Hello everyone!! I'm Ichikawa Mana, a third-year student playing the violin section.
It's getting quite cold, like winter, so please take care of yourself.

Today, I'd like to write about everything from preparations to the performance at "Connecting Melodies to the Future: Tohoku Youth Orchestra Walking with Director Ryuichi Sakamoto Photo Exhibition & Volunteer Concert at Sanyodo Bookstore," which was held from December 22nd to 25th.
I hope you'll also read about my frequent travels.

We previously held a sound-bleeding concert at Sanyodo Bookstore during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this will be our second visit as TYO.

This time, the event was held in collaboration with Sanyodo Bookstore, as a way of supporting Iroha Bookstore.

Iroha Bookstore is a local bookstore on the Noto Peninsula. The store was completely destroyed in the Noto Peninsula earthquake that occurred in January this year and is still undergoing renovations.

At the photo exhibition booth, there was a space set up where people could write messages for Iroha Bookstore.
Many people have written warm messages of support and encouragement.

As I live in Tokyo, I was called in early on the morning of the 22nd, the first day, to help with the setup at the venue, where I mainly worked on putting up photos for the photo exhibition. Around the photos, we also put up papers with words from the director and TYO's goals, but this is where former member Karin Kajii showed her talent. She arranged as many photos as she could on the largest wall, with a great balance. Just as you'd expect from a senior.

And here is former member Shiori Tajima, who rushed over at the last minute to help with the preparations. The morning sun is making me emotional.

Tajima also appeared at the Sound Leak Concert with her bangs on.

This time we also sold merchandise, and donated a portion of the sales to Iroha Bookstore.

Oh, I wrote this note. The "i" is missing. There was love, though... (laughs)

I was really surprised by the number of people who showed up on the first day we opened.

Among those who came were many fans of Yuzuru Hanyu, who had made the effort to come after learning that TYO would be performing at NotteStellata. I told them I was looking forward to seeing them in March.

That day was all about preparations, so I went home early, but the really busy day was the second day...

On the second day, former captain Kaizu was absent, so Takagi Miyu and I were the staff.

But I had an important mission that day.
I was to appear on a Shibuya radio show called "Tanaka Hirokazu in Shibuya" to promote the photo exhibition, NotteStellata, and our regular performances.

As soon as we opened in the morning, I left Miyu alone and headed to Shibuya.

I thought I'd left with plenty of time to spare, but I got through Shibuya Station and arrived just in time, so the radio show started before I was fully prepared.

I was flustered and my mind was blank, but with the help of organizer Hirokazu Tanaka, I was able to get through it somehow.

You can hear me, feeling extremely nervous at the time, in the archives of Hirokazu Tanaka's Shibuya show.

https://note.com/shiburadi/n/n4a0e8b090b42?sub_rt=share_b

It's hard to believe that I'm the same person who was the MC for the Tohoku Youth Orchestra in Shibuya until last year...

After the live broadcast ended, I finally made it back to Sanyodo Bookstore, where Miyu kindly greeted me.

We spent the afternoon chatting with everyone who came, and it was a truly precious experience.

Some people said they'd come to our regular show in March, and others were discovering Tohoku Youth for the first time and will be coming to see us perform on the 24th and 25th! Some people even said this to me, which made me very happy.

Please look out for upcoming reports on the horn sextet on the 24th and the high school string quartet on the 25th.
I heard they were very well received.
Thank you everyone for your hard work!

In fact, I wasn't just a member of the staff; I also performed in a string quartet made up of university students.

This time, in addition to Director Sakamoto's songs, we selected Christmas-themed songs such as Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" and "Silent Night."

Since it was Christmas, we all dressed up as Santa and reindeer and performed!

Unfortunately it rained, but we were very happy that so many people came to listen, and we had a great time performing.

After the performance, many people came and said nice things to us, and took lots of photos. It was just a fun and warm atmosphere. I hope we can have another concert like this again.

Not only did people ask for photos, but they even asked for autographs, which were all new experiences for me. I realized there are still so many things I can do without being at TYO.

After the performance, everyone chose a book and bought it on the first floor of Sanyodo Bookstore.

