Taiko drumming is a team sport. Performers create chest-thumping rhythms by beating large drums in sweeping, synchronized movements. It’s as much a choreographed dance routine as it is a visceral concert experience.
Yvonne Zarnowski was a founding member of Winnipeg’s Hinode Taiko group and a woman who — throughout life — marched to the beat of her own drum. She died in October at the age of 68.
“She was very direct,” says Pamela Okano, Hinode’s longtime artistic director. “I loved that about her.”
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Yvonne Zarnowski was a single mother who pursued many passions during her life, including Japanese drumming, art and horseback riding.
The second-youngest of four siblings, Zarnowski was born in Germany to Polish and Lithuanian parents displaced by the Second World War. The family moved to Winnipeg via transatlantic voyage in the late 1950s and settled in the city’s North End.
She attended St. John’s High School and was a natural athlete who excelled in track and field. Life at home wasn’t always rosy, but the challenges she endured as a child led to a deep sense of empathy in adulthood, son Lee Richard says.
“She was a very compassionate person,” he says. “She didn’t judge people and she was always willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt.
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Zarnowski was born in Germany and grew up in Winnipeg’s North End.
Zarnowski loved animals and fostered many kittens. She was an artist who sought meaning through different strands of esoteric spirituality.
Her caring nature, however, was occasionally obscured by a blunt, outspoken exterior. Okano describes her late friend as a dinner roll: “Soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside,” she says.
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Yvonne Sarnowski
Zarnowski became fascinated with Japanese culture after living in the country in the late ‘70s with her then-husband and young son. Upon her return to Winnipeg, she signed up for a workshop led by a travelling drum group from Japan. The event sparked an interest among those in attendance to establish a local taiko ensemble.
Hinode was formed in 1982 with much enthusiasm and few resources.
“We didn’t have any drums; everyone had to bring in a tire so that we could hit something,” co-founder Florence Mitani says, recalling the large truck tire Zarnowski lugged to and from practices. “She was very dedicated.”
Crafting was a necessary part of the gig in the early days. Unable to afford authentic drums from overseas, the group made its own using spent whiskey barrels from the distillery in Gimli. Members screen-printed their own costumes and Zarnowski, who had worked in the props department for Rainbow Stage, painted an ornate backdrop for events.
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Zarnowski (centre) and other founding Hinode Taiko members made their own drums from used whiskey barrels.
During shows, she typically played the front drums, a position that required on-the-fly adjustments to keep the beat, and ample stage presence. One particular performance — which was featured on the live afternoon show of a local TV station — sticks out in Okano’s mind.
“We did really well, but (Yvonne) made one mistake and she swore and it just so happened the camera was on her,” Okano recalls with a laugh.
Zarnowski gradually stepped away from Hinode, but remained involved with the Japanese Cultural Association of Manitoba, assisting with community functions and volunteering during Folklorama.
“She definitely left a mark in the community,” Okano says. “Not just with taiko.”
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Zarnowski often played the front drums during Hinode Taiko performances.
As a child, Richard was his mother’s near-constant companion. After separating from her husband, Zarnowski — who was not a fan of babysitters — brought her son along to drum practices, art shows, yoga classes, spiritual conferences and public lectures.
“It was nice to be included and I was definitely exposed to different things,” says Richard, who had his own stint in Japan and picked up taiko as an adult. “She provided me with a really unique childhood.”
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Zarnowski (left) and friend Connie Chappel
He also accompanied her on trips to the Exchange District art studio she shared with friend Connie Chappel. The pair met in the late ‘80s as mature students in the University of Manitoba’s fine arts program, where they bonded during smoke breaks and collaborated on their respective theses.
From the outside, Chappel and Zarnowski were polar opposites — the former quiet and reserved, the latter outgoing and opinionated. Shared interests forged a lifelong bond.
“I didn’t want to embarrass myself, but she would just go for it and she would speak her mind if someone called her on something,” Chappel says. “But we were both spiritually sensitive … and we would talk about intimate things, like what we were thinking and feeling. We would talk about our art.”
Zarnowski worked primarily with oil paints, creating large colourful collages imbued with religious symbolism and Japanese cultural motifs. She moved away from painting to focus on her day job, but stayed involved in the art world as a curator, putting on eclectic shows at the former Main Access Gallery on Arthur Street. Jewelry became an interest later in life and she gifted many handmade bracelets, studded with healing gemstones, to friends and relatives.
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Zarnowski painted colourful works.
Throughout their friendship, Chappel admired Zarnowski’s bravery. She travelled solo through Poland and Canada, pursued her passions as a single parent and took up horseback riding in her 60s. That bravery has inspired Chappel to live more boldly.
“Life is too short to worry,” she says. “Do what you want and get on with it.”
When Richard found out his mother had started riding lessons, he was concerned — especially when she fell off a horse during said lessons — but not surprised.
“She was always trying new things,” he says. “Her frame of mind and her curiosity never calcified.”
eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com
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