nagata Shachu has made in the local musical community. As Nagata notes, it\u2019s also about finding the right performers, presenters, and agents.<\/p>\n<p>Forming the musical direction of Nagata Shachu was the result of a process of thought. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of background to this,\u201d Kiyoshi notes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe traditional music is not that interesting to watch in concert,\u201d Kiyoshi says. \u201cIt was never meant to be performed on stage in its own right.\u201d The music, as he points out, was created to accompany ceremonies and rites of various kinds, not for an audience per se. \u201cWe have to create our own original compositions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Adding different influences and genres to the musical mix is a natural given the array of cultures represented in Toronto. He says the group is \u201creally fortunate\u201d to be able to collaborate with anyone from an Indian tabla group to a Western orchestra without leaving town.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of our members have Western musical training as well,\u201d Nagata points out. \u201cWe\u2019re able to adapt to Western or European classical music as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The goal is to take the traditional Japanese drums to diverse audiences, and introduce them to a different listening experience with the venerable instrument. \u201cI think people have this image of taiko as very primal, very physical. But, it\u2019s also very musical,\u201d he notes. It\u2019s a difficult instrument to master.<\/p>\n<p>From the 2022 performance:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DCkT74YlTkM?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3>KAZ\u00c9<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cKAZ\u00c9 is the title of the concert, which means wind in Japanese,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re inviting back one our favourite guest artists.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A native of Kyoto, Tatara Toki studied at the\u00a0municipal music high school of Horikwa, and graduated from the University of Doushisha. She has spent her musical career researching and performing on bamboo flutes, including the shinobue. She is both a recording and performing artist, and is the Director of the Japan Shinobue Association as well as professor at Okayama Niimi Public University. Toki often performs her own compositions for the instrument.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s an incredible flautist,\u201d Nagata says.<\/p>\n<p>KAZ\u00c9 adds the three-stringed shamisen to the mix, taking the three traditional Japanese musical instruments into new directions. While a remount, the 2024 version adds new music and details to the performance.<\/p>\n<p>The concert back in 2022 was a success, but one that came at a difficult time \u2014 just when audiences were slowly coming back to live performance. The idea of bringing Tatara Toki back to a more robust concert environment was behind the remount.<\/p>\n<p>Touring is a luxury for many ensembles nowadays. \u201cI think it\u2019s the reality of these days,\u201d he says. \u201cIn our heyday, we used to tour a lot.\u201d Nagata notes that the instruments alone can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, making moving them anywhere a risk. \u201cWe\u2019re very fortunate,\u201d he notes of the funding that has made the fall tour possible.<\/p>\n<p>Later on in the season, in November Nagata Shachu will be performing with another Japanese guest artist, along with a shamisen player, and in March 2025, the season finale sees them collaborate with a Korean ensemble who also blend traditional and contemporary performance.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find out more details about the performance of KAZ\u00c9 (Wind) in Toronto on October 10 [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nagatashachu.com\/upcoming\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? 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The show, a collaboration with master shinobue player Toki Tatara, was a sold-out hit in 2022. KAZ\u00c9 will be going on a six-city tour, beginning October 4 in Beloeil, Quebec, before heading to Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, and ending [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":107641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[6715,17557,17574,35635,17564],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/09\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-74.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-s08","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107640"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107640"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107648,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107640\/revisions\/107648"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107640"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=107640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}