Let me briefly introduce the books that everyone chose here.

Mamei Ichikawa
A Journey to the Piano / Ryuichi Sakamoto
It's a genre I don't usually pick up, and it's a book about a director. I've been curious about it, so I took this opportunity to pick it up.

Sae Watanabe
The Red and Blue Gown / Princess Akiko
I don't usually read much, but Tanaka recommended this book to me, so I picked it up.

Yuri Naganuma
Pride and Prejudice / Jane Austen / Translated by Taichi Koyama
This is a book that was recommended to me. I was also interested in how the complicated romantic relationships caused by pride and prejudice change.

Haru Takahashi
What and How Do Interesting People Read? / Kaho Miyake
After reading a new book recently, I was looking for the next one to read. Tanaka-san recommended me as being funny, and it ignited my comedic spirit to want to become even funnier.

Kajii-san, who came to help with the preparations, also came.
Kajii Karin
You, Like a Star / Nagira Yu
I'd seen this book on shelves in bookstores since it won the Japan Bookstore Award, and I'd been curious about it, so I took this opportunity to pick it up.
It's being made into a movie in July 2014, so I'd like to go see it at the cinema after enjoying the original work.

For the high school student group, please see Sato Mizuki's report. Everyone chose wonderful books!

This has gotten long, but over these four days I was able to interact with and talk to so many people, hearing about invaluable experiences and stories I had never heard before. I often interact with people who are deeply immersed in music, but it was very memorable to be able to talk to people who just dropped in to buy a book.

And it reminded me once again why I love TYO for giving me such wonderful experiences.

Thank you for reading this far.

Please be sure to stop by Sanyodo Bookstore and Iroha Bookstore as well.

I look forward to seeing you at our regular performance in March.

(Vn. Ichikawa Mana)

Tohoku Youth Orchestra Concert 2026

Thursday, March 26, 2026
Matinee: 15:00 (Doors open at 14:15)
Evening Concert: 19:00 (doors open at 18:15)　
Suntory Hall Main Hall

Conducted by: Toshio Yanagisawa
Performed by: Tohoku Youth Orchestra
Reading by: NON
MC by: Mari Watanabe

Program:
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 
Ryuichi Sakamoto + Dai Fujikura: Tong Poo
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Ballet Mecanique
The Last Emperor
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence
and more
Please note that the program is subject to change.

S seats: 6,000 yen
A seats: 5,000 yen
P seats: 4,000 yen
(tax included)
(including 2,000 yen donation to Tohoku Youth Orchestra)
＊Tickets required for ages 3 and up.

General tickets on sale: Saturday, January 17, 2026

Ticket:
eplus        http://eplus.jp
Lawson Ticket        https://l-tike.com/
Ticket Pia     https://t.pia.jp/
Suntory Hall Ticket Center
Tel: 0570-55-0017（except for closed days 10:00～18:00）
Suntory Hall Members Club　https://suntoryhall.pia.jp/

Inquiries: DISK GARAGE Inquiry Form　
http://www.diskgarage.com/form/info

Organizer: Tohoku Youth Orchestra

Supported by:     
Digital Garage, Inc.
Kakaku.com, Inc.
Yamada Bee Farm Co., Ltd.
Morinaga Angel Foundation

Cooperation: 
Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
Yamaha Music Japan Co., Ltd.
PR Consulting Dentsu Inc.
General Incorporated Association Music Force

Production: 
PROMAX Inc.

＜Pre-sale tickets＞
●Application period
2025/12/27(Sat.)18:00～2026/01/12(Mon.)23:59
URL　https://eplus.jp/tohoku-youth-orchestra/
※Credit card only

＜Official Advance Tickets＞
●Acceptance period: 
12/19 (Fri.) 00:00 - 12/24 (Wed.) 23:59
https://eplus.jp/tohoku-youth-orchestra/

●Lottery results and payment period: 12/27 (Sat) 13:00 - 1/4 (Mon) 21:00

Please check your “Application History” at http://eplus.jp/jyoukyou/.
You will also be notified of the lottery results by e-mail.

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