I started taiko when I was in second grade at the Japanese Immersion school I went to. I played with En Taiko for 8 years. After taking classes in the spring of 2016, I joined Portland Taiko as a trainee in fall 2016. I love being in Portland Taiko because of the variety of fun and interesting repertoire, but maybe more so because of the strong sense of cooperation and community. Getting to perform taiko for others and being part of the taiko community is an important part of my life. As a high school junior I am a musician, currently playing percussion in our school band and drums in the jazz lab, as well as percussion in The Portland Youth Philharmonic.

2025 Update: Zoe received an undergraduate degree in percussion performance from USC’s Thornton School of Music and was the artistic director for USC’s taiko group, Kazan Taiko. Zoe is currently pursuing a Masters degree at Manhattan School of Music.

Zoe still performs with Portland Taiko when she’s in town.