About Us
Rahul Mulpuri
Co-founder & President of Taiko Buddies, Sophomore at Georgetown University
Rahul is passionate about music and has learned to play various instruments. He has been playing the piano since kindergarten and the bassoon since middle school. He also composes music and plays the clarinet. He lived in Japan for two years and was introduced to the taiko. After returning back to the US, he attended a taiko camp and took lessons. Another of his areas of interest is neurodiversity, and he attended the Stanford Neurodiversity Project summer program and is a part of the K-12 Network for Neurodiversity Education and Advocacy (NNEA). Rahul is also passionate about representation, serving on the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service Academic Council and as captain of his high school Lincoln-Douglas debate team.
Austin Hideo Eng
Co-founder & Vice President of Taiko Buddies, Freshman in college, and Performing Member of the San Jose Taiko Junior Taiko Performing Ensemble (JTPE)
Taiko brings Austin joy, energy, and a feeling of connection to his community when he performs for others. Rahul and he created Taiko Buddies in the spirit of spreading kindness to all living beings by bringing taiko to people of all backgrounds and abilities to share the rush of taiko drumming. After playing taiko for 8 years, Austin enjoys reaching out and sharing his experience with more diverse communities. The joy that taiko brought to so many after being isolated during the pandemic was energizing. It brings him pleasure to see the students learn and feel the energy of the deep taiko drum beats in their hearts as they hit the drums together with them in a group setting. See Austin performing at the San Jose Obon Festival at this link.