Kristofer Bergstrom is a leading

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming ...

player. He is a former member of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

-based taiko quartet, On Ensemble. In addition to taiko, Bergstrom plays the shamisen,

koto Koto may refer to: * Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group * Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument * Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana * Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women * K ...

, and

turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

Biography

Personal life

Kristofer Bergstrom was born July 12, 1976 in

Littleton, Colorado Littleton is a home rule municipality city located in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Stati ...

to Jon and Diane Bergstrom. He has a sister named Nicole. When he was growing up, his family moved around, and Kris lived in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

before moving to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in 1985. Kris is a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

and an avid skateboarder.

Collegiate taiko

Bergstrom began playing taiko while attending Stanford University. At New Student Orientation, he attended a performance by the collegiate group Stanford Taiko, which prompted him to audition for the group. He intended to study

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

while at Stanford. His years as a member of Stanford Taiko encouraged him to consider a career as a professional taiko player. Through Stanford Taiko, he met fellow On Ensemble member,

Shoji Kameda Shoji Kameda is a fourth-generation Japanese American musician and composer, and leading player of North American taiko. He is a founder and member of On Ensemble, a contemporary taiko quartet, and a former member of the jazz fusion group Hiros ...

.Bergstrom, Kris. Personal Interview. 24 April 2010 During the summer of 1998, Bergstrom interned for San Jose Taiko with Kameda as one of San Jose Taiko's first summer interns. Over this internship period, a discussion between Bergstrom and Kameda entertained the idea of creating a taiko group, which are the roots for On Ensemble. In order to pursue professional taiko, he dropped Physics from his course of study and began concentrating more on music. He continued to major in English as it seemed relevant to musical composition. He graduated Stanford with a degree in English in 1999.

Post-college years in Japan

After graduating Stanford in 1999, Bergstrom spent time in Japan to study

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

in order to learn more Japanese arts. His intention was to learn music more traditional than kumidaiko. When he first arrived in Japan, he visited

Sado Island is a city located on in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Since 2004, the city has comprised the entire island, although not all of its total area is urbanized. Sado is the sixth largest island of Japan in area following the four main islands and Ok ...

to see the taiko group

Kodo __NOTOC__ Kodo may refer to: Japan * ''Kōdō'' (香道), ceremonial appreciation of incense * Nippon Kodo (日本香堂), an incense company * Kodō (taiko group) (鼓童), a ''taiko'' drumming group * Kodo-kai (弘道会), a yakuza criminal orga ...

for their earth day celebration. He then went to

Hakodate, Hokkaido is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.83 ...

, where he would live for the next two years before moving to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

for a year. Bergstrom took up the traditional Japanese dance, Nihon Buyō, for two years in the Wakayagi school."On Ensemble". On Ensemble. 21 May 2010 . g/ He also practiced his taiko skills by renting a space from the Hakodate-based taiko group Hinokiya. This interaction resulted in a strong relationship forming between Kris Bergstrom and Hinokiya. Bergstrom performed with and composed for Hinokiya at times during his stay in Hakodate. This relationship also initiated contact between Stanford Taiko and Hinokiya. In addition, Bergstorm seriously studied the shamisen at this time. In August 2001, Bergstrom, Shoji Kameda, and Masato Baba performed in Japan, bringing together three-fourths of On Ensemble before the inclusion of Michelle Fujii.

Shamisen training and natori

Recalling hearing about Japanese music styles of

nagauta is a kind of traditional Japanese music played on the and used in kabuki theater, primarily to accompany dance and to provide reflective interludes. History It is uncertain when the was first integrated into kabuki, but it was sometime du ...

, gagaku, and

noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

as a kid, Bergstrom looked to study shamisen as something more traditionally Japanese than taiko. In order to learn the shamisen, Bergstrom searched for a teacher in the Hakodate phonebook in spring of 2000. He found Kineya Katsuyukie from the Kineya school of nagauta shamisen. In the first meeting between Katsuyukie, Bergstrom said he wanted to better understand the concept of "ma" in Japanese music.
While studying Bergstrom developed a close relationship with Katsuyukie similar to that of the traditional

uchi-deshi is a Japanese term for a live-in student/apprentice who trains under and assists a sensei on a full-time basis. The system exists in ''kabuki'', ''rakugo'', ''shogi'', '' igo'', ''aikido'', ''sumo'', ''karate'' and other modern Japanese martial ...

apprenticeship system for Japanese arts. While he did not live with her, he performed chores and took lessons in the early morning before and after work. Bergstrom received his ''natori'' for shamisen on November 8, 2008. http://onensemble.org/2008/10/natori-whats-in-a-name/ Bergstrom, Kris. Natori. ''What’s in a name?'' Kris's Blog. 4 Oct 2008. Accessed 21 May 2010. He was one of few musicians in the United States honored with a ''natori''. His natori is Kineya Katsukoujyu. Bergstrom continues to study with Katsuyukie, as a ''natori'' does not signify an end to studying under a teacher.

On Ensemble and contemporary taiko

Bergstrom currently resides in

. In addition to performing, he teaches workshops on taiko.

Artistic influences

Taiko studies

Kris Bergstrom has trained with various groups throughout his career in kumidaiko. He began his study through joining Stanford Taiko in college. While in Japan, he studied for a time under Kobayashi Tarou, a student of an original member of Oedo Sukeroku Taiko. In addition, he took lessons at the Nihon Taiko Dojo from 2001-2.

Taiko instructor

Bergstrom is well regarded as an instructor in the North American taiko community. His work as a taiko teacher can be seen through On Ensemble's educational outreach. As a taiko instructor, he has written a study aid to taiko practice called "30 Days to Better Shime". At the 2009 Taiko Conference, he released Taiko Games 2009, a series of games he created about taiko.

Copyleft philosophy

Bergstrom is a strong believer in the concept of

copyleft Copyleft is the legal technique of granting certain freedoms over copies of copyrighted works with the requirement that the same rights be preserved in derivative works. In this sense, ''freedoms'' refers to the use of the work for any purpose ...

, where creators encourage sharing and collaboration. He was attracted to the idea after learning of the

free software community The free software movement is a social movement with the goal of obtaining and guaranteeing certain freedoms for software users, namely the freedoms to run the software, to study the software, to modify the software, and to share copies of the s ...

. Bergstrom uses free software for his administrative and creative work for On Ensemble. Under similar principle, his taiko teaching aids and all of his compositions are available free under the

Free Art License The Free Art License (FAL), (french: Licence Art Libre (LAL)) is a copyleft license that grants the right to freely copy, distribute, and transform creative works. History The license was written in July 2000 with contributions from the mailin ...

, specifically the Free Art License 1.3.

Works

Discography

* ''Ume in the Middle'', On Ensemble. Turtlefield Music, 2009. * ''Ukiyo Live: 2007'', On Ensemble, 2007. * ''Dust and Sand'', On Ensemble, 2005.

DVD concerts

* ''Live at the Cerritos Center'', On Ensemble, 2007. * ''NEIRO'', On Ensemble, 2006.

References

External links

On Ensemble Website

Review of ''Ume in the Middle''

Kris Bergstrom's Taiko March from Taiko Games 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergstrom, Kris Living people Stanford University alumni Shamisen players Taiko players 1976 births People from Littleton, Colorado Musicians from Los Angeles 21st-century drummers