October 1, 2025

Just Going with the Flow

The Tohoku Youth Orchestra relies on your support. We sincerely appreciate your generous contribution. We always accept donations by bank transfer. If you are considering a donation, please email the following information to info@tohoku-youth-orchestra.org and make a deposit to the bank account below. Thank you in advance for your attention and cooperation.
*Currently we are not able to accept donations via credit card. Thank you for your understanding.

●Your Name
●Name of your group
●Amount
●Your email address
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【Name and address of designated bank account】
MUFG Bank, Ltd.
1-8-6, Ebisunishi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
【Swift Code】
BOTKJPJT
【Account Name】
Tohoku Youth Orchestra
【Branch Name】
Higashi-Ebisu Branch
【Account Number】
3080490

Hello. I’m Satoka Ishikawa from Fukushima Prefecture, and I play the flute.

Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My mother used to sing to me often when I was just a baby, so I naturally grew up surrounded by it.
In third grade, I somehow ended up joining my elementary school’s ensemble club, and I started playing the flute for no particular reason—just because “I blew into it and it made a sound.”
Then, in my first year of junior high school, I joined the Tohoku Youth Orchestra as a member of its third generation.

The reason I joined was simply because my uncle said, “Why don’t you give it a try?”
My cousin was part of the first cohort, and I had even gone to see the Koriyama concert by the second cohort. Since there was a document screening process for new applicants, I thought, “Well, not sure if I’ll even pass,” and applied without thinking too much about it.
About two weeks later, I got an email that said, “After reviewing your application, we would be happy to welcome you as a member.”
And just like that, my youth orchestra life began.

Since my cousin was already in the orchestra, I joined pretty casually, thinking it would feel familiar—but to my surprise, I found out they were taking a break from the third season to prepare for university entrance exams.
As someone who’s naturally shy, I suddenly found myself in a group where I didn’t know a single person.
During the summer camp right after joining, I experienced a lot of “firsts”—my first time on a plane, being away from my family for several days, and since I hadn’t made close friends yet, I ended up feeling completely homesick.
At that time, some of the older members, who were university students, comforted me by saying things like, “You’re doing fine!” and “There’s a BBQ tomorrow—something to look forward to!”

(Photo from the first day of the 3rd term summer camp)

Even during later rehearsals, whenever I was alone, university and high school students would come talk to me. Little by little, I began to look forward to the rehearsals.
Eventually, I started thinking, “I want to be the kind of senior who can support younger members, too.”
So I began reaching out to younger members who looked like they were alone—maybe a bit too eagerly.
This year marks my ninth year in the orchestra—and now, I’m a university student myself.
If it weren’t for those seniors who supported me back then, I probably wouldn’t have made friends during the final rehearsals, or felt that familiar sense of “post-concert blues” every year… and I definitely wouldn’t be writing this now.
Looking around, I realize that most of the members are now younger than me.
The third-season members who once filled the room are now down to just five, including myself.
It feels… a little lonely.
I wonder if I’ve become like those university students I once looked up to when I first joined.
At the volunteer concert held during the 10th season, I actually lost my smartphone and had to ask a high school student who was with me to call it so I could find it.
I guess I’ve still got a long way to go before I become someone truly dependable.

(After this, I lost my smartphone)

March 11, 2011.I was in my final year of kindergarten, just about to graduate.
While waiting for my mother to finish work and attending extended daycare, the earthquake struck. I still vividly remember the fear I felt during the massive, long-lasting tremor—something I had never experienced before.
The following month, I entered elementary school. Every day, the TV was filled with news about the damage from the disaster and the nuclear accident.
Even though I lived in Fukushima, I couldn’t quite grasp the seriousness of it all at the time. It felt like something was happening far away, in another world.
What truly changed my perspective was taking part in a volunteer concert project. As part of the activities, we visited areas that had been affected by the tsunami.
There, we saw buildings stripped down to their frames, and school structures made of concrete that had been bent and twisted out of shape. The devastation told its own story.
Seeing the destruction with my own eyes made it all feel real in a way that news footage never could.
The scale of the disaster, the weight of reality hit me for the first time.
That was when I truly realized:

(Photographed in October 2018, Former Disaster Prevention Office Building, Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture)

The earthquake wasn’t something that happened far away—it happened right beside me. It’s a reality that continues to leave deep scars even now.
At the same time, I felt a strong sense of responsibility—this is something we must never forget.
I believe that remembering what I saw and felt, and passing it on to the next generation, is one of the most important roles I can take on.

For me, the Tohoku Youth Orchestra is a place where I can enjoy music with a sense of safety and comfort—a place I truly love.
It’s also a place where I’ve had experiences I never could have had if I had just continued living life “on a whim.”
And more than anything, it’s the place that changed that version of me.
After the 9th season concert, I received a message from the captain at the time saying,
“We’re looking for members who’d like to help out with the operation of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra.”
I wanted to do what I could—so that everyone could feel at ease, and so that even those who are shy and don’t know anyone yet, like I was in the 3rd season, could enjoy their time in the orchestra.
Since then, I’ve been helping behind the scenes in small ways—like working on the crowdfunding team and writing member reports.

The Tohoku Youth Orchestra is what changed me from someone who was just going through life “without much thought.”
Even after I graduate from the orchestra, it’s my quiet ambition to help make it a place where children in Tohoku can continue to enjoy music—
and where, when it’s their time to graduate, they’ll be able to look back and think, “That was such a fun experience.”

REPORT

Just Going with the Flow