Wally Christensen
After 30 years as a trial lawyer at a large national law firm, Wally began to explore his lifelong interest in ethno-cultural music. After three months in Japan, he decided to take up the art of the taiko drum, and joined a taiko ensemble, Nen Daiko, sponsored by the Ekoji Buddhist Temple in Virginia. A regular feature at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC, Nen Daiko was invited to perform at the International Taiko Festival in Los Angeles. After 6 years, Wally left to become an apprentice with the PanMasters, Washington DC’s premier steel pan band, and performed with them at Washington’s Caribbean Carnival. Six years ago, he joined the PanTones, a community-based band sponsored by the Cultural Academy for Excellence. He plays the “double-seconds”, a two pan instrument that plays rhythm in most arrangements. He and his wife Maureen currently are arranging the classic hit ‘Iko Iko’ for the group. Learn more at https://www.facebook.com/ThePanTonesn and http://cafeyouth.org.
