Eitetsu Hayashi
After 11 years of performing in a group, Eitetsu started performing solo in 1982. In 1984, he debuted at Carnegie Hall as the first Japanese taiko drum soloist and gained international acclaim. In 2000, he performed with the Berlin Philharmonic in Waldbühne, Germany, and overwhelmed an audience of over 20,000. Since then, he has performed with many symphony orchestras and artists of different genres worldwide.
Eitetsu has pioneered the field of traditionally unprecedented taiko solos, including the Odaiko solo techniques and the creation of original techniques using a set of multiple taiko drums. He has developed a new genre of "Taiko Music" to be transmitted from Japan to the world, and is active in Japan and overseas. In 2018, he performed 6 concerts in 4 cities in the Japan-Canada Friendship 90th Anniversary Tour in Canada and in October performed in the official performance of the Japan-France Friendship 160th Anniversary Japan Expo “Japonisum 2018”. This year, he worked for production and recording as a concept video production staff for the “Tokyo 2020 NIPPON Festival”.
Eitetsu contributes to a large number of large-scale dispatches for introducing Japanese drum music and culture for each International Friendship and Exchange Year for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Relations Foundation, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
He has authored many publications, including the newly refurbished version of "Ashitano Taiko Uchie" (Hatori Shoten), autobiography "Taiko Hizuki-Dokuso no Kiseki" (Kodansha), and many other articles in journals and magazines. He has received the 1997 Minister of Education Prize for Arts and Culture, the 2001 Japan Traditional Culture Promotion Award, and the 2017 Matsuo Entertainment Awards.
#TaikoCelebration2021
WTC 2020
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Our crowdfunding campeign has concluded!
Thank you to each and everyone who supported the event.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your generosity!
As we have all been staying safe at home around the world, it is difficult to travel domestically and internationally, and playing taiko has been a challenge for most of us with limited opportunities to perform or to practice. The WTC committee would like to take this time in learning from each other, and looking back at the journey that taiko has developed over time.
In the new online format of WTC, we will continue to expand and develop the art of taiko, strengthening the community to seek new ways of connecting with one another.
In light of these extraordinary times, WTC decided to make the virtual conference free to attend. Removing the registration fees this year gave us the chance to welcome as many taiko friends as possible to take part online from around the globe.
Your support helped us run this inaugural World Taiko Conference, so that we were able to provide a high quality program and experience for all participants to enjoy.
We hope that taiko enthusiasts from all over the world were able to participate, allowing them to experience and gain knowledge that can be brought back to their respective countries and communities.
Leading on from other taiko conferences around the world, we believe that WTC was able to create a place for further international exchange and new learnings to be passed on to the next generation.
With the success of WTC, we hope that people from around the globe are able to connect with each other and work towards creating an abundant lifestyle through various use of taiko.