| 18th Annual Taiko Festival Affirms the Quality of Community at PBA Dear readers of the What's New, I knew the stage at the Moanalua Performing Arts Center would be full. That was the purpose – to fill the stage with every living, breathing, Soran Bushi-dancing student our school could muster for the 18th Annual Taiko Festival held on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2024. | What I didn’t realize until the moment all of those students took the stage at 2:15 p.m., a mere hour and 45 minutes before the actual program began, was just how crowded the stage would be. Garbed in happi coats, kneeling in seiza, heads bowed forward, waiting for the cue to leap to their feet, they barely fit, even with some 10 of them crouched on the risers at the back of the stage. But crowded as it was, I was thrilled to see them arrayed as they were elbow to elbow, ready to dance. I was thrilled also with our decision to engage the incredible audio | 
| | engineering team at Rhythm and Roots Records led by musician and engineer Chris Lau. He made certain our focus remained squarely on the performers, so that, with the support of the staff at the Moanalua Performing Arts Center, Rhythm and Roots, and ‘Ōlelo Community Media, our student drummers, musicians, and dancers had their performances amplified and recorded without concern for technical issues arising. For me, there were many highlights at this year’s Taiko Festival. The performance of the Soran Bushi was clearly one of them. I had invested significant political capital in urging the administrators, teachers, choreographer, and students to stay the course preparing for the dance by linking it with the lore of the school as a measuring stick for the school community.
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| The opportunity to co-emcee with PBA senior Angelina Ka‘ai was a rare treat. Angelina did not continue with the PBA Rock Band in her senior year, but she’s a great vocalist and has a real presence at the microphone, so the opportunity to feature her in front of the awesome Taiko Festival audience cast the school in a beautiful light. Watching the contributions of PBA alumni really touched my heart this year also. Obviously, we are indebted to the wonderful performances of young alumni like Chihiro | | Okawa and Tani Oshita for their compositions and performances both. Those two were joined by elder statesman alumni Zachary Agcaoili and Rev. Blayne Nakasone Sakata for “Miyake,” drumming with as much force as when they were students at PBA. (Rev. Blayne also composed “Ukiyo,” but both acknowledged they weren’t quite as flexible as during their high school years!)
I was also very pleased with the front of the house contributions from alumna Tayne Furuta and the back of the house support offered by alumni Kyle Kawabata and Chris Date. They weren’t on the stage performing with us, but having them for the show they were all part of as students made it special to welcome them back. | | The highlight, for me, is watching the members of the senior class perform. For 18 straight years, even the COVID years, the Taiko Festival kicks off the last laps with the members of the PBA senior class. Watching the drumming by Jenny Chang, Mari Miyasato, and Leilani Chang blew me away, their power and grace and the maturity of their musicianship. Listening to how much the talents of Rock Band musicians Jaden Peckham and Mone Sugimoto have evolved amazed me, not to mention the solo piano | 
| | performance by Lycan De Vol as the lead-in to Soran Bushi. When I close my eyes, I can see clearly imprinted the final moment of that dance, when the Senior Class of 2024 assembled in the center of the stage – Leilani Chang and Mari Miyasato executing simple cartwheels down center, Rintaro Kawai held aloft on the shoulders of Vance Maruya and James Robinson behind them, and the balance basking in the applause of the 575-strong audience and PBA Sangha.
We near the end of our time with the Senior Class of 2024, and this perfect program, our 18th Annual Taiko Festival, the unrepeatable moments with them and all of you, the memory of those moments won’t soon leave me. They were a fitting opening to the commencement season, as we prepare them to leave us, and prepare ourselves to celebrate our time with them.
| | The spirit of the Taiko Festival resonates thanks to the unwavering dedication of our faculty, parents, students, and generous supporters like yourself. We are truly honored to recognize and express our heartfelt gratitude to all our sponsors for their pivotal role in making this year’s festival an unforgettable experience! | | OFFICE HOURS
7:30AM - 5:00PM
April 12 - 8:00am - 3:00pm Teacher-In Service Day | | |
