Volunteer activities @ Minamisanriku Sansan Shopping Street

November 24

Following the volunteer concert in June, we held our second volunteer concert of the year at Minami Sanriku San San Shopping Street.

It was 8:00 in the morning. We gathered at Sendai Station and took a bus to the San-San Shopping Arcade in Minamisanriku Town. When I asked them, "What time did you get up?" some of them answered sleepily, "4:30." It was an early morning.

And after just under an hour and a half, we arrived at the shopping district.

We had plenty of practice and meetings before the performance.

This time, 12 members participated, ranging from first-year junior high school students to fourth-year university students.
With many junior high school students in attendance, the concert was more lively and fresh than ever.

There was also a performance by junior high school students only, which was wonderful.

Oh, sorry for the late introduction. Hello. Nice to meet you. I'm Kazumi Takahashi, from the flute section.
I would like to write a report on this volunteer activity. I look forward to hearing from you. I'm sorry, but this time it's not the "usual" Tomizawa-san (the eldest son). (I've taken over the volunteer activity role from Tomizawa-san.)

Ok, so back to the main topic.
It was very cold in Minamisanriku Town, but the performance was full of energy and they didn't let the cold get them down, and at the end of the concert, a wonderful incident happened...!

The smiling couple can be seen in the center of the photo.
He came from Fukushima on a trip to celebrate his 60th birthday.

Apparently the husband's birthday was on the day of the concert, so the wife asked us to perform, and all the members of the orchestra celebrated with an impromptu performance.

congratulations!

After the concert, I went to talk to him and found out that he had known about the Tohoku Youth Orchestra for some time.
"I was very moved. I was also affected by the earthquake, so this kind of activity is something that I can't help but feel. Please continue to do your best. Please also convey my thanks to the members who came to celebrate with us."
He said with tears in his eyes.

I almost started crying too.

I was reminded that being able to talk directly with the people who come to listen is one of the great things about voluntary concerts.

After such a wonderful concert, we all enjoyed a feast of delicious Minami Sanriku food.

This is a salmon and salmon roe bowl from Kaisen Dokoro Yanagi, a restaurant in San San Shopping Street.

Watanabe Haruka, who helped organize this concert, also had this smile on her face.
It was delicious.

After the lunch break, we moved to a facility called the Portal Center for the workshop.

The workshop was planned and organized by Project "M", who helped organize this volunteer concert.

The theme of the workshop was "Community Development after the Earthquake Disaster"

The goal is to "know your will → have your own axis"

So, the junior high school, high school, and university students were divided into three groups and did group work.

Before getting into the theme, the children competed in a picture chain game and a marshmallow challenge, in which they had to assemble pasta and see how high they could put a marshmallow.

The marshmallow challenge also saw some artistic creations like this.

The Tohoku Youth Orchestra is a large group of nearly 100 people, and in fact there are few opportunities to talk to each other as they are in different parts and grades. At first, the atmosphere was tense, but through the game, they became friendly and the atmosphere became relaxed.

After the game, we move on to the main topic.

"What does recovery mean?" "What does recovery mean for the heart?" "What do you want your audience to do through your music?"

They each thought about this question and shared their opinions. At times, the junior high school students looked confused, and at those times the university students supported them and continued the discussion.

The Tohoku Youth Orchestra is now in its fourth season of activity, and perhaps each member's thoughts and intentions regarding the orchestra's activities are becoming increasingly unclear.

This was a good opportunity for each member of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra to reconsider their thoughts and feelings regarding their involvement in the organization's activities, including future volunteer activities.

"I don't think there is a right answer to the three questions we came up with in this workshop, and I think that each of us has our own answer that is correct."

I was really touched by what Mr. Miura, one of the members of Project “M,” said.

I felt that both members who took part in this volunteer activity and those who did not were encouraged to reconsider their own ideas and make our activities as the Tohoku Youth Orchestra even more lively.

After the group work, Mr. Onodera, the representative of Project "M," gave us an explanation of the state of Minamisanriku at the time of the earthquake, showing us photos from that time.

Children who had not even been in elementary school at the time of the disaster are now in junior high school and are active as members of the group. Since many of these junior high school students participated in the volunteer activities this time, we asked them to talk about what it was like at the time in order to give them a detailed understanding of what it was like at the time.

Even the junior high school students who said they "don't remember much about the earthquake" listened intently to the talk. We are very grateful to Project "M" for holding such a fruitful workshop in addition to the volunteer concert at Sansan Shopping Arcade.

At the end of the workshop, we took a commemorative photo with Project "M".

Not to be outdone by the junior and senior high school students in the front row, the university students in the back row were also energetic and lively.

This volunteer activity was extremely well received by Project "M", the people at San San Shopping Street, and those who came to listen, and I believe it was a fruitful concert for the Tohoku Youth Orchestra.

It was such a fulfilling day that I can't possibly describe it all here.

Now, I'll talk a little bit about my personal life. Instead of the seniors who had been the core of the volunteer activities up until now, Haruka Watanabe, a second-year university student, and I have been taking the lead this time. At first, I was nervous and anxious, but in the end, we were able to hold such a wonderful concert and make this a meaningful activity, so I feel very relieved.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to Project "M" who cooperated with this volunteer activity, everyone at San San Shopping Street, those who came to listen, and everyone who supported us through crowdfunding to carry out this volunteer activity.

We are currently running a crowdfunding campaign to continue our monthly volunteer activities . We appreciate your support.