Tatsuya Nakatani’s Gong Orchestra

Percussionist and road warrior Tatsuya Nakatani brings his renowned gong orchestra back to the Elastic Arts stage for the first time since 2012. This one-of-a-kind project is the only bowing Gong Orchestra in existence in the world today, and is dedicated towards continuous, growing community engagement. The rich harmonies produced from multiple layers of bowed gongs are transformative, engaging and inspiring for both players and audiences. Nakatani began germinating ideas for N.G.O. in early 2002, and finally took the project on the road in April 2011. Since then he has performed over 100 concerts with N.G.O. internationally. Notable venues include John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., MOCA Cleveland, OH, Tigertail Productions presented at Miami Dade County Auditorium in FL, Bemis Contemporary Art Center in Omaha NE, Columbia Museum of Art in SC, The Issue Project Room in New York City, and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas. N.G.O. has also been a visiting artist conducting workshops at a number of universities; including the University of Illinois, Smith College, Ohio State University and Wesleyan. The gong bows and surrounding instrumentation equipment are handmade by Nakatani Kobo.
TATSUYA NAKATANI’S GONG ORCHESTRA

Tatsuya Nakatani – conduction
Rob Jacobs
Evan Metz
Lia Kohl
Eli Namay
Alex Grimes
Ryan Packard
Julian Kirshner
Macie Stewart
Phil Sudderberg
Vivian McConnell
Skyler Rowe
James Pinkl
Nora Petran
Emily Kempf