Los Angeles native Isabella is a classically-trained violinist with a deep passion for the arts. She has performed nationally and internationally in chamber ensembles and orchestras, including performances at Carnegie Hall in New York, Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh, Faneuil Hall in Boston, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Vienna Music Festival in Austria. Isabella holds a Bachelor of Humanities and Arts in Violin Performance and Linguistics from Carnegie Mellon University, where she studied under the tutelage of Andrés Cárdenes.

Multi-percussionist Noriko Terada is internationally known for her recordings with hugely popular Final Fantasy video game series and her work with multi award-winning group TAP DOGS. A Berklee College of Music graduate, she has performed at numerous famous venues and festivals/conventions including Carnegie Hall, Blue Note NY, and Montreal Jazz Festival and has toured Europe, Asia, Australia.

Lars is an award-winning drummer from Holland, and a graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music. Always resourceful, Lars raised funding to attend Berklee through scholarships and a crowdfunding campaign, which he fueled through appearances on national TV. He has performed for crowds as large of 25,000 people, and with names such as Cesar Zuiderwijk, Simon Phillips, and Thomas Lang.

Arthur is a taiko drummer and martial artist from Los Angeles, California. He began learning in 2013 at Cal State Northridge’s Jishin Taiko. Years of experience in martial arts lets Arthur apply a wide variety of movements to his taiko drumming, adding a compelling visual performance to the traditional art. Arthur’s philosophy for training in both martial arts and taiko drumming is to always train with discipline, intensity, and passion.

A music therapist hailing from Torrance, CA, Abi Sangco is on a mission to change lives using the power of music. In tailoring music to help others improve their well-being via evidence-based interventions, Abi draws inspiration from a variety of experiences as student, performer, educator, and facilitator, using various styles including classical, world, and contemporary.

Prior to her music therapy training, Sangco spent several years involved in the marching arts, primarily as a mallet percussionist for award-winning indoor drumlines. She has performed and competed extensively throughout southern California, regionally and internationally with world-class percussion ensembles POW Percussion (2012, 2013 seasons) and Pulse Percussion (2014). During her time with Pulse, the group won the gold in the Percussion Independent World division of Winter Guard International World Championships, culminating an undefeated season.

In addition to performing, Abi has also shared her experience and knowledge of mallet percussion with the marching arts community as a front ensemble instructor for the marching band and indoor drumline at Torrance High School, where she assisted in the production of programs for six consecutive competitive seasons.

Prior to her music therapy training, Sangco spent several years involved in the marching arts, primarily as a mallet percussionist for award-winning indoor drumlines. She has performed and competed extensively throughout southern California, regionally and internationally with world-class percussion ensembles POW Percussion (2012, 2013 seasons) and Pulse Percussion (2014).

During her time with Pulse, the group won the gold in the Percussion Independent World division of Winter Guard International World Championships, culminating an undefeated season. In addition to performing, Abi has also shared her experience and knowledge of mallet percussion with the marching arts community as a front ensemble instructor for the marching band and indoor drumline at Torrance High School, where she assisted in the production of programs for six consecutive competitive seasons.

Outside of the marching setting, Abi has performed in various chamber, percussion, and wind ensembles including the El Camino College Symphonic Band, ECC Chamber Ensembles, and Percussion Ensemble at California State University, Northridge. At CSUN, Abi began learning taiko, and performed as a member of Jishin Taiko, the student-led Taiko ensemble on campus. Aside from percussion, Abi also sings and plays piano, guitar, and ukulele, instruments commonly employed by music therapists.

Abi holds an Associate of Arts degree in Music from El Camino College, where she studied percussion privately under Joseph D. Mitchell. She went on to complete her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Therapy at California State University, Northridge, where she trained with various client populations and settings to become a music therapist.

Kaz Mogi is a drummer and educator from Long Beach, California. With over 20 years of performance experience, Kaz is known for his musicality, precision and adaptability
on-stage.

Kaz received his Associate’s degree in percussion performance from Musician’s Institute in Hollywood, California, and a Bachelor of Music in instrumental music, with an emphasis in music education, from Cal State Long Beach’s Bob Cole Conservatory of Music.

From 2000-2012, Kaz served as Lakewood High School’s drum line instructor. While teaching students of different playing levels, he also mentored them in independent  compositions that were then showcased at an end-of-the year concert.

In 2011, Kaz began learning Taiko and has since performed in Coldplay’s “Princess of China” music video, on the upcoming album by Grammy Award winning band Quetzal, and the soundtrack for the movie Battleship (2012). Kaz also recently performed at Los Angeles’ Staples Center with Yuujou Daiko in early 2015.

Along with Bataré, Kaz also performs with East LA Taiko, collaborates with taiko artist Kris Bergstrom, and conducts freelance work.