MUGENKYO
Limitless Reverberation
Following the Way of the Drum
Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers are the UK's longest established taiko ensemble, and Europe's only professional touring company of this thrilling & energetic performing art. With over 1,000 performances across the UK, Japan & Europe over the last decade, Mugenkyo have established a solid reputation for their gritty passionate style, setting themselves firmly at the forefront of Taiko drumming on this continent through their rigorous touring.
Mugenkyo's main work is touring a full-length theatre concert, performing at prestigious venues including London Queen Elizabeth Hall, Gateshead Sage, Cardiff St. David's Hall, Nottingham Royal Concert Hall, Brighton Theatre Royal, Glasgow Pavilion Theatre, and the Edinburgh Usher Hall amongst others. The group also perform on outdoor stages at a wide variety of music festivals, produce commissions for large-scale multi-media events, have released a range of CDs & DVDs, and have appeared on television programmes such as the Brit Awards & BBC Last Night of the Proms.
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Mugenkyo present taiko as a modern & theatrical performing art, with precise choreography, dramatic lighting, and a variety of costumes ranging from the post-apocalyptic industrial to gorgeous earthy silks. The concert is extremely diverse: powerful rhythms on an array of instruments from small hand-held drums to the thunderous reverberations of the huge Odaiko big drum, delicate bamboo flute, soulful voice, layers of percussive soundscapes, and innovative dance tightly integrated with the taiko drums.
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Mugenkyo forge a new musical path, developing the genre in new directions with both their own concert performance & their wide-ranging artistic collaborations, truly living up to their name "limitless reverberation".
Mugenkyo was established in 1994 by Neil Mackie & Miyuki Williams, on their return to the UK following two years of rigorous training in Japan with Masaaki Kurumaya Sensei, the premiere taiko master of the Hokuriku style. From small beginnings, Mugenkyo have grown to become the most influential taiko organisation in the UK through their performances & teaching work, helping to establish the beginnings of a blossoming taiko community across the country.
Mugenkyo relocated from their original base in London to the Scottish countryside in 1998, where they founded the UK's first Centre for Taiko Drumming, the Mugen Taiko Dojo. Here they run an extensive training programme, including residential workshops for members of the public, masterclasses for percussionists & taiko players, as well as educational outreach for pupils of all ages & abilities.
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Through the Mugen Taiko Dojo, the group seek to preserve & share the traditions of taiko, develop strong foundations in taiko technique, as well as to nurture the development of a contemporary form of Taiko, moving ever forward on the path of the "Way of the Drum".
