Kaoru Watanabe

Kaoru was born in St. Louis, MO to symphony musician parents, Ayako and Haruka Watanabe. In 1997, after graduating from the Manhattan School of Music with a BFA in jazz flute and saxophone performance, Kaoru moved to Sado Island, Japan in order to join the iconic and hugely influential taiko group Kodo. Kaoru was selected to join the company after a two year apprenticeship, which included a daily regiment of six mile runs and five to eight hours of practice in taiko, folk dance and song, various fue, tea ceremony, Noh and Kyogen theater, farming and woodworking. With Kodo, Kaoru toured in Japan, North America and Europe, performing in such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Barbican and Kabukiza. From 2005 to 2007, Kaoru served as one of Kodo's artistic directors, focussing on their world music festival Earth Celebration which featured such luminaries as Zakir Hussain, Giovanni Hildago, Yosuke Yamashita and Tamango. Kaoru's compositions can be heard on Kodo albums Mondo Head, Prism Rhythm and One Earth Tour Special on Sony Records. In late 2006, Kaoru left Kodo and returned to NY to teach and continue performing in a diverse array of musical and artistic settings, whether in collaboration with Alicia Hall Moran at the Whitney Museum, performing fue with singer Imani Uzuri and dancer Camille Brown at New York's Summerstage, or creating a soundscape for an installation by ceramic and video artist Simone Leigh. Recent projects have taken him across the globe to such places as Mongolia, French Guiana, Argentina and the Caribbean and have received support from the Japan Foundation and Asian Cultural Council. As an educator, Kaoru teaches workshops and masterclasses internationally, courses at Princeton and Wesleyan University and regular classes at his own studio, the Kaoru Watanabe Taiko Center in Brooklyn. Kaoru's fue are provided by master flute maker Ranjo of Chiba Prefecture in Japan.