A week in Hartford, WI

By Shigeyo Henriquez

First 3 days in Hartford we had very early start 7 a.m., 7:30 a.m. Monday morning, April 19th, we drove 40 minutes to Silverbrook Middle school in West Bend. Rubbing our eyes, we set up the instruments in the gym. The bell rang, 400 students walked into the gym very excited and curious to hear Japanese music.

A typical school workshop starts with Agatsuma’s shamisen and he explains shamisen and its history followed by taiko drumming and explanation of taiko.

Half way into the workshop, the students have a chance to try taiko drumming. We ask, “Who wants to try?” Everyone raises their hands, including the teachers. No one wants to miss anything. Hase, taiko drummer, demonstrates Japanese rhythm and the students follow the rhythm. It takes a few tries, but they all get it.

50 minutes of workshop goes by fast. The students have another class to attend, but often they would rather stay and ask more questions.

After doing three workshops, we were tired, but we always looked forward to coming back to Prairie House where we stayed. We spent a whole week there. We cooked our meals every night, played ping pong, pool, cards, sat in the jacuzzi, went kayaking, hiking, jogging. The ensemble is from congested and crowded Japan. Staying in this house was very relaxing and we enjoyed it very much. Thank you to the Sullivan family for letting us use the house.

Please enjoy these photographs of our visit to Hartford, Wisconsin.

Jessica Wahl, music teacher at Siliverbrook Middle School, tries taiko drumming at a workshop. Photo by Shigeyo Henriquez.

Student Caroline Sullivan mimics Hase's taiko stance. Photo by Shigeyo Henriquez.

Wisconsin Automotive Museum. Photo by Shigeyo Henriquez.

Agatsuma with Hartford mayor Joe Dautermann. Photo by Shigeyo Henriquez.