Artistic Director/Principal Taiko Instructor

David Hewitt has trained as a percussionist in Australia, Japan and the USA.

He was a member and co-founder of the internationally recognised category-defying outfit – ‘The Spaghetti Western Orchestra’- appearing at London South Bank, the BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall, Montreal International Jazz Festival and gaining five star reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Prior to this David was a member of Australia’s premier professional taiko drumming group, TaikOz. With TaikOz David composed new taiko works for BBC Radio and and the Sydney Festival. He also toured and performed with Eitetsu Hayashi and Riley Lee.

Through his relationship with TaikOz and YuNiOn, David has also received taiko instruction from Ian Cleworth, Riley Lee, Eitetsu Hayashi, Kyosuke Suzuki, Otaikoza Myojin, Gombe Daiko, Chieko Kojima, Hiroo Asanuma, Tiffany Tamaribuchi and Tsubasa Hori.

David was a member of Synergy Percussion and has performed with many of Australia’s leading performing arts companies – Chamber Made Opera, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Bell Shakespeare Company, Sydney Dance Company, Meryl Tankard, SPEAK Percussion, The Song Company and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

He has taught at the Queensland Conservatorium, Victorian College of the Arts, Macquarie University, Newcastle Conservatorium and the University of Western Sydney.

David’s main focus has been as a composer, music director and educator in remote and regional communities. This has included projects with the Big hART, Musica Viva Australia and the Old Van Theatre Company.

David has lived in the Bega Valley since 2009 where he is active in developing community based music performance and education as the Artistic Director of Stonewave Taiko and on behalf of the Four Winds Music Festival, Candelo Village Festival and fLiNg Physical Theatre.