Taro Terahara

Bansuri Player

Bridging Indian Classical Music with the Living Traditions of the World

Biography

Taro Terahara is a Japanese bansuri player devoted to the tradition of North Indian classical music. Since 1991 he has studied under Hiroshi Nakagawa, a senior disciple of Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, and since 1996 under sitar maestro H. Amit Roy, one of the foremost disciples of Pt. Nikhil Banerjee.

Deeply rooted in the Maihar tradition, his performances combine lyrical expression, dynamic improvisation, and a profound understanding of raga and tala. While Indian classical music remains at the heart of his work, he has collaborated extensively with musicians from Tibet, Afghanistan, Central Asia and other musical traditions, creating performances that connect cultures while honoring the unique voice of each tradition.

Since 2006, Terahara has been a regular artist at Australia's Woodford Folk Festival (seven appearances). His international performances have also included the Allauddin Khan Music Festival (India), Dhaka International Folk Festival (Bangladesh), Festival of Tibet (Australia), and concert tours in the United States and Ecuador.

His bansuri performances have been featured in films, television dramas, anime and games, including Rurouni Kenshin, NHK's Maiagare!, The Silent Sea, Galapagos, REVENGER, Dragon Ball Super, Buddha, and Wuthering Waves.

Beyond performance, Terahara has curated numerous concert series introducing Indian classical music and the traditional music of Asia. Through projects such as Indian Classics Tokyo, World Music Journey, and Ongaku no Mura, he has created opportunities for Japanese audiences to encounter internationally acclaimed artists and the living traditions behind their music.

His performances invite audiences to slow down, listen deeply, and discover the beauty of traditions that transcend language, borders and time.

For me, Indian classical music is not simply a musical tradition—it is a way of listening to the world.

My musical journey began with jazz, Japanese traditional music, Indonesian gamelan and African percussion before I encountered the bansuri. These experiences taught me that every musical culture carries its own wisdom while sharing a common human spirit.

Rooted in the Maihar gharana, I have devoted more than thirty years to the study of raga and tala. At the same time, I have sought dialogue with Tibetan, Afghan, Central Asian and other traditional musicians—not to blend traditions indiscriminately, but to allow each culture to retain its own voice while creating meaningful encounters.

I believe music can become a place where people meet beyond language, nationality and religion. Through concerts, collaborations and educational projects, I hope to create spaces where audiences experience not only beautiful performances, but also the living traditions, stories and philosophies behind them.

Every performance is an invitation—to listen deeply, discover another culture, and ultimately discover ourselves.

Selected International Performances

Australia

• Woodford Folk Festival (2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2025)
• Festival of Tibet (2011, 2013, 2020 Online, 2021 Online)
• Australian Tour (2009)
• Newstead Live Music Festival (2016)
• Globe to Globe Festival (2016)
• Earth Frequency Festival (2016)
• Sangeet Mela (2017)

India

• Ash Babu Memorial Concert (2007)
• Allauddin Khan Music Festival (2008)
• Concerts in Varanasi (2008)
• Kathak Dance Performance (2010)

Bangladesh

• Dhaka International Folk Festival (2017)

Ecuador

• Ecuador Tour (2013)

United States

• USA Tour (2018)

Selected Screen Credits

Films

• Rurouni Kenshin series
• Buddha
• The Silent Sea
• Tibetan feature films
• Indonesian feature films
• Afghan feature films

Television

• NHK Maiagare!
• NHK Galapagos

Animation

• REVENGER
• Dragon Ball Super

Game

• Wuthering Waves

Discography

Solo

• Air (2005) - with Anindo Chatterjee
• Mist (2006)- with Anindo Chatterjee
• Deep (2011)- with Shen Flindell
• Black Swan (2019)- with Ty Burhoe

Collaborations

• Snow Lion (2010) – with Tenzin Choegyal

Guest Appearances

• Music is Life（2008）－Tibet2Timbuk2
• Heart Strings（2017）－Tenzin Choegyal
• Apo Gaga（2019）－Tibet2Timbuk2

Curatorial Projects

World Music Journey (2016–2021)

Monthly concerts introducing traditional music from around the world.

Ongaku no Mura (2019)

A world music festival presented in Chiba.

Indian Classics Tokyo

A concert series presenting leading performers of North Indian classical music.

Silver Melody

A concert series centered on sitar maestro H. Amit Roy.

Tenjiku Genso

A North Indian classical music concert series with sarod player Steve Oda.

Melodies of Flute and Brush

A multidisciplinary series combining music with Japanese calligraphy.

Contact

Official Website
https://srgmtaro.jimdofree.com/

[email protected]

Taro Terahara（Bansuri player）
Japanese bansuri player specializing in North Indian classical music. A disciple of sitar maestro H. Amit Roy, he has devoted more than 30 years to the study of raga and tala. In addition to collaborating with musicians from Tibet, Central Asia, and beyond, he curates concerts introducing traditional music from around the world. His bansuri performances can also be heard in numerous film and television soundtracks, including Rurouni Kenshin and the NHK drama series Maiagare!.
https://srgmtaro.jimdofree.com/

Taro Terahara | Bansuri Player

Taro Terahara is a Japanese bansuri player specializing in North Indian classical music. He began studying in 1991 under Hiroshi Nakagawa, a disciple of Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, and since 1996 has continued his training with H. Amit Roy, a senior disciple of the legendary sitar maestro Pandit Nikhil Banerjee.

Since 2006, he has been a regular performer at Woodford Folk Festival, Australia's largest folk festival, appearing there eight times. In 2007, he was featured in Lohas Classic Concert 2007, produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto. Renowned for his lyrical yet dynamic playing and deep understanding of the raga tradition, Terahara has performed extensively at festivals throughout Australia, Bangladesh, and Japan, including long-standing collaborations with Tibetan vocalist Tenzin Choegyal.

From 2016 to 2021, he curated and hosted the monthly concert series World Music Journey at Gallery Oasis in Chiba. In 2019, he founded and produced the world music festival Ongaku no Mura, reflecting his ongoing commitment to presenting traditional music from India and cultures around the world.

As a recording artist, Terahara has contributed bansuri performances to numerous film, television, anime, and international productions, including The Silent Sea, NHK's drama series Maiagare! and Galapagos, the Rurouni Kenshin film series, Tezuka Osamu's Buddha: The Red Desert! It's Beautiful, REVENGER, Dragon Ball Super, as well as films from Tibet, Indonesia, and Afghanistan.

https://srgmtaro.jimdofree.com/