This is a report from the first day of the training camp leading up to this year's concert.

It's finally starting. This year's training camp will be held for three days and two nights just before the concert. In the past two times, the group has shown remarkable results by cramming in the last night. This year, the training camp will be held not in the mountains of Chiba or along the coast, but in the rehearsal room of the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall.

The bus that brought the group members from Sendai, via Fukushima, arrived just before 1:00 p.m., earlier than scheduled.

Meanwhile, the Iwate group arrived by Shinkansen from Morioka Station and then by train via Shinjuku.

A team of university students from the Kanto region helped us bring in the instruments and set up the chairs in the morning. You can see the usual TYO inscription on the whiteboard.

When I got closer,

This is a handwritten countdown to the performance. Yes, there are only 72 hours left until the performance begins, whether you laugh or cry.

Miyagi and Fukushima arrive at the rehearsal room with their instruments and suitcases.

Pictured here is the youngest participant, Chihiro Sasayama, a fourth grader from Fukushima Prefecture, with her mother and six-year-old sister.

They are sisters who look very similar.

At the orientation, Naomi Okada from the secretariat will explain the important points to note regarding accommodation.

And we received words of encouragement from Masato Oshiki, representative director of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra. Mr. Oshiki will be taking up the post of president of Yamaha Music Japan from April this year. Since we have been working together since the instrument restoration project in 2011, I feel like we are on a roll (laughs).

Under the guidance of conductor Toshio Yanagisawa, we started rehearsal with the third movement of Debussy's symphonic poem "La Mer"!

During the first break, director Ryuichi Sakamoto seemed to be smiling.

The woman on the right, Sayo Kosugi , who plays the piano (commonly known as the "piano in the orchestra") for Stravinsky's "The Firebird," one of the main pieces along with Debussy, is a doctorate in composition from the Juilliard School and an active composer, but when I learned that she is also a contract employee of Promax, the promoter of the secretariat, Iijima Norimitsu, commented, "Promax has a lot of talented people!"

Director Sakamoto's visit to Japan comes after he served as a judge for the Golden Bear Award, the grand prize at the Berlin Film Festival last month, and then performed in France, before arriving in Tokyo the day before yesterday.He appears to be in good health, despite being in the middle of a two-month business trip around the world.

Even though I was practicing Debussy's "La Mer," he suddenly turned to the piano, and I thought, "Oh?"

The harp parts were played on the piano.

In fact, right after the orientation that day, there was an incident that caused everyone to panic. Suddenly, a cymbal rang out with a "crash!", and we thought it had fallen to the floor, but it was actually a third-year junior high school student from Sendai, Kohiyama Shoya, who had collapsed from anemia while still holding his piccolo. He hit his forehead on the cymbal, and unfortunately cut himself and started bleeding. He was then taken by ambulance to Tokyo Women's Medical University, where the cut was removed and he was examined thoroughly, and returned to health.

While Director Sakamoto comforted him, he took a commemorative photo saying, "I'm glad nothing serious happened." I'm sorry for worrying your father and mother, but you've made such a big recovery.

And while everyone was panicking over the sudden illness with blood trickling from his head, there was a MVP of the day who helped Kohiyama-kun straighten out, encouraged him and continued to take his pulse. It was Shiho Kono, who joined us this season and plays the flute like Kohiyama-kun.

Ms. Kono is a third-year student at Fukushima Medical University, studying to be a nurse. When asked to take a photo with her thanks, she raised both hands in a humble pose, but it looked like a god's hand or magic hand. There are several other nurses at TYO, so parents can rest assured.

And every year, we are grateful to have someone who brings us a gift of cream puffs.

This is Yuji Arakawa, the president of Nextone Co., Ltd. , a music copyright management company. We have asked him to provide an explanation of the songs to be performed in the pamphlet to be distributed at the concert this year as well. Thank you very much.

The evening session began after a one-hour lunch break at 5 p.m. As a special program, Director Sakamoto introduced Hironori Nakano, the number one Japanese sports chiropractor in the United States, who is based in New York, to us, and he gave us a 45-minute workshop on "how to use your body without getting tired."

I was introduced to him because I contributed the text on the cover of Nakano's book "The Ultimate Tired Body Proven by the World's Latest Medical Science."

First, let's look at how to move your lower back to avoid lower back pain, which affects 80% of Japanese people.

Muraoka, the viola player, serves as a human model.

By explaining the mechanism of the body in an easy-to-understand way, we were taught how to build a strong body. Starting with sleeping and eating, "First, sleep eight hours a day. Increase your bone density by eating a balanced diet," he taught the members, who tend to move asymmetrically while playing their instruments, by saying, "Supporting your body is more important than supporting your instrument." The entire group was given the opportunity to try it out on the spot.

The "Ultimate Body Secret" materials that were distributed have been made public . Thank you very much.

The evening session began with "Behind the Mask," a film from Director Sakamoto's YMO days.

Afterwards, they continued with an ensemble rehearsal with Director Sakamoto, performing "The Last Emperor," "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence," and "ETUDE."

During the 8 p.m. break, another welcome treat was served.

This ice cream is made in Iwate Prefecture and is provided by the National Association of Agricultural Cooperatives National Headquarters.

Everyone enjoyed their meal while taking a break. Thank you very much. JA Kyosai has placed PR advertisements in the weekly magazines "AERA" and "Shukan Shincho" in conjunction with the recent 3/11.

Thank you very much.

Practice ended at 9 p.m., and the leader of the training camp group, Hinako Isogai, a first-year university student, gave us some instructions on what to do during our stay.

There was a line to check in at the accommodation, which was a 30-minute walk away.

You usually have to collect your room key, receive your meal vouchers for the next day, and then collect your sheets.

Oh dear, it's already 10:30pm at this point. Please make sure you get a good night's sleep as Nakano-san taught us today. From tomorrow onwards, we'll be practicing 10 hours a day for the next two days!

This was a report on the first day of the training camp, which was a bit eventful.