East Winds

Marco Lienhard is the director of both Taikoza and East Winds Ensemble (1995-Present). He lived and performed in Japan for 18 years (1981-1998) as a member of the legendary Taiko group Ondekoza under director Tagayasu Den (who instigated the renaissance of Taiko). In Ondekoza, he mastered the Taiko, the Shinobue, the Noh flute, and the Shakuhachi under Katsuya Yokoyama. He ran the 9000 miles of the perimeter of the US from 1990-1993 while performing along the way.

With his New York-based Taikoza, he has toured internationally and presents his top-rated program throughout the country. In addition, he has collaborated with many artists and groups around the world.

In 1995, Lienhard was the Shakuhachi soloist for the NYC Opera's premiere of the Opera "Kinkakuji" and was a soloist with the Juilliard New Music Ensemble. He premiered "Voyage X" with the Juilliard New Music Ensemble. Lienhard performs and teaches internationally (in Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and Canada, etc.) and has taught at International percussion workshops and festivals.

He has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall, Osaka Festival Hall, Madison Square Garden, Tchaikovsky Hall, and International Performing Center in Moscow, among others. Lienhard's music was nominated five times for the "Just Plain Folks Awards in 2014 and 2019 for best songs, best album for Instrumental and Asian Music".