The third phase of activities has begun.

On Marine Day, July 17th, the Tohoku Youth Orchestra kicked off its third term of activities in 2017. The event took place in Fukushima City, in the head office building of the Fukushima Minpo newspaper, of which I am also a director of the general incorporated association.

This year, we will be holding joint practice sessions on the third floor, which is usually rented out for wedding receptions. Thanks to you, we will be freed from the trouble of having to secure a practice space every month until last year. Thank you so much.

Helping out at the reception on the third floor was Akama Kanayoshi, who started attending junior high school this year, alongside Mr. Suga from the Tokyo office.

He was even wearing the Tohoku Youth Orchestra charity T-shirt (designed by Shinro Ohtake!). I first met him when I was in fifth grade, so he's grown up. After the regular concert in March, I had only seen him for three months, but I can't count how many members I've asked, "Have you grown up?" I also said to a member who had just finished his entrance exams and returned for the first time in a year, "You've really grown up." I'm 48 years old and still not growing taller, so I'm amazed at his remarkable growth.
So, what kind of hall is it? Here it is.

If you remove the partition on the right hand side, the space becomes even larger, and is enough for the orchestra to practice. Speaking in front is Araki Hideyuki, the business director of Fukushima Minpo. Today, they donated 1 million yen, the profits from the Koriyama concert, which they organized as a sponsored event in March. On behalf of the members from the three prefectures, Akama-kun, who helped with reception from Fukushima Prefecture, second-term captain Hatakeyama Akane from Miyagi Prefecture, and Kitagawa Seiya, a sixth-grader from Iwate Prefecture, received the "encouragement money." By the way, the four of them were not looking at the camera because they were staring at the camera of the Fukushima Minpo reporter. Of course, it was later featured in an article .

The information session was attended by 84 members (29 were absent, that's a lot!) and about 100 parents. This year, the orchestra started with 113 members, including 52 new members, a fairly high ratio, so I, Hirokazu Tanaka, spoke about the Tohoku Youth Orchestra on behalf of the secretariat for about an hour. I think the first 10 minutes were spent introducing myself, but I thought that parents who leave their children with the orchestra would be full of doubts about "What kind of people are running the Tohoku Youth Orchestra?" so I introduced my work at Dentsu, where I work, and the activities of another general incorporated association, Hirokazu Tanaka's Association.
I talked about how I want to focus on "the creativity unique to the Tohoku Youth Orchestra" this term, and how I want to continue to respect the members' independent efforts and initiative. I also suggested that we all decide on some rules to improve manners, for example. Example is important in everything. I'll start by putting forward my own idea.

I wrote the sentences in the "aiueo" format so that even a fourth grade elementary school student could understand and remember them. The fifth point I particularly wanted to convey was,

The change in word order is just for fun. However, we talked again about how we must not forget this origin. Ms. Mikuko Hattori, a fourth-year student at Fukushima University who had just found employment and was attending the event with a smile, was taking a photo in the front row, so we have included it here. We have closed the recruitment of new members, but we are still actively recruiting viola players. If you know a viola player who experienced 3/11, please feel free to recommend them!
On this day, I wore "Kariyushi wear" made in Okinawa Prefecture. It is the formal attire of Okinawa. I also explained about the training camp I will be visiting in Ishigaki Island in August. I hope that the Yaeyama Islands will be a different experience from Miyako Island two years ago, where I can feel the vastness and depth of "Yaponesia".

We also received comments from people who were unable to attend on the day. This was from Rikako Nagashima, who works as the "art teacher (designer)" for the Tohoku Youth Orchestra and is in charge of a series of design work.

I happened to come across the words, "The tones of sadness will eventually become beautiful harmonies." These were the words of pianist Seymour Bernstein. When I listen to Tohoku Youth's performance, I think exactly that. There is no such thing as a life without sadness and suffering. However, the greater the sadness and suffering, the more beautiful, large, and gentle the sound that the music of a person's life is. That is why I think that people who listen to that music can be healed, courageous, and find hope while being enveloped in that sound. Tohoku Youth concludes with a concert in front of a large audience, and every time the audience's eyes are moist. I think that it is because the music you live teaches them the meaning of life. At least, every time I listen to your performance, I learn about life from the sounds you weave. Join us at Tohoku Youth!

