March 19, 2022

The first day of the Morioka training camp just before the regular concert has begun.

Somehow, all the members were able to gather at Morioka Civic Cultural Hall, the venue for the performance on Tuesday the 22nd.

Just when we thought that the coronavirus situation had finally calmed down and we would be able to enjoy our first concert in three years with some ease, a major earthquake occurred at 11:36 pm on the 16th.

When I heard the news that the Tohoku Shinkansen pier had been damaged, I wondered if the concert would be canceled this year either.

This morning, the Tokyo group was able to meet at Shinjuku West Exit at 7am.

However, he received a call from a member who had not shown up.
"I'm lost on the platform at Shinjuku Station right now."
"What do you see?"
"I'm in the Yoyogi area."
"There! Stay out!"
Yoyogi and Shinjuku are just one stop away on the Yamanote Line.
I asked Shoka Hirono, who was running towards me in a hurry, "Is this your first time at Shinjuku Station?"
"I've only been here once!"
There's nothing we can do about that.

Then, Yuri Tanno, who was in charge of the boys' group, said,
"Viola's Takezawa-kun just woke up. He's in Chofu so it will take an hour."
That wake-up time is for people who have a door that can go anywhere.
"Tell him to come on his own."
So, we decided to just go ahead and do it.

After that, I got a call from Takezawa-kun.
"We'll probably arrive in Morioka after 9pm."
"How do you get here?"
"First, I'll go to Niigata, then go to Akita and then to Morioka," he said.
If a problem occurs, we'll figure something out.
It's a lesson in making up for mistakes.
I hope that Takezawa-kun won't oversleep at important moments in his life in the future!

The bus traveling on the Tohoku Expressway was also covered in snow, and by the time we arrived in Morioka, antigen test kits had been distributed and all passengers were confirmed to be negative.

It took eight hours to get from Tokyo to Morioka, where we were joined by the members of the Sendai and Fukushima buses who had arrived earlier.

First, Norimitsu Iijima, technical director of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra and president of Promax, the orchestra's secretariat, explained to the orchestra members that there would be changes to the performance due to the impact of the recent earthquake.

Two performances have been cancelled due to damage to the halls caused by the earthquake: the Miyagi performance on Wednesday the 23rd at Tokyo Electron Hall Miyagi (Sendai City) and the Fukushima performance on Thursday the 24th at Toho Minna no Bunka Center (Fukushima Prefectural Cultural Center) Main Hall (Fukushima City).
Representative and director Ryuichi Sakamoto, who is currently battling illness, had been making arrangements for his appearance, but unfortunately due to poor health, his participation in the final training camp and his appearance in Iwate have been cancelled.
The local members were clearly disappointed, but I'm sure they are happy to be able to perform in Iwate and Tokyo.
Above all, the fact that we were able to start this training camp just three days after the earthquake was due to the furious schedule change work of the Promax secretariat team, including Iijima, Okada, Isozaki, and Matsukuma.
Together with the other members of the orchestra, we expressed our gratitude with a big round of applause. Thank you very much.

As a teacher in charge,
"We have elementary and junior high school members, so university and high school students, please be considerate. During the training camp, do not be alone or leave them alone. Please move around in groups of two or more. Please avoid close contact with people who are not members of the group.
The Tohoku Youth Orchestra has a spirit that never gives up in the face of adversity, so let's stay united until we can give a great performance at Suntory Hall for the final time. Please be careful of your actions."

After splitting into each group and practicing for about an hour, it was time for dinner.

The main dish of the meal was a warm beef bowl.

After the meal, there is recreation time for members to deepen their friendships.

The event was planned and hosted by cellist Reika Ashina (from Koriyama City, 4th year university student) and violinist Minami Suzuki (from Sendai City, 2nd year high school student). Both have been members since the first term. They've really grown up.

We divided into 12 groups and played a gesture game and introduced ourselves. I will upload the photos.