Resident Moves to the Beat of Her Own Drum

North Reading resident Calista Tait does not have an ordinary job. In fact, her extraordinary talent of Japanese drumming took her from being a student to a teacher in her group. 

Tait teaches for a taiko group called Odaiko New England. Taiko is the Japanese word for drum, and Tait has been playing one for about 10 years. Teaching music is her career of choice, even though she has her Computer Science degree from MIT.

"Taiko is loud, it's music, it's performance, it's movement, it's community. For me, I love sharing taiko by both performing it and teaching it," she said. "It came into my life at a critical time and pretty much saved my life. I went from being student to being one of the leaders of the group."

She performs across New England with her group Odaiko New England. The group will celebrate it's 20th anniversary next year. In addition to the Japanese drum, she also plays the bamboo flute.

She encourages other residents to give it a try. Adult classes are on Tuesday evenings in Woburn. They also have beginner workshops for those who have never played before. Check out the website for more information.
 
Tait lives in town with her husband and three cats.