September 6, 2019

Here is a report from Shibuya Disaster Prevention Festival 2019!

On August 31, 2019, the Tohoku Youth Orchestra's wind ensemble performed at the Shibuya Ward Comprehensive Disaster Prevention Drill ~ SHIBUYA BOSAI FES 2019 ~ (http://shibuya-bosai.tokyo/) held at Yoyogi Park.

On the day at Yoyogi Park, fire engines and earthquake experience vehicles were on display, and many people, mainly families, came to visit.

Now, the six members of the wind ensemble who participated this time were as follows.
Flute: Momoka Kanno Oboe: Satoshi Sekine Bassoon: Ririka Endo Horn: Daiki Chiba (Tohoku Youth Orchestra graduate)
Horn: Shiori Tajima Clarinet: Natsumi Kidoguchi (Tohoku Youth Orchestra graduate)

This is a rehearsal in the dressing room tent before the show.
The temperature exceeded 30 degrees, so we had to endure the heat during practice...

Then we moved to the stage for a sound check before the show.

A snap backstage!

It seemed that it was the first time for the members to perform on an outdoor stage, and it was a rare experience for each individual's sound to be transmitted to the audience through a microphone...

The staff adjusted the balance and microphone position.

Once the sound check was over, it was time to change into our performance costumes.

This time, the TYO logo T-shirt was designed by Rikako Nagashima (https://rikako-nagashima.com/). Thank you very much!

Just before the show started, all the performers took a commemorative photo.

The MC was Hirokazu Tanaka, Secretary General of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra.
This time, it was a public recording of Shibuya Radio's "Shibuya's Tohoku Youth Orchestra," so Tanaka was wearing a Shibuya Radio T-shirt.

And...the show finally begins!

The first song is "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" from "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence," composed by director Ryuichi Sakamoto.
This time, our member Tono Eijun arranged the piece for woodwind quintet.

There was also an incident where flute player Sugano's sheet music was blown away by the wind.

Then, Captain Tajima introduced the members.

Mr. Tajima also shared his experiences during the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Mr. Tajima, who was an elementary school student at the time, apparently burst into tears when his father came to pick him up from school after the earthquake, screaming, "Dad!"

This is Mr. Sugano on flute.

Mr. Kanno is from Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture.

"As one of the victims, I have suffered greatly, but I would like to continue my activities with the Tohoku Youth Orchestra, putting my feelings for reconstruction into music," he said.

The next performance was a horn duet.

"Circus March" composed by Philip Sparke. It is a bright and fun song themed around the circus.

Next up is the first movement from "Three Pieces for Woodwind Quintet" by Jacques Ibert.

This is a classic piece for woodwind quintets. Each instrument takes its turn to show its charm, making it a very colorful and playful piece.

After the performance, the members talked again.

First, bassoonist Endo commented on the activities of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra.

He told us that one of the group's characteristics and charms is that, even though it is a youth group, it has members of a wide age range, from elementary school students to university students.

In honor of the Shibuya Disaster Prevention Festival, horn player Chiba and oboe player Sekine talked about the things they usually pay attention to in terms of disaster prevention.

Based on their experience with the Great East Japan Earthquake, they have made it a habit to always stock disaster prevention supplies at home and to check the evacuation shelters.

The last song was "Treasure Island," composed by Izumi Hirotaka and arranged by Wakabayashi Ai.

The brass band version is very famous, but in this woodwind quintet version, each instrument plays a brilliant solo.