On January 12 at 4:00 p.m., Shepherd of the Hills Presents Taiko Drumming Folk Music Artist and Singer/Songwriter Ken Koshio.
Donations in lieu of admission fee will be gratefully accepted.
Ken Koshio was born in Nagoya, Japan. As a singer and songwriter, he brings his wish for hope and new beginnings to the people of his adopted country, the United States, since 1998. He was a folk rock musician in Los Angeles for 7 years. After 9-11-2001, Ken felt a need to bring some measure of comfort to people affected by the Twin Towers tragedy. This wish translated itself into the Thousand Cranes Tour, which culminated in a concert at Ground Zero on the one-year anniversary. He brought 10,000 origami cranes that American people folded on the road from LA to NY on old route 66, as prayers for a better, more peaceful world!
In 2004, he moved to Phoenix and he started to play Japanese music more. Because he identified himself as Japanese in his spirit, and since he met many people in the US who admired Japanese culture, and arts, he blended his own culture with his Rock’n Roll career. Beating taiko for the first time in Phoenix he realized this tradition was in his DNA. It has brought him to be the multi-faceted performer he is now.
He has WA arts and music classes (Japanese traditions) in his dojo (studio) and goes to many public schools in Arizona to share Japanese culture with younger generations using origami, calligraphy, folk tales, folk music, taiko, and other Japanese instruments.
Ken works with a group of Native American artists collaborating with their dance, music, drumming and singing. He tours Japan with several Native American artists to create new exchanges in this global age (Being part of Native Trail directed by six times world champion hoop dancer Derrick Suwaima Davis, collaboration with Derrick and Ryon Polequaptewa as Hopi to WA etc).
His talents are not limited to music but include creating stage shows, events and projects to facilitate understanding of cultural perspectives (Thousand Cranes Tour since 2002, Hiroshima Calling since 2008, Sakura no Ne since 2012 etc). We know that music and art are one of the great tools to communicate between cultures and languages. In 2013 Ken went to India to be a special guest of a world music orchestra, which set a Guinness World Record.
Obtained a certified teaching license of Hiroshima Jidaiko(indigenous Taiko drum) from the Hiroshima Preservation Society. Ken Koshio is the first person who are in outside of Japan with this license. Ken trained by his master, Mr. Munakata who is a survivor of Hiroshima bombing.
Ken strives his mission in order to expand and pass Mr. Munakata’s knowledge and experiences about HIROSHIMA by preserving their ancient taiko rhyme for peaceful world.
He also received Music Artist, Mayor’s Arts Awards 2015 in 2015. Nominated to Governor’s Arts Award 2016, Artist Category. His art and music can reach all over the world from now on.
2020 is towards new decade of his new journey of peace!
