RAW Taiko

📣 Toronto Taiko Festival full festival registration spots are already 50% sold out! 📣 Friday Aug 7: Taiko Roots: Short Films Screening + Keynote by PJ & Roy Hirabayashi Saturday Aug 8: Public Workshops + Bang On! Taiko Concert Sunday Aug 9: Public Workshops Taking place August 7-9th at Randolph College for the Performing Arts (736 Bathurst St), this year’s festival theme is FINDING OUR SOUND: People who play taiko have different histories, experiences, identities, and commitments. Yet, the resonance of the drums builds bridges for connection. Finding Our Sound is about the music we can make when we honour our own stories and let those of others inspire us to turn towards each other. This year’s festival amplifies taiko as not only a way to drum, but also a way to listen, share, and build more resilient and interconnected communities. ⭐ Ft Workshops by... Ame no Ato Carley Okamura Hiroshi Koshiyama Justin Plummer Margaret McKenty Mathew Jacqmin-Kramer & Eien Hunter-Ishikawa (Shishimai Kai Toronto) Noriko Kobayashi PJ Hirabayashi Wy Joung Kou Young Park Yurika Chiba TTF welcomes participation from beginners (including those who are brand new to taiko) and seasoned drummers alike. Register now at ! TTF2026 is gratefully funded by the @ontarioartscouncil @torontoartscouncil and @cdn.heritage #torontotaikofestival #torontomusic #livemusic #taiko #torontoconcerts

🔥 TTF returns August 7-9! 🔥 Toronto Taiko Festival 2026 will take over Randolph College for the Performing Arts (736 Bathurst St) for 3 action packed days of taiko events! This year’s festival amplifies taiko as not only a way to drum, but also a way to listen, share, and build more resilient and interconnected communities. Featuring public workshops, a vibrant festival concert, film screenings and more, TTF is an intimate gathering with curated programs that share the joy and power of taiko for community building and self-empowerment at all levels of experience. 🎟️ Full festival registration and event ticket sales are now live at TorontoTaikoFestival.org ! TTF2026 is gratefully funded by the @ontarioartscouncil @torontoartscouncil and @cdn.heritage #torontotaikofestival #torontomusic #livemusic #taiko #torontoconcerts

Join RAW Artistic Director Young Park this Saturday April 25th (4-7pm) for our next Butoh & Taiko workshop at Studio RAW! This workshop will guide participants through an exploration of the internal worlds and senses of the body to generate taiko movement and sound, expressed using principles of Butoh. Butoh is a Japanese dance-theatre art form with a particular sensibility of embodying time, stillness, and uncovering emotion. Butoh and kumi-daiko (ensemble taiko) emerged around the same time period in post-war 1950s & 60s and in both forms, originators were seeking to stretch out of the understood and the traditional. "Butoh is a response to some connection or emotional place inside the mover, who creates the external form" (Sara Zalek). Using Butoh movement exercises, workshop participants will explore and experience their individual physical and emotional journey to the drums. Pre-requisite: Foundation of prior movement experience (sports, martial arts, dance, yoga, theatre, etc.) recommended. No taiko experience required. Cost: Sliding Scale $30-$50 + HST Register at www.rawtaiko.ca/learntaiko ! Our last spring Butoh & Taiko session will take place on May 30th, same time same place! Pre-registration for that session is also open - scroll to the May date on our booking page to register for it in advance. ID: promotional image for the workshop featuring a photo of Young in a white flowy dress, standing on dark stage and gesturing towards a large drum with a drumstick.

