Anyone who has seen a Taiko performance knows what a powerful, visceral experience it is.  It is for good reason that this form of Japanese ensemble drumming has become popular across the world, even carving out a home for itself in Southern Arizona for the past two decades!  Taiko groups have played on the Fox Theatre’s stage for years now, including the upcoming performance by hugely influential San Jose Taiko.  Join us at the Fox or on Zoom for a fascinating conversation about Taiko and how it came to Arizona, with someone who has consistently been at the heart of Taiko in Tucson.  Please register above.

Karen Falkenstrom is co-founder and Director of Odaiko Sonora. She has studied with numerous taiko masters, including Fox artists Shidara and San Jose Taiko. Karen is a member of Jodaiko and the North American Kasuga Onigumi international groups. A 37-year veteran of nonprofit arts, Karen’s honors include YWCA Woman on the Move (2008), Pan Asian Community Alliance Woman of the Year, the prestigious Arizona Arts Award (2009), Tucson Pima Arts and Business “Lumie,” (2014), and a 2015 ACA Artist Research & Development Grant. Karen is Odaiko Sonora’s lead drum builder, honored this year through a Southwest Folklife Alliance Master/Apprentice Fellowship.