Karen D’Attanasio is a marketing communications professional based in Needham, Massachusetts, with extensive experience in brand strategy, digital communications, and corporate messaging. Over the course of her career, Karen D’Attanasio has served as a consultant and vice president of marketing communications at Morgan Stanley and has also worked with PNC Bank to strengthen client-facing communications platforms. Her work has included guiding branding initiatives following major corporate integrations and leading cross-functional creative teams to align messaging across internal and external audiences.
A graduate of Lafayette College, where she earned a BA in International Affairs and Spanish, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, she has also worked as a freelance writer for Food Network and HNW, Inc. With a background that blends strategy, storytelling, and cultural appreciation, Karen D’Attanasio brings a thoughtful perspective to creative disciplines such as taiko, where performance, coordination, and preparation shape every touring production.
How Taiko Performers Train for Group Drumming Tours
Taiko is a form of Japanese ensemble drumming that combines rhythm with full-body movement and tightly coordinated group timing. In touring groups such as Kodo, performers treat each piece as a complete stage performance, not only a musical sequence. They rehearse to deliver a unified feel across the ensemble while staying responsive to what the room demands.
A touring program may involve many different drums, with size and construction shaping how each one sounds and feels to play. Performers often group these instruments into broad families based on scale and tension, such as large and mid-sized drums or smaller, high-tension drums. A single theater production can include dozens of drums depending on repertoire and staging. This variety increases the need for shared timing and carefully planned staging decisions.
Ensemble precision begins with how performers listen and adjust together. During rehearsals, they prioritize the sound created by the group as a whole rather than focusing only on individual parts. Balance and projection are refined by adjusting striking technique, positioning, and orientation toward the space. This listening habit carries into touring, where acoustics can shift noticeably from one venue to another.
Touring groups also rely on disciplined stage routines that repeat in every venue. They plan the stage layout carefully so the performance uses the entire stage consistently for the audience. Some performers sit in the audience during setup to guide drum and prop placements. They repeat this setup process to keep spacing and sightlines steady, even when the theater layout changes.
Physical preparation supports that consistency, but not every performer follows the same routine. Apprentices often keep an early schedule that includes structured physical training as part of daily life. Full members take responsibility for their own fitness and physical care rather than following a single required regimen.
Training also includes choreographed movement that follows the musical structure and matches the phrasing of each piece. Performers build these sequences through ongoing collaboration with dancers, using gestures drawn from folk and festival traditions, especially those tied to Sado Island. They rehearse each section until the physical movements align precisely with the rhythm and transitions of the music.
Even when movement is not formally choreographed, touring groups carefully control it. Players move drums, enter and exit, and cross the stage in ways that preserve the overall performance image. Consistent spacing is maintained through shared rehearsal cues that guide where and how performers move during transitions.
Cultural grounding shapes how performers approach phrasing, posture, and presentation. Taiko is widely connected to festivals and ceremonial settings, and some teachers describe it as a cultural symbol, not only an instrument. Kodo’s training pathway also includes learning certain local festival drumming traditions from community practitioners and carrying those influences into staged work with permission. That background informs how performers communicate a piece to audiences outside Japan.
Before intensive ensemble rehearsals, performers often review how a piece has worked in past performances. They use that review, and the conversations that follow, to decide what needs attention without losing the character of the work. As the group refines its chemistry and interpretation, the piece often evolves in phrasing and detail.
Touring schedules add pressure on consistency because performers may split into separate casts to cover multiple locations. That structure requires clear shared standards and repeatable rehearsal and staging habits so the work stays recognizable across different lineups and spaces. This method of training and rehearsal keeps performances cohesive and physically demanding, even when casts rotate; it also preserves visible continuity with the traditional forms that shaped modern taiko.
About Karen D’Attanasio
Karen D’Attanasio is a marketing communications strategist based in Needham, Massachusetts. She has held leadership and consulting roles at Morgan Stanley and PNC Bank, where she guided brand integration, messaging strategy, and client communications initiatives. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Lafayette College, she also has experience as a freelance writer and has supported nonprofit organizations focused on youth and education.