Sho'on Shibata

Sho’on Shibata (柴田渚音) is a distinguished taiko performer, composer, and educator deeply rooted in both traditional Japanese musical forms and global rhythms. Beginning his musical journey with piano at age five, he later studied classical trombone and musicology at the Crane School of Music in New York.

After traveling to learn rhythms from djembe in Jamaica, tablas in India, and Korean janggu, Sho’on was awarded the TCP Fellowship in 2015 to study under Kenny Endo in Honolulu. As a professional member of the Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble and Taiko Center of the Pacific (2016–2020), he performed contemporary taiko, matsuri bayashi, and shishimai, earning his MA in Ethnomusicology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2019, with research focused on Kumidaiko and Edo festival drumming.

Today, Sho’on teaches at TCP (Honolulu) and Hibikus Tenjin (Fukuoka), delivers workshops at North American Taiko Conference, Summer Taiko Intensive, and Regional Taiko Gathering, and composes both ensemble and solo works, including music for contemporary theater.