The second day of the training camp prior to the Iwate performance has begun.

This morning, with snow still lingering, the bus carrying the group members arrived from the hotel.

Yesterday, buses from Sendai and Fukushima were forced to drive on the Tohoku Expressway due to road closures, and it seems that there was heavy snowfall in Iwate Prefecture as well.

Although the Tohoku Youth Orchestra seems to be facing various challenges from nature, all the members are in good spirits.

Conductor Toshio Yanagisawa, who arrived in Morioka from Kyoto via Akita this morning, joined us and we started practicing the main piece of the performance, the fourth movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with chorus. The number 4 is very stylish.

Let's introduce the members who practiced diligently even during breaks. First up is concert mistress Masahiro Watanabe. She has been a member since the first term, but will be graduating this year. She is aiming to become a professional and you can feel her enthusiasm for the final stage of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra.

There is a high chance that the viola section won't take a break during breaks either!

Cello too!

Oboe player Sekine Satoshi, who arrived this morning after performing at his university graduation ceremony and had a nasal swab put in for an antigen test, has also been playing without a break.

Meanwhile, during the break, Captain Shiori Tajima, from Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, and violinist Komai Kokone, from Iwate Prefecture, were trying to write a message that would be published in the Fukushima Minpo newspaper. What a happy relationship between a first-year graduate student and a sixth-grader!

Just then, trombone player Kaizu Kota arrived with the news that he had been accepted into the local Fukushima University.

They wrote the countdown on the whiteboard, which is a tradition at the Tohoku Youth Orchestra training camp just before the event. They also continue the tradition of dying their hair when they pass exams or get a job.

Lunch break. The Iwate Nippo newspaper will be running a feature article on the group before and after the performance, so the members from Iwate Prefecture gathered under the guidance of culture reporter Fujita.

These are members of the Iwate Sisters and Brothers Association.

From the right are Takeda Ryoji (2nd year high school student), Takeda Ryunosuke (5th year elementary school student), both violinists, Taguchi Yota (2nd year junior high school student, violin), and Taguchi Yuuki (1st year high school student, percussion).

Hiroto Endo, a trumpet player who has been a member since the first term, just graduated from the National University of Fine Arts and Music yesterday. Congratulations!

Endo-kun also joined the lunch line.

Let's work hard in the afternoon by taking in plenty of calories!

Mr. Yanagisawa gave up his lunch break to be interviewed by the Iwate Nippo newspaper.

It was a surreal design for the year 2022. Thank you very much.