January joint training session @Fukushima City, first day

On Saturday, January 20th, we held our first joint practice session of the year in Fukushima City. As there are only two months left until the Tokyo performance on March 21st, we practiced the performance for two consecutive days. Of course, the conductor, Toshio Yanagisawa, guided us on both days.

However, that morning, the regular concert of the Fukushima University Orchestra and the unified mock exams of Fukushima Prefecture high schools overlapped, so attendance was low... Nevertheless, throughout the day, we carefully and meticulously went through Debussy's "La Mer," one of the main pieces of the concert.
During these two days, I tried to interview as many members as possible during breaks. So, this is the first part of TYO Members Talk 2018.
First, during lunch break, I decided to sit between two third-term university freshmen who were eating together at a table facing each other and listen to what they had to say. The two in the photo at the beginning, Haruka Watanabe (double bass) on the left and Akane Kurihana (cello) on the right, were classmates who were in the same orchestra club at Fukushima High School.
First, let's hear from Watanabe about his experience of 3/11.

We were practicing for the graduation ceremony in the gymnasium of an elementary school in Fukushima City. Because everyone was not doing their job properly during practice, the teacher, who was easily enraged, kicked a chair and the room shook violently. I wondered what was going on and it was an earthquake. The iron door of the gymnasium, which is usually heavy and difficult to open, moved with the shaking and made a loud banging noise, and I thought this was something unusual. We immediately evacuated to the schoolyard, but it was a cold day with snow and thunder, and only the teacher returned to the school building and threw everyone's jackets and coats down from the second floor. I remember that our parents came to pick us up just before dark, freezing in them. In the end, we couldn't hold a graduation ceremony. I wonder if no one in Fukushima was able to hold a graduation ceremony?

Next, we hear from Kurihana about her experience of 3/11.

I'm from Koori-machi, Fukushima Prefecture, and I couldn't have a graduation ceremony. I was taking classes in the multipurpose hall above the gymnasium of my elementary school when the earthquake happened. I was scared because I was shaking like I was on a roller coaster. I went out to the schoolyard and waited outside in the cold for about two hours, then my parents came to pick me up and we went home together. However, the tiled roof of our house had collapsed and the room was a mess, so my family and I went back to the gymnasium of the elementary school to take refuge. There was a power outage and aftershocks made it impossible to sleep, and when I was hungry, a rice ball from a convenience store that a local person handed out was delicious. Lifelines were cut off for a week, so when it was too cold, I spent the day in the car with the engine running and the heater on.
Immediately after the disaster, I was told that if I went outside the prefecture, I would have a bad experience, so it would be better not to go. If you drive a car with a Fukushima license plate, you might get pelted with raw eggs, and if you say you're from Fukushima, people will be mean to you. I think that's gone now, though.

Watanabe responded to that story,

When I went to Sendai Airport a year after the disaster, he said that he had to be careful not to vandalize his car because it had Fukushima license plates.
Some people left the prefecture after the disaster, and I was worried, but on the other hand, people in the Hamadori area, which suffered the most damage, moved to Fukushima City, so I wondered if they would be okay. Even in Fukushima, the damage was less inland than for people on the coast, so I have mixed feelings when people from outside the prefecture tell me that it must have been hard for you.

What kind of activities do you want to do through the Tohoku Youth Orchestra in the future?

I've always wanted to be a member of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra since I was in high school, so I'm happy to be a part of it. I hope that by listening to the performances of the members from the three affected prefectures, they can convey that they are living their lives in their own way. Although the extent of the damage we all suffered varies, I think the great thing about the Tohoku Youth Orchestra is that we all share the same experiences and understand each other.

What about Tsuyuriha?

I'm still afraid of the sea. I've never been to the sea. So when I was asked to play Debussy's "La Mer," I thought, "Oh, I see, it's the sea." I think it's meaningful for the Tohoku Youth Orchestra to play "La Mer."
In the future, I want to work in the reconstruction effort. If possible, I want to work as a civil servant in Fukushima Prefecture. So, while I'm still a student with free time, I want to learn about the different experiences people have had through the Tohoku Youth Orchestra. In order to ensure that we don't forget the Great Earthquake, I want to convey to future generations that there were difficult times.

What a wonderful statement! I'm glad we were able to welcome such an ambitious member to the orchestra this term. The classmate duo took another friendly photo together. Good luck on your first big stage at the Opera City Concert Hall!

Of course, they don't always smile, and they practice with serious expressions on their faces.

We received some local sweets from the mother of Kota Kaizu (trombone), a second-year junior high school student from Shirakawa City, Fukushima Prefecture.

Thank you so much for your concern!

On this day, we received a delightful announcement. The crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for travel expenses and other costs to hold concerts in the disaster-stricken areas, which was run by voluntary members of the orchestra, exceeded its target amount of 150,000 yen during the campaign period. This is the crowdfunding team.

From the right are Honda Aiga (violin), leader Hashimoto Karin (double bass), Onami Sakura (trombone), and Sato Hikari (viola).
We spoke to Sakura Onami (currently a second-year university student in Tokyo).
Where did you experience 311?

At that time, I was in my second year of junior high school and was living at home in Date City, Fukushima Prefecture. I lived with my parents, younger siblings, and five other family members, but I came home early because it was my graduation day, and it was the last Friday of my mother's two-week business trip to Tokyo. My mother had left me in charge of the housework, so I was at home alone, washing dishes and putting away laundry, when the earthquake hit. I was scared of the shaking, but I calmly thought, "The room I had worked so hard to clean up is now a mess, and my parents will get angry at me. This is bad. I have to do it properly." In the end, my mother couldn't come home for about a week.
The four of us who were at home went to an evacuation center, but it was too noisy and bright to sleep, so we went back home. At home, the water and electricity were cut off, but the gas was fine, so my father cooked for us and we ate with plates wrapped in plastic wrap, so we didn't have any problems with food. We got information from the radio and our flip-phones. We didn't know about the nuclear accident, so we played outside all day. After two or three days, we went to a school across the river where there was electricity and went to charge our flip-phones, and that's when we found out. After that, the electricity came back on about a week later, and we started to learn more. We had trouble getting water. We managed to get by by going to the river to get water, or getting water from a house that had well water.

