Eitetsu Hayashi
After 11 years of performing in a group, Eitetsu started performing solo in 1982. In 1984, he debuted at Carnegie Hall as the first Japanese taiko drum soloist and gained international acclaim. In 2000, he performed with the Berlin Philharmonic in Waldbühne, Germany, and overwhelmed an audience of over 20,000. Since then, he has performed with many symphony orchestras and artists of different genres worldwide.
Eitetsu has pioneered the field of traditionally unprecedented taiko solos, including the Odaiko solo techniques and the creation of original techniques using a set of multiple taiko drums. He has developed a new genre of "Taiko Music" to be transmitted from Japan to the world, and is active in Japan and overseas. In 2018, he performed 6 concerts in 4 cities in the Japan-Canada Friendship 90th Anniversary Tour in Canada and in October performed in the official performance of the Japan-France Friendship 160th Anniversary Japan Expo “Japonisum 2018”. This year, he worked for production and recording as a concept video production staff for the “Tokyo 2020 NIPPON Festival”.
Eitetsu contributes to a large number of large-scale dispatches for introducing Japanese drum music and culture for each International Friendship and Exchange Year for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Relations Foundation, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
He has authored many publications, including the newly refurbished version of "Ashitano Taiko Uchie" (Hatori Shoten), autobiography "Taiko Hizuki-Dokuso no Kiseki" (Kodansha), and many other articles in journals and magazines. He has received the 1997 Minister of Education Prize for Arts and Culture, the 2001 Japan Traditional Culture Promotion Award, and the 2017 Matsuo Entertainment Awards.
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