November 5, 2025

The bonds that music connects

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Hello everyone. Thank you for reading this report.
I'm Yuzuki Asano, a second-year university student from Fukushima Prefecture, a member of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra's 7th class, and a flute player.

In this report, I'd like to share my deep connection with the Tohoku Youth Orchestra.

I don't usually write reports, so I feel that most people don't know much about me.
First, I'd like to briefly explain my musical history and why I joined the Tohoku Youth Orchestra.

I started playing the flute in the third grade of elementary school, joining the school orchestra.
Growing up, I watched my older sister, who is eight years older than me, play the bassoon in the orchestra club, so I wanted to try playing an instrument myself and decided to join.

I decided to join the Tohoku Youth Orchestra when I was in high school. Several people I knew were members, and I was interested in film music. I was attracted to the idea of performing Ryuichi Sakamoto's music, so I applied.

I'm currently majoring in musicology at university, and I'm planning to write about film music for my graduation thesis.

As the title suggests, I have had connections with the Tohoku Youth Orchestra in many ways.
But it's not just because I knew a few people who were members.
My older sister, whom I mentioned earlier, was a member of Ark Nova, the orchestra that launched our orchestral activities, and performed with Sakamoto-san and Otomo Yoshihide.
I heard their performance as a child, and even though I was young, I remember thinking that it was an interesting initiative and a new kind of concert.

I also met Otomo, who was performing in this concert, at the 2011 "Festival Fukushima!"
I don't remember much about the disaster, but I do have a vague memory of this event. I remember everyone bringing various instruments and playing together. I'm pretty sure some people even used furniture as instruments.
I was moved to see that even with different instruments and different circumstances in the wake of the disaster, we could create one piece of music.
In the photo of Otomo's X posted in August 2021, you can see me from kindergarten, right in the center, so try to find it.

Otomo came to our recent joint rehearsal and watched us practice. It was so nice to see him again after so long.

I've been interested in film music since I was a child, and I wanted to study musicology, particularly film music, so I decided to attend Nihon University College of Art.

Sakamoto has won an Academy Award, and he has composed the music for many of my favorite films.
Rather than being a coincidence, it's more that I decided to join the Tohoku Youth Orchestra because I really wanted to play the music from films like "The Last Emperor" and "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence."

To digress a little, my favorite film that uses Sakamoto's music is "Call Me by Your Name." The film itself is well-known enough that film buffs know it, but there are few scenes in which Sakamoto's music is used, so I think many people don't know that his music is used. In fact, two of his songs are used in the film.

Last year, Shinichiro Ikebe gave a special lecture at my university, during which he spoke about his close friend, Sakamoto.

Around the same time, at a Tohoku Youth Orchestra practice session last year, NexTone's Arakawa gave a commentary on Sakamoto's music.

It was very interesting to hear from both Ikebe and Arakawa, who were acquainted with Sakamoto as their seniors in high school and university.

To me, the Tohoku Youth Orchestra is a place to enjoy the music I love.

Of course, I enjoy the music I study at university and performing with other groups and in concerts, but as I mentioned earlier, I love film music and orchestras, so the Tohoku Youth Orchestra is a valuable opportunity where I can do both.

One of the reasons I enjoy music so much is the environment where I can make music with members from close to my hometown and who are similar age.

When I first joined the orchestra, I found it difficult to fit in because I was surrounded by unfamiliar university students. Everyone there was more skilled and faster than me, so I felt pressured and even took a break from the orchestra. However, I believe I was able to return thanks to my fellow members who welcomed me back during my hiatus.

I would like to continue to preserve this orchestra, where I can create the music I love together with my colleagues.

I am currently studying music at university, but my activities with the Tohoku Youth Orchestra, as well as my involvement with the junior orchestra and the student orchestra that I participated in as a third-year high school student when they performed in Vienna, have made me want to support children's orchestra activities in the future.

I am still considering what kind of support I can provide, but I would like to keep in mind that I am able to pursue my musical activities thanks to the support of many people, and I would like to continue to work every day, exploring what I can do to help.

Thank you for reading this far.

Please learn about our activities and support us.

Flute - Yuzuki Asano

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The bonds that music connects