This is a report from the second joint training session held in June.

On Sunday June 3rd, a lucky day when many wedding photos were uploaded to social media, the second joint practice session of the year was held at the Fukushima Minpo Hall in Fukushima City, where the maximum temperature was 31 degrees.
Yanagisawa Toshio, who will be conducting again this year, recently returned from a performance in Kosovo. As soon as he made his first appearance of the year, the new captain, Isogai Hinako, was quick to run up to him and greet him, faster than any of the other members of the orchestra.

I hope that this ability to act quickly will be instilled in all members of the group this year.

This was the first time that members from the fourth term met Mr. Yanagisawa.

However, it was discovered that the string section had not included the bowing markings in the score for Brahms' Symphony No. 2, one of the main pieces for this year. The group was quickly split into sections in the morning, and the string section worked on adding the bowing marks to the score.

Yanagisawa began giving instruction to the remaining woodwind, brass, and percussion sections.

He said that this year he wants the students to aim to project the sound farther and to produce a better resonance and tone.

Everyone stood up to do some exercises to increase lung capacity.

He taught us how to use our bodies to get more air into our lungs. After that, we moved on to practicing Brahms with just wind and percussion instruments. Mr. Yanagisawa was a trombonist when he was about the same age as the orchestra members, and he mentioned that his famous trombone performance of Symphony No. 2 was recorded by Sir Georg Solti with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Meanwhile, the string players continued to enjoy their lunch, which included bowing, even during their lunch break.

As the man in charge, I was concerned about their eating habits, which seemed difficult to digest, so I took the photo at an oblique angle, but it was only a temporary relief.

It looks like the first violin has already been worked on.

People who are doing peace swings instead of bowing.

During this lunch break, there was a member I wanted to interview. As we were entering a new academic year, I took a profile questionnaire and found out that Ayaka Takamatsu, a fourth-year university student who played clarinet and joined the band in the previous term, was from Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture. Until then, I only knew that her family home was in Iwaki City, and that she was now attending a music college in Tokyo, so she lived in Tokyo. In fact, Momoka Kanno, who plays the flute, is also a second-year student at a music college in Tokyo, and I thought she was from Iwaki City, where her family home address is. However, at the concert held at the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall in March, when introducing Kanno's piece, she said to me, "Actually, I'm from Namie Town." So, I was hoping to interview the two Namie Town natives at the next practice session.

Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture . The town is located only 4km from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The evacuation order was lifted on March 31st last year. The mayor announced his resignation the day after this training.

After lunch, I began talking to Takamatsu.

"Can I start by asking where you were and what you were doing on 3/11?"

As Takamatsu began to talk, I couldn't help asking him more questions, and he answered them back, so I changed my perspective and expanded the topic, and one episode after another and emotions came pouring out. In the end, it didn't end by the time the afternoon practice started at 1pm, so I asked him to continue during the next break, and he kindly replied, "That's okay. Please let me know," but there was no way I could hear everything he had to say in the 15-minute break.

Whenever I interview members, I want to listen to them while looking at their eyes, faces, and movements, so I don't use a computer to record (I don't like people who look at their keyboards while they're talking), but I do my best to keep things up to date by flicking my iPhone's notes and saying, "Hmm, wait a minute." Takamatsu's words were overwhelming, and I was particularly drawn to his words, "I hope we can deepen our understanding by sending out information that doesn't just come from the (mass) media." As someone who sometimes works with the media, I thought I would rather carefully and thoroughly publish this as a record of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra, rather than uploading a nice, well-presented summary of what I heard that day. I asked Kanno, who I hoped would be able to interview another person, "There are so many things I want to ask you, Takamatsu. Can we do it again next time?" He answered cheerfully without a moment's hesitation, "Of course it's fine!" I felt that he must have a lot to talk about.
So, we would like to re-interview and introduce the two members of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra who are originally from Namie Town.

