Hi all:
While catching up on Facebook as a way to stay awake after getting back from Japan last night, I read some sad news about our newest member, Aki Takahashi. In addition to having her own folk group (TenTen Canada, Aki has long been the co-artistic director of Canada’s premier taiko group, Nagata Shachu, along with my friend Kiyoshi Nagata. Some of you may already know their work. Taken from FB postings:
The sad news is that, at a recent gig at the Toronto Congress Centre, Nagata Shachu had some drums, flutes, and equipment stolen. These were expensive drums from Japan, and without them, the group is now at somewhat of a standstill, since they can’t perform their gigs!
昨夜、太鼓と数々の楽器やバチが盗まれました。公演先の駐車上に泊めていたバンの鍵がこじあけられケースごと無くなっていました。締太鼓や鳴り物がインターネット上で私的に売られているなどの情報がありましたら、どうかご一報ください。よろしくお願いいたします。
永田社中一同より
I also discovered tonight that Nagata Shachuu has started an Indiego campaign to try and cover their costs of replacing all their stuff (because the insurance they had is covering only the smallest amount…). If anyone is interested in helping out people who have made taiko their life’s work, please check it out at
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-replace-nagata-shachu-s-stolen-taiko-drums.
If you see or hear of any taiko equipment being sold, advertised online, etc., please contact the group at (416) 651-4227 / taiko@kiyoshinagata.com. I am posting this to any sites I deal with that involve hogaku people. If you can do likewise, maybe there can be a happier ending to this story than there is now. Thanks in advance on their behalf!