January 2020 Joint Training Session Report

This will be the first joint practice session of 2020, held over two days from January 18th (Sat) to 19th (Sun).

There were also absences due to the National Center Test for University Admissions, influenza, etc.

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In the morning of the first day, practice for Director Sakamoto's new song finally began.

The title of the new song is "Time is Tilt Now."

You'll have to wait until the March concert to find out what song it is...

There are parts where each person is able to extend the sound at their own pitch and timing.

An 11 beat rhythm is incorporated.

I thought that this song would be a trigger for the members to search for the "sound of Tohoku" and "the sound of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra" that Director Sakamoto has always talked about.

Let's create a clear image for the performance in March.

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Now, let me introduce the gifts I received this time.

We received some sweets from Digital Garage.

We also receive support for taking videos and photos at every practice session and concert. Thank you as always.

We also received sweets from the Morinaga Angel Foundation.

There are so many varieties that I can't decide which one to try first...

Horn player Akamatsu (pictured on the right) is apparently a fan of the "large ramune."

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In the afternoon we will practice the Ninth Symphony.

Perhaps because we were unable to devote time to the Ninth for a while due to preparations for the Kumamoto performance at the end of last year, there were some areas where we fell behind a bit...

We will play together while recalling what we have practiced since the summer.

Mr. Yanagisawa gave everyone a general message: "Make sure you stay in good health and try not to miss practice as much as possible," and "Make sure each person practices properly on their own."

Here, Mr. Takeda from the Fukushima office and Mr. Miyagawa from the Tokyo office are watching the orchestra members play together. They are studying the Ninth Symphony intently while looking at the sheet music.

When it came time to practice the fourth movement, the students sang the choral parts in a low voice along with the orchestra's playing.

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On this day, rehearsal of the Ninth Symphony continued until 5:00 p.m., ending the first day.

We walked from the practice venue, Fukushima Minpo Newspaper Company, to Hotel Itakura near Fukushima Station.

Thank you for your continued support as last year.

The long-awaited dinner.

Food distribution will be carried out with the cooperation of mainly university student members.

The "Itadakimasu" person on this day was Kanasugi Kanon, a fourth grade elementary school student playing the violin.

We enjoyed a hearty and delicious dinner, perfect for a youth hostel.

After dinner, everyone spent their time however they wanted, taking a bath or doing their homework.

Members over the age of 20 also had a social drinking party.

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It's the second day. Many of the members are not good at getting up early, so we all gather for breakfast at different times...

This scene seems to be an annual occurrence.

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Second day of practice at Minpo Hall.

On this day, the morning started with practicing "Time is Tilt Now."

At one point, the group performed together, splitting the time into periods when only wind instruments were playing and periods when only string instruments were playing.

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For lunch, JA Kyosai Fukushima provided us with bento boxes and tea (Earl Grey, a tea specialty store : https://earlgrey-2007.com/ ).

Thank you for the delicious lunch!

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Some enthusiastic members even practiced on their own during breaks.

University student Hibino Ai is giving individual instruction to elementary school student Kanasugi Kanon.

Yoshiko Izawa and Minami Suzuki are a friendly pair who act cute together.

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During the afternoon practice, Ms. Shiho Kono, an alumna of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra, came to join us. (I missed taking a photo...)

The chocolates that my senior brought me were gone in a flash.

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In the afternoon, we practiced the Ninth Symphony.

Professor Yanagisawa pointed out the importance of coordinating the timing of when the sound starts.

During afternoon practice.

Just when we thought we would take a break and resume practice, Professor Yanagisawa suddenly began a short talk.

"It's been five years since I started coming to Fukushima with Tohoku Youth.

Over the course of five years, I was able to find out two Fukushima specialties: "Disc dumplings" and "Squid and carrots."

My wish came true and I was able to eat disk dumplings for the first time yesterday.

"It was a charming story.

(Disc dumplings. *The photo was taken by a supervisor on a separate occasion.)

His impression after eating it was, "It was delicious, but it was pretty ordinary gyoza."

*By the way, "ika-ninjin" is made by pickling thinly sliced dried squid and carrots in soy sauce, sake, and mirin, and is very popular among the TYO secretariat.

Despite this moment, we practiced the Ninth Symphony hard until the evening, and the January practice session ended successfully.

thank you for your hard work!

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Next month's joint training session will also be a two-day camp.

Influenza is going around at the moment, so please make sure to take care of your health!

Tickets for the March performance are now on sale!

http://tohoku-youth-orchestra.org/#liveinfo

Please note that some seats may sell out quickly depending on the type and date, so please apply early.