Teachers

Eien Hunter-Ishikawa – Drum Set, Percussion, Taiko Ensemble

Eien Hunter-Ishikawa is a versatile drummer, percussionist and taiko player with a multifaceted musical background. Born in Japan, his passion for drumming started at an early age through the involvement of a youth taiko ensemble directed by Yutaka Ishizuka, a founding member of the greatly influential taiko ensemble Sukeroku Daiko.

He earned his Bachelor of Music Education at Central Michigan University, where he performed, recorded and toured as a member of the Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble under the direction of the late Robert Hohner, and his Master of Music at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. 

During his time in Honolulu, Eien performed and toured extensively as a member of the Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble throughout the United States and Europe and taught classes at the Taiko Center of the Pacific, a school of traditional and contemporary taiko.

Currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Eien has toured internationally with Uzume Taiko and has performed with electro-acoustic groups Isshin Denshin Atmospheric Ensemble and Haagen & Ryuzen as well as dancer Colleen Lanki, Vancouver’s Silk Road Music, bagpipe fusion group Mearingstone and the African band Kow Kanda.

Eien is also an active instructor and composer involved in a wide range of projects spanning multiple genres and creative disciplines.