Dr. Kiyoshi Nagata

Biography

Kiyoshi Nagata is the founder and artistic director of Nagata Shachu, Canada's preeminent professional taiko group, formed in 1998. He has led the ensemble on tours across North America and Italy, in addition to major engagements in Lebanon and Mexico. As a performer, Kiyoshi has collaborated with both local and international artists as part of the group's annual three-concert season. His original compositions have been featured in the ensemble's numerous CDs and DVDs. With a taiko career spanning four decades, Kiyoshi served as the artistic director and performer for Toronto Suwa Daiko from 1982 to 1992, having the privilege of studying under taiko pioneer Grandmaster Daihachi Oguchi. Between 1993 and 1994, he apprenticed with the world-renowned Kodo drummers on Sado Island. Benefiting from the Chalmers Performing Arts Training Grant in 1999, Kiyoshi studied percussion with Paul Houle at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. He has taught taiko at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music since 1998 and taught a public taiko course at the Royal Conservatory of Music from 2003 to 2011, helping to found community taiko groups in Burlington and Toronto. Kiyoshi is regularly invited by universities and taiko groups to present workshops and lectures. As a solo artist, he has composed and performed taiko music for dance, theatre, film, and radio, and he continues to collaborate with artists across various genres of music, including traditional Japanese instrumentalists.

Research Interests