About the Event

Well-known taiko performer Ken Koshio and his son, Miro, will share a Japanese folk story for this performance.

Ken Koshio was born in Nagoya, Japan. As a singer and songwriter, he has brought his wish for hope and new beginnings to the people of his adopted country, the United States, since 1998. He was a folk-rock musician in Los Angeles for seven years. After September 11, 2001, Koshio felt a need to bring some measure of comfort to people affected by the Twin Towers tragedy. This wish translated itself into the Thousand Cranes Tour, which culminated in a concert at Ground Zero on the one-year anniversary. He brought 10,000 origami cranes, folded by people along the way from Los Angeles to New York City, as prayers for a better, more peaceful world. 

In 2004, Koshio moved to Phoenix and started to play more Japanese music. Blending his traditional culture with a rock ’n’ roll career. And after beating taiko for the first time in Phoenix, he realized this tradition was in his DNA, bringing him to become a multifaceted performer. He holds traditional Japanese wa arts and music classes in his dojo and visits local public schools to share Japanese culture with younger generations, using origami, calligraphy, folk tales, folk music, taiko, and other Japanese instruments. Koshio also works with Native artists, collaborating with their dance, music, drumming, and singing.