Join us on Saturday, June 20 at 6pm to enjoy the powerful drumming of RAW Taiko @rawtaiko . Catch this performance on the grass in front of the Main Stage. RAW Taiko, founded in 1998 and formerly known as Raging Asian Women Taiko Drummers, is an artist-run Toronto-based performing arts organization made up of East and Southeast Asian women and gender non-conforming drummers. We carry on the diasporic Taiko tradition that grew out of Asian American and Asian Canadian participation in gender and racial justice movements in the 60s and 70s. One of the few taiko drumming groups of its kind in the world, RAW Taiko exists as a critical response and challenge to both systemic and internalized oppressions. RAW Taiko plays large drums as creative resistance for social change, carving space for self-expression, education and community building. We thank the support of Sumac Centre! The Skeleton Park Arts Festival runs June 19 - 21, 2026 in McBurney Park, just north of downtown Kingston. All SPAF programming is Free admission! Full lineup coming soon… 🎸 #SPAF #skeletonparkartsfest #womeninmusic #ygkfest2026

Meet the 2026 Cohort for the Taiko in Canada: Leaders Convening! The Leaders Convening will bring together a cohort of 12 taiko leaders from across Canada to exchange knowledge, foster artistry, nurture collaboration and learn together with a focus on access, equity, and social justice in taiko arts within Canada. Joining the cohort are: Miyuki Black (Raiden Kids Taiko - Kamloops BC) Noriko Kobayashi (Onibana Taiko, Canada Miyake Taiko Kai, Vancouver Hachijo Kai - Vancouver BC) Jackie Steele (Uzume Taiko - Vancouver BC) Margaret McKenty (Hinode Taiko - Winnipeg MB) Hiroshi Koshiyama (Fubuki Daiko - Winnipeg MB) Carley Okamura (Kita no Taiko - Edmonton AB) James Bykowy (Living Sky Taiko - Saskatoon SK) Justin Plummer (JCCC Kyowa Taiko - Toronto ON) Valerie Hongoh (Ame no Ato - Montreal QC) Mikio Owaki (Arashi Taiko - Montreal QC) Yoko Oda (Yukon Taiko - Whitehorse YT) Nancy Mullick (SkyFire Taiko - Yellowknife NTW) You can learn more about each of these artists by visiting /TCLC (pssst... as the convening takes place in the days preceding TTF 2026, many of these leaders will stick around to teach at the festival! Official announcements coming soon!) ID: Photo carousel introducing all 12 artists listed above by name, location, affiliated group/s and headshot/artist photo.

AK-GA-MU The Korean Traditions is a celebration of Korean song, music and dance taking place May 2nd 8pm at the Isabel Bader Theatre. Three of the four performers are past RAW collaborators! Let’s show some love and support! Ticket link in @akgamu.ca bio. See you there! 🎵❤️

International Day of Pink is a worldwide event against bullying, homophobia and transphobia. Harbord Taiko Club was asked to perform for the opening of their Day of Pink Assembly on Wednesday and did a fantastic job of setting a loud and powerful tone for the day. One of our club members also spoke later on in the assembly about their personal hopes for a world that loves and cares for trans people, and we couldn’t agree more with them. RAW is proud to play taiko with such an amazing group of young drummers and powerful advocates! ❤️‍🔥🏳️‍⚧️ @hci.taiko ID: 1) students huddle around a taiko and all place their drumsticks around the edge of the drum. In the centre, against pink lighting cast onto the drum head, there is the shadow of someone’s hand holding a peace sign. 2) a pride flag is draped across the ledge of the auditorium stage. On stage are large taiko, and on the floor below the stage are a bunch of pink balloons. 3) RAW member takes a mirror type selfie in a reflective helium balloon, nestled among a handful of pink helium balloons. Seen faintly in the background of the selfie reflection are student drummers preparing for performance.

What’s new with RAW? 💫 Toronto Taiko Festival 2026: Save the date for August 7-9th! Exclusive to our newsletter subscribers, advance registration goes on sale in April. If you’re not a newsletter subscriber, hit the link in our bio to become one now! 💫 Taiko in Canada - Leaders Convening: we’re bringing together a dozen taiko leaders from across Canada to foster artistry, nurture collaboration, and lay the foundations for more explorations and connections within taiko in Canada in the future. Public cohort announcement coming soon! 💫 RAW Apprenticeship Auditions: Auditions take place Sunday April 12 and are open to anyone over the age of 25 who has East Asian or Southeast Asian ancestry and who identifies as a woman or gender non-conforming person. Apply by Sunday March 29th. 💫 Spring Courses: Beginner Beta, Intermediate Naname, Butoh & Taiko, Self-Defence Drop-in… we have offerings for a range of skill levels and interests this spring at Studio RAW! Learn more at rawtaiko.ca/learntaiko RAW gratefully acknowledges operational funding from the Ontario Arts Council for making all of the above possible! @ontarioartscouncil Photo by John T Lee ID: 7 drummers on dramatically lit theatre stage wearing all black. They leap into the air around taiko set up in a circular formation and look down towards the drums, ready to strike. Ontario Arts Council and Government of Ontario logos are placed below the image.

