We are home to two globally recognised music ensembles Synergy Percussion and Taikoz, Australia’s leading taiko training facility the Australian Taiko Academy and Australia’s newest international music festival ‘Boom! International Festival of Percussion’. We will also be introducing new streams over the next five years including an Afro-Latin School of percussion and a pre-professional Training Academy for percussionists.

Anton Lock

Independent Artist

Anton Lock attended the Sydney Conservatorium High School and was the frst student to perform on taiko for the HSC. He received top honours for his recital and was subsequently selected to open the proceedings at the Premier’s Awards and to present an item at the Opera House Encore performance – a concert given by the outstanding HSC musicians of 2003. Anton became a full-time member of TaikOz in 2006. Personal highlights include performances with TaikOz and Eitetsu Hayashi Fuun no Kai at Japan’s National Theatre as part of Eitetsu Hayashi’s 25th Anniversary celebrations, intensive workshops with Miyake Daiko teacher Akio Tsumura, and the 2009 Kodo and TaikOz “In Concert” Australian tour. In 2007 and 2008 Anton traveled to Sado Island and was taught Onikenbai, a traditional performing art of Kitakami City, Iwate Prefecture by Yoshikazu Fujimoto of Kodo. Anton is passionate about Onikenbai and is continung his study with Yoshikazu Fujimoto and the original Iwasaki Onikenbai masters. In 2015 traveled to Colombawhere he has been living and working as both a recording artist, producer, model and performer. Primarily working with electronic sounds (heavily infuenced by genres such as dub step, trap, moombahton and dance, as well as being heavily infuenced by latin music) Anton has been performing a DJ style drumming show which involves recording, looping, mixing, drumming, synthesisers, vocals, dancers, lighting, all done live.

Sophie Unsen

Sophie Unsen is a Sydney-based performer, composer and educator with a broad and deep background in a variety of contemporary and traditional music forms. A Sydney Conservatorium of Music graduate, Sophie specialises in traditional Japanese instruments including taiko (drums) and shinobue (bamboo fute). She joined the world-renowned ensemble Taikoz as a full member in 2017, after successfully completing Taikoz’s Individual Development Program in 2013 and becoming an Associate Player in 2014. In 2016 Sophie was awarded an Individual Development Grant from the Australia Council for the Arts to undertake a three-month Training Fellowship with ex-KODO member Kaoru Watanabe in New York City. In 2015 she travelled to Japan to 1undertake intensive study with Iwasaki Onikenbai Hozonkai, Akio Tsumura & Sons, Kyosuke Suzuki and Mochizuki Saburo. Sophie performs regularly with Taikoz and travels to Japan each year to continue her studies. She is passionate about music education and thoroughly enjoys instilling a love from taiko in all of her students, both young and old. This is her fourth year with Moorambilla Voices, and she is thrilled to be working with the MAXed OUT company once again.