PRESS RELEASE

Welcome Odaiko New England's
New Artistic Director, Mark H. Rooney

A Letter from the President of the Board of Directors

Dear Odaiko New England Supporter,

I am writing to you today to bring you up to date on an exciting change at Odaiko New England this year.

As many of you know, our founder and long-time Artistic Director, Elaine Fong, has stepped down and is relocating to the West Coast. All of us in the ONE community are deeply grateful to Elaine for her efforts on behalf of ONE over the years. Fortunately, Elaine has graciously agreed to continue her service on ONE’s Board of Directors, where her valuable insights and vision will continue to benefit the group.

Long-time member Mark H. Rooney has stepped into the role of Artistic Director. Mark has been a member of ONE’s performing ensemble for 10 years. He is also a skilled taiko instructor, having trained hundreds of students over the years, including most of the current Ensemble Members of ONE. Mark brings unbounded enthusiasm for taiko as well as exciting artistic and educational vision to his new position.

Mark brings extensive experience to the position. He has studied taiko in both the United States and Japan. He has been a performing member of ONE since 1988. Between 2000 and 2003 he lived in Japan, where he deepened his taiko expertise by performing and teaching taiko with local and nationally-known Japanese groups.

Mark also brings to ONE significant training and experience in music and theater. All of this experience and training promises to be a boon to ONE’s overall artistic development.

All of us at Odaiko New England are enthusiastic about working with Mark and invite you to participate as ONE grows under his leadership. Over the next few months, we expect to announce exciting new initiatives to strengthen ONE as a group, by increasing its capacity to bring the beauty and excitement of taiko to audiences and students. We hope that you, our long-time friends, will continue to support us in these efforts.

Sincerely yours,

Christopher Powell
President
Odaiko New England