I first heard Kitaro in the mid-80s. We used to go to Tower Records in Mt. View to buy CDs. Tower Records is now only an online store. But Kitaro’s music lives on. I even got to see Kitaro in concert at the Zellerbach Hall at UC Berkeley.
Wiki describes it as “a multi-venue performance facility on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, completed in 1968. The facility consists of two primary performance spaces: the 1,984-seat Zellerbach Auditorium, and the 500-seat Zellerbach Playhouse. … suitable for dance, theater, and opera, and has a built-in concert shell that provides an excellent acoustical enclosure for symphonic and other classical music performances.”
Sometime around 1998, I got to see the Dalai Lama at the ZH. Over the years, I attended many musical events. Two stand out particularly. One was “Monsters of Grace” by my favorite composer Philip Glass. (Click on the image for details.) Seeing him play the piano from about 50 feet away was a treat.
The other musical event at ZH which stands out is an International Taiko Festival in 2000. There were international groups, of course, but the highlight was the San Francisco Taiko Dojo. The SF group was led by the venerable Sensei Tanaka. The honorific “sensei” means teacher in Japanese. (Click on the image for details.)
I did not have my video camera with me. Remember there were no smartphones in 2000. At intermission I ran home (about a 3 minute run) and fetched my Sony video camera. I recorded the second half of the performance. I still have those tapes.
Here’s a composition by Grandmaster Tanaka. The California Wind.
I love drums. Taiko performances are incredible combination of grace, athleticism, music, coordination and outstanding stamina. Here are a couple of examples.
I should really get back to what I started with — Kitaro. Then I went off from there to Zellerbach Hall and then to Taiko. So back to Kitaro. Two songs. Matsuri cover by Alondra Andes.
The other is pure Kitaro. I like the beat. Listen to Sundance.
That’s it for now.
Life is a Random Draw 