Founders of Taikoz and the ACO’s Aiko Goto will be recognised at a ceremony tonight at the Japanese Consul-General’s residence.

The co-founders of contemporary Australian taiko ensemble Taikoz, Shakuhachi Grand Maser Riley Lee and Ian Cleworth, will be honoured with a Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation for their contribution towards promoting friendship and goodwill between Australia and Japan. The awards will be presented at an official ceremony, marking the 40th anniversary of the 1976 signing of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Co-operations between Australia and Japan, which will be held tonight at the Japanese Consul-General’s residence in Bellevue Hill. Popular Australian Chamber Orchestra violinist Aiko Goto, who has been a member of the orchestra since 1998 and performs regularly in Australia and Japan, will also be honoured for her contributions to the promotion of musical exchanges between the two countries.

^{Taikoz co-founder Riley Lee}

“My shakuhachi teachers in Japan, were they still alive, would be very gratified to hear of this honour, but not because one of their students received a commendation,” said Lee, who became the first non-Japanese person to attain the rank of dai shihan or Grand Master in 1980 and founded the Australian...