UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 12, Page 4
November 17, 1994
Japanese demon drummers in Mitchell Hall

     Ondekoza, Japanese demon drummers, will fill the air with
rhythmic sounds in a performance at 8 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 29, in
Mitchell Hall, as part of the Performing Arts Series.
     The music of Ondekoza originates from traditional festival drum
routines and folk music of Japan. The music is played on bamboo
flutes, stringed instruments and drums ranging from tom-tom size to
massive. To create new dimensions from traditional Japanese folk
music, Ondekoza finds inspiration in the sounds of nature, as well as
the sounds of daily life in ancient and modern Japan.
     The 10-member troupe will perform a wide range of music at the
Nov. 29 concert, ranging from Sogaku, which represents the fun of
running and the building up of a runner's spirit, to Hachijo, which
tells the story of exiled Samurai Ukita Hidei, who lived in exile and
played the drums.
     Tickets for the Nov. 29 performance are $15 for the general
public, $10 for senior citizens and University faculty and staff and
$6 for students.
     In conjunction with the concert, the Mirage Restaurant on Elkton
Road is offering a pre-performance, three-course, Japanese-style
dinner for $19.95. Reservations are suggested by calling the
restaurant at 453-1711.
     Playing 700-pound drums that look to be the size of small
elephants, Ondekoza has a philosophy as unique as its sound. Members
of the group mastered their art while living in self-imposed seclusion
on the small island of Sado. There, they awoke daily at 4 a.m. and
began a rigorous exercise program that included long-distance running,
drumming, a specialized diet and a Spartan lifestyle.
     The group emerged from its self-imposed exile in 1990, heading
for New York, to play concerts in Carnegie Hall and to participate in
the New York Marathon. Group members literally ran out of New York on
foot and spent three years running the 13,000-mile perimeter of the
United States, taking time to play more than 300 concerts along the
way. The heavy drums traveled with them in a truck.
     "Like the benign devils of Japan- the onis, we travel abroad.
Prompted by hectic schedules, we invariably return to our home on
Sado. We are confident that the soil of our native land offers the
best ground for rooting ourselves firmly," Tagayasu Den, leader of
Ondekoza, writes.
     The University performance is partially funded by the Delaware
Division of the Arts, the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation and the
National Endowment for the Arts.
     For information or tickets, call 831-2204.