ROME (Kyodo) The Kodo drum unit and the prestigious Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Orchestra performed a joint concert Saturday in Rome with an audience of about 2,500.

Seven Kodo drummers and about 80 members of the orchestra, which was established in 1908, played "Mono-Prism," composed by the late Maki Ishii for a joint concert of Japanese drums and orchestra.

Kodo, based on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, debuted in 1981 and has held about 3,200 overseas concerts in 46 countries.