It's no exaggeration when Taylor Nagata says he can feel the music as he's pounding a traditional Japanese taiko drum. And the Punchbowl teenager isn't talking about the tingle of drumsticks in his hands.

It's something more personal than that.

"When you play taiko, you can feel the rhythm in your heart," Nagata said. "When you are that close to a drum, you can feel it through your chest."

The connection between drummer and drum will take center stage when Nagata and the rest of the Pacific Buddhist Academy's top taiko drummers perform at the school's second annual Taiko & Karaoke Festival. Proceeds benefit the academy's taiko program.

Taiko is a required freshman course at the academy and an elective after that. Through taiko, it is hoped that students develop concentration, self-discipline and confidence in their artistic abilities.

Nagata, a 16-year-old junior at the small school, said good taiko — a performance where the drummers are in sync with each other — is a powerful influence.

"The beats and the drums are sort of my way of life," he said. "I apply it to everything. Schoolwork. My personal life. Jobs. It's the way you connect to the other members of the group to have the oneness. The oneness is what makes your taiko drumming stand out."

It also helps you zone out, said Victor Pawid, a 16-year-old junior from Kane'ohe. Practicing in the fifth-period taiko class often gives him a mini-vacation.

"It's the only period where my mind leaves my body," Pawid said. "It's fun."

Given that the academy stresses peace education, it's not surprising that this year's festival was inspired by the story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who suffered from leukemia after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima at the end of World War II. Her struggle to heal inspired millions of people to work toward a more peaceful world.

The academy's taiko performance ensemble takes to O'ahu stages about twice a month, said instructor Jay Toyofuku, who also teaches classes at the academy in conflict resolution and life skills.

Toyofuku hopes the festival will foster a sense of calm — "a peaceful vibration" that audience members can use to make the world a better place. Sharing good music or taking a walk through nature can do that, he said.

"Life is so hectic now, and everyone is going full speed," said Toyofuku, a 50-year-old Manoa resident who started teaching taiko in 1997. "If we can play and take people away from that, we can give them a moment of peace. Otherwise, all you're thinking of is what you have to do and that creates stress in your life."

His students agree. They've witnessed audiences connect with their drumming and seen what that does.

"For the people who listen to it, it is a mind-blowing experience," Nagata said. "It will brighten everybody's day. When everyone is having a good performance, you're spreading happiness."

TAIKO & KARAOKE FESTIVAL

Presented by the Pacific Buddhist Academy

6:30 p.m. Friday

Pearl City Cultural Center

$10

www.pacificbuddhistacademy.org