UTAIKO

T H E S T O R Y

All roads lead to home...

Hi! My name is Rannoch (Razz) Purcell and I am the founder and director of Utah Taiko. Read on for some highlights of a musical journey that has taken me all over the world!

Credentials

Master's Degree + CA teaching credential

Music Education - Magna cum laude
Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA

Bachelor of Music

Classical Voice / Composition - Summa Cum Laude

California State University Northridge, Northridge, CA

Associate of Music Performance
Vocal Arts / Composition - Faculty Honors Extraordinary

Pasadena City College, Pasadena, CA

AGNES POETRY & ADOM9

You could say the arts are in my blood...My mother is a professional piano teacher, and my father is an incredibly gifted artist and teacher. I began lessons in both as a child, and grew up surrounded with music and art. At some point around 17, I decided I wanted to pursue a career in music.

At 18 I started a band (Agnes Poetry - later Adom9) with my brother and sister. We enjoyed almost immediate success which sent us on a roller-coaster ride of late night composing sessions, concert venues and recording studios over the next 11 years.

As touring activity with the band slowed down, I decided to attend University so that I might study music in more depth.

UNIVERSITY STUDIES

I spent three years at Pasadena City College and 2 more years at Cal State Northridge studying classical voice (opera) and composition under some of the finest musicians I have ever known. I also landed some great lead roles in musical theater and opera! It was a fantastic time of exploration and discovery.

It was also during this time that I heard about an intriguing musical discipline that combined physical fitness with music. I decided to see what the Taiko Drum course was all about...

CRESPI CELT TAIKO

After my first class, I was hooked. over the next 2 years I attended every taiko class I could and I joined the university's Taiko performance group, Jishin Taiko.

After graduating, I was offered a job at Crespi Carmelite High School as a music teacher. I was responsible for creating and administering an entirely new music curriculum, and I immediately thought 'A taiko program!'. It was here that I started the first academically accredited high school taiko program in America - Celt Taiko.

While at Crespi, I continued private study with Joel Mankey, and was also able to take my students to Hawaii each year for study under taiko master Kenny Endo. The Celt Taiko program was an incredible success and continues to gain widespread recognition.

TRANSITION TO GERMANY

My time at Crespi was very eventful in many other ways... I earned my masters degree in music education, and I became a father to my beautiful daughter Nenya.

In 2011, I made the decision to relocate to Ulm, Germany to be close to my infant daughter. I arrived there literally with a suitcase and determination. I had sold all of my belongings from America and used the money to purchase a set of taiko drums.

By the end of my first year, I was teaching a few taiko classes at the local community college and a local high school, and had just begun a new high school taiko program called "Oni Taiko" at the International School of Ulm.

TAIKO ZENTRUM DEUTSCHLAND

In 2015 after three years of teaching music and taiko at the International School of Ulm, I took the leap to go self-employed and start my own school of American taiko in Germany.

I founded Taiko Zentrum Deutschland that Fall and things simply took off. It was a wild and fascinating ride over the next 9 years! In addition to sharing taiko with the local community I was able to reconnect with my old teachers from America and meet many new ones as well as so many wonderful taiko players in Europe.

I created and hosted 'Taikopalooza' (a taiko community building event that became one of the most popular taiko events in the European taiko community), and was also inspired to bring taiko to my hometown in Manti, Utah with the first Utah Taiko Experience in 2023.

THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT!

That brings us to the present. I am now preparing for the big move back home and plan to begin taiko lessons in Manti as soon as I get settled. I don't yet know what the future is going to bring, but I can't help but feel that the adventure is far from over, and things are looking brighter all the time!