Taiko Kai's third annual Spring Concert aims to provide a cultural and educational experience for individuals of all backgrounds through musical performance. Taiko Kai at the University of Washington is a Japanese drumming club that was founded in 2013. Led by students, the club teaches individuals how to play and perform taiko (drums) and various narimono (percussion). The club has grown into a 30-member performing ensemble and is one of the only groups on campus to perform Japanese art. Because of its ever-increasing size and musical ability, Taiko Kai saw the need to put on their first spring concert in 2017. This year, Taiko Kai is continuing the tradition with its third annual Spring Concert. The main goal of our Spring Concert is not just showcasing taiko skills that members have learned this year, but creating an opportunity for members to plan and participate in a formal performance that will share Asian cultures with UW students and the general public. With so many members, it is difficult to involve all of them without a performance of this scale, making this event a vital part of keeping members engaged with learning the art form.

Taiko Kai has decided to bring some focus to environmental sustainability with our event this year. Each year, we advertise to the student body, and this year will be no different. However, we will be using some strategies to try to lessen our environmental impact. Our biggest change will be the introduction of a digital program. We will still have some physical copies of the program at the event, but we will strongly encourage people to view the program on their phones instead of using the paper copy. We will also be giving out compostable plates and silverware as is required with any snacks that we sell. We will assign someone to ensure that the waste is disposed of in the correct bin. Finally, we will have digital promotional materials like flyers to give digital information about the event.

Taiko drumming is a really interesting and detailed art form originating sometime around 600 C.E. that continues to be an important part of Japanese culture today. Traditionally, taiko was used to accompany theater performances such as Kabuki or Noh, or to perform in ensembles such as gagaku. In 1968, Seiichi Tanaka founded the San Francisco Taiko Dojo which brought taiko to America for the first time. Since that day, Tanaka-sensei, his students, and other incredible players from Japan have cultivated taiko's presence in America. The variety of taiko that Tanaka-sensei brought to the U.S. is known as kumi-daiko ("group drumming"), which was first created in the 1950s as a modern development of taiko for performances outside of traditional settings. This arrangement of taiko is heavily influenced by modern music genres and is thus more relatable for an American audience while maintaining its history. Taiko Kai is proud to be a group in Seattle that can continue the span of this beautiful art form. We work very hard to teach our members everything we can about taiko and share this art with audiences in the UW community and general Seattle area.

Taiko Kai is a club that is completely student-run. We are composed primarily of undergraduate students and therefore must prepare experienced members for the roles that they will need to step into teaching in upcoming years. Our leadership team is re-elected every spring for the following school year, and they decide the direction for the club for upcoming years, making the club's well-being a priority. One of the biggest responsibilities of the leadership team is coordinating learning schedules for members, whether it is practice led by students or a workshop taught by a local or visiting taiko professional. Another large responsibility is coordinating with local events and groups about hosting performances by Taiko Kai. These leadership roles give the leadership team great opportunities to solve problems and work with external organizations.

Our club is committed to educating the next generation of inspired drummers, and we work on a weekly basis to fulfill that goal. However, there are only a couple of performances through the year where the players perform for an audience in a formal performance setting. Thus, the annual Spring Concert plays an important role in the timeline of our club. It allows players who are striving to improve their technique to work toward an "end goal," or a target that will motivate them. This year, more advanced members have even been able to compose and teach songs themselves to share at the concert. This performance is a culmination of the year that allows members to work through the difficulties in keeping up with a time schedule and being actively aware of their complete role in setting up and preparing as well as performing. Without this concert, there would be a lot less excitement building through the year, potentially leading to a lot less member retention.

This will be the third Spring Concert for Taiko Kai, so the club is confident in its ability to successfully execute this performance. After performing at dozens of events over the years and beginning coordination for this event even before the start of the school year, Taiko Kai is positioned very well to have an enjoyable, successful Spring Concert. The addition of the Campus Sustainability Fund would greatly help the club afford this concert and allow the club to open up its budget to pressing concerns about equipment and costumes.