Odaiko New England (ONE) was founded in 1994 by Elaine Fong and a group of individuals with a common love of taiko. In the early days, they drummed on old, taped up tires and taiko borrowed from the New York City-based taiko group, Soh Daiko. Its first rehearsal space was in the basement of a church in Brookline. For three years, ONE was akin to a “gypsy” taiko group, rehearsing in at least seven different locations, finally settling in 1997 in its present space, the ACAS Center in Woburn.

With Japanese taiko drums being prohibitively expensive ($5,000 for a medium-sized taiko), ONE followed in the footsteps of fellow North American taiko groups, and made its own taiko from California oak wine barrels. To this day, ONE still makes some of its taiko.

Odaiko New England’s very first concert was in 1996 at the Cambridge Multicultural Art Center (CMAC). Since then, we have performed throughout the New England area at festivals, universities, corporations, and special events. As a roster artist of Young Audiences of Massachusetts, Odaiko New England presents a dynamic taiko program to K-12 students, reaching over 15,000 students last year. The powerful voice of the taiko is a striking example of the use of the arts to inspire, inform, and educate.

In addition to performances, Odaiko New England is dedicated and committed to teaching taiko. It has weekly adult and children’s taiko classes, and conducts community and corporate workshops. Our schedule of activities continues to grow – in 2007, Odaiko New England presented 200+ teaching and performing activities.