Mark H Rooney: Taiko, the Art of Japanese Drumming

This was the best music assembly we’ve ever had! Mark was educational, engaging, and highly entertaining!!

– Cultural Arts, The Odyssey School

Mark H. Rooney was amazing. He intrigued all of our students and enlightened the audience with history and instrumental knowledge.

– Assistant Head of Lower School and Counselor, Sandy Spring Friends School

Mark H. Rooney was wonderful. Our students were fully engaged and enjoyed the program very much. We received a lot of positive feedback about this cultural arts assembly. Thanks Mark and thank you Artivate!

– PTSA President, Southwest Academy Magnet School for Science and Engineering (BCPS)

Mark did a wonderful job engaging the audience. He has fascinating skills and artistry.

– Branch Manager, Calvert Library

From start to finish, Mark captivates his audience. He is not only highly-energetic and engaging, but super knowledgeable in his craft. Mark makes you want to become a master at taiko and has everyone loving it just the same.

– Tara Villanueva, Carlos Rosario School Arts Programs Coordinator

Mark H Rooney has been a taiko student, teacher, performer and collaborator for the past 18 years all around the U.S., Japan, and Europe. Mark’s particular emphasis on “connection” and high-energy teaching style appeals to audiences of all ages.

Artist’s website: Mark H Rooney: Taiko Instructor & Performer

Virtual program options may be available – contact us for more information.

Performance:

An Introduction to Taiko, the Art of Japanese Drumming

This interactive program features the performance of both traditional and contemporary songs and rhythms and explores the instruments, the use of one’s voice in taiko, and a bit of history and Japanese vocabulary, as well. Performances include the chance for volunteers to get up and try their hand at playing these BIG drums! (Grades 3-12, Adults)

Single $575/Back-to-Back $725

Fees are for daytime school programs in Maryland, Washington, DC and Northern Virginia only.

Evening, weekend, and non-school fees differ – please contact us.

Additional travel fees apply.

Workshop:

Introductory Taiko Workshop

With an emphasis on listening skills and a focus on fundamentals, this workshop introduces the basic techniques for getting a large sound with efficient movement, the practice of drumming as a community and the traditional way to learn taiko music – all centered around the key principals of respect and connection. (Grades 3-12, Adults)

Single Workshop $300/Two Workshops $450/Three Workshops $550

Add a Workshop to a Performance for $150

Fees are for daytime school programs in Maryland, Washington, DC and Northern Virginia only.

Evening, weekend, and non-school fees differ – please contact us.

Additional travel fees apply.

More Details
Request a Program

Audience, Elementary School, Middle School, High School, Children & Families

Art Forms, Music

Program Type, Performance, Workshop, Residency

Curriculum/Theme, Language Arts, Social Studies, STEM, World Languages, Character/SEL

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MISSION

Artivate engages communities to create interactive arts experiences that inspire learning.

We offer arts-based learning to motivate and invite audiences to participate through performances and workshops representing a wide range of artistic disciplines and cultural traditions in order to captivate the imagination and activate human potential. Through our focus on education, we enable access to the arts for all, particularly under-resourced communities, throughout Maryland, the District of Columbia, and northern Virginia.

HISTORY

Artivate was established in 1995 as Class Acts Arts, the educational outreach arm of the Institute of Musical Traditions, a Maryland non-profit focused on presenting concerts which preserve and promote American and international folk traditions. Founded by community arts activist, Busy Graham, Class Acts Arts served roughly 25,000 students and teachers with 80 school programs that first year, working with seven touring artists: dancers, storytellers and musicians. Now 25 years later, Artivate facilitates an average of 1,300 programs a year, reaching more than 200,000 children, teens and families at 250 sites across the Greater Washington, DC area, providing programs for libraries, community organizations, local theaters, town festivals, and correctional facilities, as well as schools. Designed in response to a demand for high quality, ethnically diverse cultural arts programs in schools, our roster has expanded to over 32 solo or ensemble artists, one-third of whom tour nationally, and now includes theater and visual arts. Many of the artists embody their cultural heritage, including artists from Argentina, Ecuador, India, Egypt, Ghana, Ukraine, and Quebec. In addition to our partnerships with dozens of professional artists and public and private schools, we collaborate with other arts education organizations and presenters such as Smithsonian Associates, Wolf Trap National Park for Performing Arts, Hylton Performing Arts Center, M-NCPPC’s Publick Playhouse, and other local theaters to develop programming and supplement tours.

In 2000, founder Graham designed and launched Project Youth ArtReach (PYA). Initially created to address the benefit of expressive outlets for incarcerated youth, PYA has grown from one detention site with only a handful of workshops to more than 300 programs per year at some six sites annually, and now engages detained men and women as well as teens. In addition to educational workshops in visual, literary and performing arts, we provide a variety of performances (20-25 per year) for larger groups inside some detention sites. Working with the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, and The Choice Program of the Shriver Center at UMBC, Project Youth ArtReach has received local and national recognition for its excellent curriculum and meaningful impact.

Mark H Rooney: Taiko, the Art of Japanese Drumming

VISION

MISSION

HISTORY