Joji Hirota

Born in Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan, Joji Hirota was a student at the Kyoto Arts University where he studied traditional Japanese percussion and drumming. He found a route to Europe through the Red Buddha theatre who encouraged the young percussionist to pursue a career outside Japan. After settling in London he joined the The Lindsay Kemp Dance Co as a percussionist and later went on to become the company's musical director. After writing the score for their production of 'Onnagata' (in which Hirota also performed), the dance group won the Time Out Award for the best dance company. In the early 1980's, Hirota founded the London Taiko Drummers, an ensemble which is held in high regard by aficionados of Japanese traditional and contemporary Taiko drumming. The group have performed at many events and festivals worldwide and have been a popular attraction at UK events. Hirota went on to form the trio Trisan with Guo Yue and Pol Brennan in 1991 and subsequently toured North America, Europe and Japan receiving very positive reviews for their stage show. The group are also strongly supported by the Japanese Governments arts agencies who arranged appearances for the group in Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates as part of an initiative to promote Japanese culture to the Middle East.

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