Presidential Spotlight

Calvin and Taylor posing at Fall 2016 Retreat.

For most of Bakuhatsu’s history, the club has had a typical leadership structure with one President and one Vice President, along with the rest of the board of directors. However, with the growing popularity of the club and the amount of duties its members take on as performers and board members, the club decided that having Co-Presidents was going to help everything run much more smoothly. After the team voted last spring, Taylor McDougall and Calvin Lee were chosen to be the first ever Co-Presidents of Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan. They have been doing an incredible job keeping our club running, so let’s get to know them a bit better!

​What made you want to be a president of the club?
“I had been a part of Bakuhatsu for three years and I had picked up quite a lot of experience in that time. I figured that coming into a position of leadership would be the best way to directly improve the club and share that experience with all of the newer members.” – Taylor

“I initially had no thought of becoming president, especially because I had only been in the club for one year prior to my presidency. When I realized someone nominated me for the position, I felt an obligation to that anonymous person who believed in my abilities and decided to try in the end. After some deep pondering, I truly felt that with my past leadership experience in other groups I could help guide the club on the right path.” – Calvin

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What’s a typical week like as a president?
“I check our email, messages, and performance requests on a daily basis and try to respond to them as soon as possible. I also find myself checking on people quite often, whether it be with the board or individual members I worry about. As a leader of the club, I feel the need to constantly be supporting everyone, because the last thing I want to do is let them down. As busy it may get, I still enjoy the stress because it comes from something I feel passionate about.” – Calvin

“There is certainly a lot of work involved. Before every practice, we coordinate with the practice directors to decide on the schedule of songs to work on so that we can most effectively use our time. During each of the practice sessions, we direct the members to their tasks and make sure everybody is focused and enthusiastic. Outside of practice, we answer emails and consider performance requests from outside parties. Of course, there is also lots of practice, practice, practice to stay in top taiko shape!” – Taylor
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Taylor and Calvin playing okedou during a practice.

​How do you and the other co-president split duties/cooperate?
“It all comes pretty naturally, actually. Calvin normally handles the communication between us and those who request performances, and I post the practice schedules and try to be the ‘mom’ of the group. Of course, we both direct everybody at practice and give advice equally.” – Taylor

“Having Taylor alongside me is such a blessing because she has much more experience with the club than I do and can usually answer the questions that I have for her. We never actually split our duties officially, but it ended up becoming a system where I would focus more on emails and performance requests while she worked more on making practices structured and efficient. If there’s an important decision to be made for the club, we definitely come to a consensus before doing so.” – Calvin

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​What’s the most rewarding part of being a president? The most challenging part?
“As a president, I absolutely love that I have knowledge of everything that’s going on because it gives me a chance to admire everyone else’s passion for the club, which is shown through their hard work. But the most challenging part may be partly the opposite,where everyone expects me to have an answer to all questions and to make difficult, executive decisions.” – Calvin

“Being in such a position of leadership has really opened my eyes to how to effectively lead a large group of people and how to communicate with each of them. I’ve been able to watch my team grow from working so hard, and that makes me so proud to be able to call myself their leader. Something I would call challenging is balancing taiko life with university and social life (even though taiko is basically my social life at this point). I want to give so much to the team I can call my family, but there are only so many hours in the day and college isn’t exactly a walk in the park!” – Taylor

Calvin and Taylor posing at Fall 2016 Retreat.

​What advice would you give to others who run a taiko group or want to run one?
“I could say so much! One thing would definitely be to talk to each and every one of your members individually. Everybody can do so much, and finding their hidden potential is one of the most rewarding aspects of leading a group of talented people. Encourage everybody to try their best and have fun at the same time, and take some extra time out to give each and every member the push they need to really shine.” – Taylor

“Really get to know the history of your taiko group and have a profound knowledge on how it operated in the past. If the actions of past leaders were successful, I’d advise you try to follow that path, and add some modifications, rather than starting with a completely alternate idea. Sometimes, past successes may not equal present successes, and that’s when you’ll need to have some discussion with your club to try out new methods.” – Calvin

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​What’s your favorite Bakuhatsu song (and part in that song) to play?
“It has switched a few times the past few years, but right now it’s a tie between shime-chu of Rakuen (since it’s just so fun and lively) and Odaiko in Shio (since it’s so fierce, and I can really let loose!).” – Taylor

“Ikuzo on chu.” – Calvin
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Taylor and Calvin in front of the whiteboard all the members decorated at Fall 2016 Retreat.

​If you could have our group do anything you wanted without money, transportation, or other limits or restriction, what would it be?
“My Bakuhatsu Bucket List:
1. Play Shio no Michihi by the beach with the tides crashing in the background
2. Play Matsuri Hanabi with real fireworks shooting off in the background
3. Play Ikuzo on a large open-roof truck while driving down the highway
4. Play Utage after a real 'party'
5. Play Fubuki in a blizzard...No thanks, actually” – Calvin

“I think performing at the Grammys would be pretty darn cool. Or performing in Japan, on a boat.” – Taylor

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​Any last thoughts?
“I couldn’t have asked for a better group to be with in my final undergraduate years. Here’s to hoping Bakuhatsu is still playing taiko in the future instead of spending all day looking at memes.” – Calvin

“Fun fact: Being a part of Bakuhatsu has completely erased any sense of stage fright I’ve ever had! It goes to show that facing your fears and trying new things will always reward you.” – Taylor
“I couldn’t have asked for a better group to be with in my final undergraduate years. Here’s to hoping Bakuhatsu is still playing taiko in the future instead of spending all day looking at memes.” – Calvin

Written by Shai Nielson. BTD Historian 2016-2017