Now, going back to lunchtime, the members who had finished their lunch early were practicing in one corner of the practice venue.

The song is "Ob-La-Di-O-Bla-Da" by the Beatles. It seems that they are practicing for a volunteer concert at the San-San shopping arcade in Minamisanriku Town on Saturday, the 23rd of this month at 13:00.

Hikari Sato, the leader of the volunteer performance team, and Haruka Watanabe, who clapped along, listened to the performance and gave advice. This song means "life goes on," so I think it's a good song selection!

During the break, we took photos to promote a volunteer concert.

The leader stepped in and concluded that there were not enough smiles.

Karin Hashimoto, who was taking photos of the participants in the volunteer concert on June 23rd, sent me a list of the performers, which I would like to introduce. The performers were: Vn Suzuki Nanase, Vn Yamazaki Yuko, Vla Suzuki Shoko, Vla Muraoka Akira, Vc Suzuki Rina, Cb Katsuta Rin, Ob Suga Fumie, Ob Sekine Satoshi, Cl Kurosu Natsuki, Cl Nakayama Yuki, Hr Isogai Hinako, Hr Akama Kanara, Tb Fukuzumi Maone, and the members who supervised and recorded the concert were Tomizawa Yuta, Watanabe Haruka, and Hashimoto Karin. I hope that they will prepare well and create a performance that will remain in the hearts of everyone in Minami Sanriku.

In addition, we have already decided on a voluntary concert in July, and we have been informed that crowdfunding will begin soon. It is encouraging that the members' independent activities are likely to expand even further this year.

As the afternoon concert began, Yanagisawa spoke about his goals for this year and his song selections.

"This year, I want the students to understand the overall structure of the pieces they will be performing. Until last year, each student only focused on their own part and performed by simply arranging the notes. I want them to be conscious of their place in the whole, and at the same time, I want wind instruments to strive to produce better sounds as individuals, for example by training their lung capacity.
Up until the third season, I had done my best to complete it. This season, I want to take a step forward and create something that has grown a step further. We started in May, which is earlier than the past three years, so we have more time.

In response to the question, "Who has ever played Brahms' No. 2?"

Less than 10 members raised their hands.

"The selection of Brahms' Symphony No. 2 was decided after consulting with Director Sakamoto. First of all, the structure of the piece is solid. I wanted the audience to understand the structure well when playing it, and Brahms's sonata form structure is easy to understand. Do you know what a sonata form is? The Tchaikovsky and Mahler works that I have performed so far were also in sonata form, but they were difficult to understand. Brahms has an aesthetic of structure. I think knowing the sonata form will also lead to everyone's composition workshops. Brahms is good for learning the development of melodies. The simple melody of this Symphony No. 2, "Tarara," develops and develops. You can understand the structure created by people. Starting with the introduction, you can learn how the work is created, from the first theme of the exposition, the second theme, the codetta (the conclusion of the exposition), the development, the recapitulation, and the coda. There are performances by various conductors and orchestras, so I want you to listen to various performances and learn the differences in tempo and ritardando. "

Therefore, the learning objective for the Tohoku Youth Orchestra this year has been set as understanding the overall structure of the piece, and within that structure, understanding sonata form.

We will immediately start working on the ensemble of Brahms No. 2.

What caught our all attention was Mr. Yanagisawa's right hand.

It was his first time holding a baton! Since no one in the orchestra asked him any questions, I asked them after practice.

"Until last year, we were just arranging the sounds. Some people would come on ahead of the conductor, so I used just my hands to coordinate my direction with everyone. This year, I'm using a baton so I can make better contact and get everyone to coordinate their movements (laughs)," he said.

To all members, please take Mr. Toshio Yanagisawa's guidance to heart this year. And please practice well individually before coming to the joint practice.

Oh, and I forgot to take a photo, but please help us clean up afterwards. We all used the practice venue together, so let's all work together to leave it in a clean place.

We appreciate your continued support for the Tohoku Youth Orchestra.