vlad.tribnet.com / Issue #541 / Arts and Ideas / Reading article...

A group of Japanese drum players ‘Kodo’ will perform at Vladivostok’s Musical College together with Russian musicians on October 30.

The program of the performance will also include an informal after-concert discussion between the musicians and the audience. Questions and suggestions are welcome, the organizers say.

On October 31 ‘Kodo’ will deliver a performance in Vladivostok’s Fleet Officers Hall. The tickets can be obtained at the Hall’s box office.

Exploring the limitless possibilities of the traditional Japanese drum, the taiko, Kodo are forging new directions for a vibrant living art-form, the drummers’ site www. http://www.kodo.or.jp said. According to the site, in the Japanese language the word "Kodo" conveys two meanings: Firstly, "heartbeat" the primal source of all rhythm.

The sound of the great taiko is said to resemble a mother's heartbeat as it is felt in the womb, and it is no myth that babies are often lulled to sleep by its thunderous vibrations. Secondly, read in a different way, the word can mean "children of the drum," a reflection of Kodo's desire to play their drums simply, with the heart of a child.

Since their debut at the Berlin Festival in 1981, Kodo has given over 2,900 performances on all five continents, spending about a third of the year overseas, a third touring in Japan and a third resting and preparing new material on Sado Island, the site said.