[citation needed] Bergstrom began playing taiko while attending Stanford University.
[3] Over this internship period, a discussion between Bergstrom and Kameda entertained the idea of creating a taiko group, which are the roots for On Ensemble.
In order to pursue professional taiko, he dropped Physics from his course of study and began concentrating more on music.
When he first arrived in Japan, he visited Sado Island to see the taiko group Kodo for their earth day celebration.
Bergstrom took up the traditional Japanese dance, Nihon Buyō, for two years in the Wakayagi school.
[citation needed] In August 2001, Bergstrom, Shoji Kameda, and Masato Baba performed in Japan, bringing together three-fourths of On Ensemble before the inclusion of Michelle Fujii.
[2] In order to learn the shamisen, Bergstrom searched for a teacher in the Hakodate phonebook in spring of 2000.
[5] While studying Bergstrom developed a close relationship with Katsuyukie similar to that of the traditional uchi-deshi apprenticeship system for Japanese arts.
While in Japan, he studied for a time under Kobayashi Tarou, a student of an original member of Oedo Sukeroku Taiko.
[8] Bergstrom is a strong believer in the concept of copyleft, where creators encourage sharing and collaboration.