The West Midlands Taiko Centre is a joint project between Haberdashers’ Adams Grammar School in Newport and James Barrow of Taiko West, who is based in south Shropshire. We run monthly weekend adult classes for Beginners & Non-beginners at the school.
James is a pioneer of Japanese Drumming in the UK, having studied Taiko in Hiroshima in the late 1980s, setting up the UK’s first traditional Taiko group (’93) and first adult courses (‘95), as well as performing with renowned London-based Taiko player & multi percussionist Joji Hirota.
He has been teaching Taiko Drumming full time for nearly 25 years. The “taiko champion” at the school is Malcolm Brown, who also runs the school’s Junior & Senior Taiko groups. Malcolm and James’ Taiko collaboration across Shropshire goes back to 1999.
The Centre, based in the Music Department at Adams Grammar School, hosts the annual Midlands Taiko Day as well as the first UK Taiko Baka residential courses, led by the renowned North American Taiko player Tiffany Tamaribuchi.
In 2022 we also hosted the first ever gathering of Roland Taiko-01 Electronic Taiko drum enthusiasts, and we will also be hosting our first ever November Taiko night on Nov 12th. Come and join us! For information admin@taikowest.com
