Imagine Concert Brings Taiko Drumming to Local Students

If you were near downtown Ojai on March 25, you may have heard the thundering sound of drumming coming from Libbey Park. That sound was traditional Japanese drumming performed by Ojai O’Daiko Taiko Drumming during the Imagine Concert, presented by Ojai Music Festivals and Ojai Valley School. Nearly 800 students in grades 4-6 attended the outdoor concert that featured giant drums, complex rhythms, and powerful performances by six musicians. Ojai O’Daiko was founded in 2017 to preserve and teach the art of Japanese taiko drumming as well as provide opportunities to advance cultural awareness through performance. OVS alumna and Professor Emeritus of Ethnomusicology Barbara B. Smith (L35) shared those same goals. Professor Smith created an endowment in 1998 to provide enduring support for OVS students to experience and appreciate live musical performances of non-Western music. In recent years, and for the foreseeable future, OVS has partnered with Ojai Music Festivals to bring non-Western musical performances to a broader audience of students by hosting the Imagine Concerts, first at the Greenberg Center at Lower Campus and this year at Libbey Bowl.