Fubuki Daiko, Winnipeg-based Japanese drum group, celebrates 20 years

Fubuki Daiko, or Blizzard Drums, is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and members of the Winnipeg-based Japanese drum group are holding a few concerts to mark two decades spent keeping the beat.

All the performers, including group founders Hiroshi Koshiyamaand Naomi Guilbert, are from North America. ThatNorth American upbringing mixes withthe music'sJapanese origins to create a unique sound andoriginal compositions, Hiroshi says.

Before the group became aworld-touring success, Naomi and Hiroshi had to first cross each other's paths and fall in love.

"I went to San Francisco to study with Grand MasterSeiichi Tanaka. He brought the [taiko drumming]artform to America in 1967," says Naomi. "While I was there, I met Hiroshi.We [later] had a gig in New York atCarnegie Hall, and then he proposed to me on the top of the Empire State Building."

"She said 'probably,'"Hiroshi says.

The pair have grown together, alongwith their passion for taiko, since then.

"Our teacher used to always say it takes a couple months to learn it but a whole lifetime to master,"Hiroshi says."I think basically drumming is the heartbeat it's in all cultures."

The group currentlyparticipates in Artists inSchools through the Manitoba Arts Council, where they teach taiko to students over the course of a week.

Big Winnipeg shows

They're playing Oct. 21-23 at Winnipeg's Gas Station Theatre.

The show isn't going to be like one of their typical five-person performances,Naomisays.

"This show, we're going to have sometimes 16 people on stage, we're going to bring all of our biggest drums out, so it's going to be a bigspectacularextravaganza.I can feel it on the stage, I can feel my entire body vibrating."

Asked if the ensemble has another few decades left in them, Naomi says they'll play "as long as [their] bodies hold out."

"I'm not sure if we're going to produce another big show like this locally, because it's just so much work. It's really just the two of uswe don't have a production team, we don't have an office of staff."

Anyone interested in getting into taikocanemail the group through its website. The group is hosting an introductory taikoworkshop St. Luke's Anglican Church inOsborne Village on Nov. 14.

The pair performed at 3:10 p.m. Tuesday on Up to SpeedonCBC Radio One 990 AM / 89.3 FM.