Yamato Drummers of Japan to perform at Santa Barbara Bowl for 7,000 students

The Yamato Drummers of Japan will perform Oct. 18 for more than 7,000 elementary school students at the Santa Barbara Bowl. The Children’s Creative Project (CCP), an arts education program of the Santa Barbara County Education Office, and Santa Barbara Bowl’s Education Outreach Program are co-presenting this free program.

The Yamato Drummers of Japan will introduce to students and celebrate Japanese music and cultural heritage. From Nara, Japan, the company performs worldwide and is composed of seven men and women who will demonstrate the 1,400 year-old history of Taiko drumming. The company performs on many drums, and the largest Taiko (translates as big drum) measures up to 4-by-6 feet and 400 kilograms. The Santa Barbara youth performance is funded by the Children’s Creative Project and the Santa Barbara Bowl’s Education Outreach Program.

“Coordinated by the Children’s Creative Project, this performance is part of the CCP’s larger arts education program that provides visual and performing arts workshops conducted by resident artists in 60 elementary schools reaching 30,000 students,” explained County Superintendent Bill Cirone, whose office coordinates the program. “In addition, the CCP presents more than 1,000 performances per year for 60,000 students in 150 schools throughout Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.”

Similarly, the Santa Barbara Bowl’s Education Outreach Program gives back to the community essential support for local youth arts programs. The Bowl works in conjunction with local schools to develop mutually beneficial projects and to establish community partnerships by involving members of the local student population. Funding for the Education Outreach comes from private donations and proceeds from special events and concerts.

“We are thrilled to co-present with the Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation this exciting and unique opportunity for school children made possible by our collaboration” said Kathy Koury, executive director of CCP. Funding to support this event is provided in part by the I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival produced by the Children’s Creative Project to benefit its arts education programs.

Please Note:  This performance is not open to the general public. The performance times listed below are for your information only so that you, a writer or photographer, may attend to cover the event.

Performance times:             9:30 to 10:15 and 10:30 to 11:15 a.m.