SPRING is soon arriving at Studio RAW! Registration is now open for the following programs: 🌷 Beta Fundamentals Course - 10 session Thursday course begins April 23. Lead Co-Instructors: AQ & Cia (RAW Members) **Great for new and returning beginner level drummers** 🌷 Butoh & Taiko Workshops - multiple new 3hr workshop dates to choose from (or sign up for them all!) March 28, April 25, and May 30. Lead Instructor: Young (RAW Artistic Director) **Prior movement experience (sports, martial arts, dance, theatre, etc) recommended. No taiko experience required** 🌷 Intermediate Naname: OMIYAGE Repertoire Course - 10 session Tuesday course begins April 21. Lead Instructor: Wy-J (RAW Member) **Prior taiko experience recommended** The following drop-in programs (online registration required) also continue to be offered at the studio: 🌱 Self-Defence Drop-In - Weekly Saturdays 2-3:30pm. Beginner friendly. Lead Instructor: Sifu Suzuki (RAW Community Group Member) 🌱 Miyake Drop-In - 4th Friday of every month 6:30-8pm. Prior miyake experience required. Lead Instructor: Wy-J (RAW Member) Register now at rawtaiko.ca/learntaiko ! ID: carousel of promotional graphics for spring programs at Studio RAW feature images of taiko in a variety of playing styles, and key details as noted for the above noted offerings.

Funds from @c1foundation enabled RAW to offer free taiko programming to queer folks over 50 last year, and now we are gearing up for special workshops with 8 different 2SLGBTQ+ TDSB student clubs! Here we are set-up for one of the first few workshops with our fleet of @mokustudio.to hiradaiko, which has greatly increased our ability to provide off-site programming for larger groups. We installed the skins on these drums ourselves with support from our Community Group members in July 2024 and they sound awesome reverberating through school halls! 🔥 💌 If you want to support the continuation of initiatives serving intergenerational queer communities in RAW's future, consider donating via our Canada Helps page (link in bio)! ID: Wy-J, RAW Member, stands and poses with arms crossed in a large open room, surrounded by 15 taiko, ready for students' arrival.

Back in January we cancelled drop in due to weather but are back THIS FRIDAY with our first Miyake drop in of 2026! Miyake Drop-In sessions provide an opportunity to play Miyake together while honing in on form, stamina, and musicality in the style of RAW Taiko. **Prior Miyake taiko experience (any style) is required.** Drop in occurs every 4th Friday of the month Lead instructor: Wy-J (RAW Member) Sign up at rawtaiko.ca/learntaiko !

RAW is holding auditions for our apprenticeship program on April 12th from 3:30-5:30pm, in person at Studio RAW (1220 Dupont St). Our 2-year apprenticeship program provides an opportunity to get to know RAW Taiko from the perspective of our performing members, to train intensively in taiko as played by RAW, and for RAW to assess future fit of apprentices for our Performing Ensemble. Interested in learning more about the program? Join us for the auditions! Audition Requirements: - Auditions are open to anyone over the age of 25 who has East Asian or Southeast Asian ancestry and who identifies as a woman or gender non-conforming person. - Music and/or dance background is an asset, but not required. - Call-backs will take place on April 19th. - Auditions will be capped at 20 attendees, on a first come first serve basis (save your spot by filling out our online application form). Please note Studio RAW is a masked space. If you would like to audition, please fill out the application form (linked in our bio) no later than March 29th. ID: promo graphic for auditions feature an image of RAW drummers on a dark theatre stage, drumming in a V formation. 6 drummers extend an arm and drumstick straight up above their heads, one drummer in the centre of the V strikes her drum, and two players in the back play a taiko drum set.