How has your life changed since 3/11?

At first, I cleaned up the house, but there wasn't much a junior high school student could do, so I just wandered around outside, and looking back, I think I played outside carefree. Then people who had fled from Hamadori started coming to the evacuation center, and I played with the children who had evacuated and volunteered by handing out rice balls. This volunteer work was a big thing for me. It broadened my interest in the world.
As I was involved in various reconstruction support activities, I began to think that it would be nice if I could do something like that myself. Many reconstruction projects came to the FTV Junior Orchestra, which I was a member of, and we actually went to many places. The one that left the biggest impression on me was the Peace Boat project. We traveled by boat to Los Angeles in the United States, and from Mexico we visited Venezuela, where we interacted with the junior orchestra of El Sistema (an organization that runs a music education program aimed at social change), and were greatly influenced by it. This made me want to know more about El Sistema, and I decided to study Spanish at university.

How is the Tohoku Youth Orchestra doing?

I was on stage at the first launch of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra at the Lucerne Festival ARKNOVA Matsushima in 2013. It was fun to play with people from various orchestras. I also thought that Ryuichi Sakamoto was a good pianist and had a strong aura about him. I think it's amazing that someone can make such a project a reality.
When they were recruiting new members for the Tohoku Youth Orchestra, I had retaken the entrance exam, so I was able to enter university without any problems and join from the second term.
This orchestra is fun because people from all over the world and all ages come together. To tell the truth, I never went to the disaster areas near the sea until I was in my third year of high school. Because I didn't want to see the rubble and stuff. But then I went to Minamisoma on a study tour and my thoughts changed. Now I think it's important for volunteers to perform in the disaster areas.
High-quality music is important, but I think it's just as important to communicate what you feel during volunteer performances. It's not just about performance technique, but about conveying the power of music. The power of music to connect people and inspire them. In particular, the power of meeting people, practicing together, and gathering people to listen to performances, which connects people.
There is something special about live music. We want to convey the power of music through the power of live music. I hope that such people will grow up here. I think that is the significance of not only having a proper, impressive hall, but also having volunteer and consolation concerts in disaster-stricken areas.

What is your dream for the future?

I would like to create a place like El Sistema in Japan. It's a place where everyone from children to adults can learn music and enjoy playing instruments. I really like the catchphrase of El Sistema in Venezuela, "Take up an instrument instead of a weapon." In Japan, it may be useful for mental health issues and preventing suicide among young people. If possible, I would like to create such a place in Fukushima.

Once again, faced with such noble aspirations, the "teacher in charge" can only bow his head in gratitude. Here is a photo of Onami-san with his instrument.

Crowdfunding for the concert by volunteers is ongoing until the 27th. This time there will be no gifts in return, so we will ask for donations, but we would appreciate your support. The information page is here ↓

https://japangiving.jp/campaigns/33745

Anyway, the only piece we practiced that day was Debussy's La Mer. Mr. Yanagisawa cut up the 20-minute piece, which consists of three movements, into small pieces and gave detailed instructions.

At one point, they practiced just the string section. At another, they practiced just the wind and percussion sections. Here is a scene of them practicing just the wind and percussion sections.

We also interviewed one more person. Nishimaru Satoshi (double bass), a second-year student from Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, who is a member of the third batch starting this term and is studying at a university in Kyoto, but takes a late-night bus from Kyoto every month to come to practice. During the short 10-minute break, we asked him why he wanted to participate so badly.

This fine young man with a refreshing smile answered clearly and concisely.

What was 311 doing?

It was my first year of junior high school, and it was my graduation day. So I went home early and played at a friend's house. I was worried because my grandmother was alone at my parents' house, so I hurried back. The evacuation zone due to the nuclear accident reached a point very close to our house, so two or three days later, my family of six went to an evacuation center, and a week later, we left my grandmother behind and evacuated to my cousin's house in Tokyo. In the end, the three siblings stayed there for a month.

Why did you join the Tohoku Youth Orchestra?

I had always played in a wind instrument band, but the double bass wasn't often played in the university wind instrument band, so I wanted to join an orchestra. As the activities of the cheerleading brass band at my club activities have calmed down, I joined with the hope that I could help the disaster-stricken areas. I want to spread the activities of this orchestra to the Kansai region, and I want people to know about its existence.

How is the Tohoku Youth Orchestra doing?

Even though everyone has suffered damage, they are staying positive and doing things for their local communities. I am moved just to be a part of it.

Thank you. I am also moved by listening to everyone's stories. I hope Nishimaru-kun will be active as the head of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra Kansai. I would like to hold a concert in Kansai someday. I wonder if we can hold a concert in Kyoto, which is my hometown. (I'm quietly calling for sponsors who can help make the Kyoto concert a reality!)

Now that a day filled with the ocean has come to an end, we head home to prepare for tomorrow's practice. This is the boys' team staying at the Fukushima City Community Center.

The members range from junior high school students to university students from Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, and now also include university members from Yamagata prefecture, so the mix of members is typical of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra.

I wonder if we'll practice another main piece, Stravinsky's "The Firebird (1919 version)" tomorrow. Thank you for your hard work on the first day of practice!