We introduced a message from Toshio Yanagisawa, who will be conducting again this season, along with a handsome photo of him at the concert in March.

I feel that the time I spent working on TYO's music with Director Ryuichi Sakamoto was irreplaceable. I hope that the music in the second season will be even better than the first, and that the music in the third season will be even better than the second. I look forward to your continued support in the third season.

As more than half of the members were new, we read out a message from director Ryuichi Sakamoto himself that had been included in the pamphlet for the March concert.

The children themselves and the adults who support them continue to think about the meaning and significance of continuing this activity, but in fact, it is the children who have the most to teach us. Even though they are from the same three disaster-stricken prefectures, there are areas that suffered less damage, and yet, in order to think about the meaning of being called "disaster victims" and participating in an orchestra from a disaster-stricken prefecture, some members visit disaster victims living in temporary housing, listen to their stories, share their experiences, and also perform and interact with them. I am touched by their attitude of trying to find the answer through such voluntary activities. Of course, we cannot imagine the emotional pain of the children who suffered such great damage, but when I see them playing music with determination, I think, "Ah, I'm glad I'm doing it," and if music can help children grow and become independent, I feel motivated to continue as long as I can.

In the morning, all participants introduced themselves.

Oh, I would be happy if you could follow the Tohoku Youth Orchestra's Instagram account . The members themselves post pictures of their social lunches.

In the afternoon, we split into each section and had a meeting. Here is the bassoon and oboe team joining the flute and clarinet circle behind the woodwind section.

I went around to check on each part, and many of them mentioned their favorite foods during their self-introductions. I don't think anyone asked, but mine is "soba and curry." I also noticed the other day that I like parsley. It doesn't really matter.
After the self-introductions, we started playing together and deciding on the parts. The average age of the violin section was lower.

On the right in the foreground is the youngest, Chihiro Sasayama, a fourth grade elementary school student from Otama Village, Fukushima Prefecture, and on the left is Sakura Yoshida, a fifth grade elementary school student from Iwate Prefecture. On the right in the background is Ryoji Takeda, a first year junior high school student from Iwate Prefecture, and on the left is Yuta Kijima, also a first year junior high school student from Miyagi Prefecture. We are looking forward to seeing what he does next.

The cello section is played by Saito Suzuto, a first year junior high school student from Iwate Prefecture who joined us this term.
The main program for the next concert in March 2018 has been announced, and it will be Debussy's symphonic poem "La Mer" and Stravinsky's ballet suite "The Firebird" (1919 version). "La Mer" on Marine Day. However, they will be tackling a piece that is just as difficult as Mahler's Symphony No. 1, which they performed last time. Director Ryuichi Sakamoto recommends listening to the performance conducted by Pierre Boulez, because it is faithful to the score. Everyone, let's listen to it as much as we can and let it soak in. The horn section starts off light and airy,

It may seem like it, but there's still a long way to go.

Today, the bassoonist Yuri Nishimura and the oboeist Satoshi Sekine, who were the only participants in each section, were reading the music under the guidance of Manabu Takeda, who is a lecturer at the Fukushima office and the FTV Junior Orchestra. Although they said that the music was "complex and difficult," they are looking forward to the process leading up to the performance.
At first, the members asked, "What on earth are you going to do in the afternoon until 5pm?" but the meeting passed in a flash. Finally, we decided on this year's captain. In the morning, the office said that since about half of the members will be replaced this year, it would be best to ask Akane Hatakeyama to continue as captain as last year, but although we asked everyone to recommend themselves and others, it was unanimous that Hatakeyama would continue as captain for another year.

At the end of the day, each section was announced, raising hopes that in its third year, the orchestra will truly make a leap forward in both name and reality, with a hop, step and jump.
The Tohoku Youth Orchestra will continue its third period of activities until its concert in March 2018, so we appreciate your continued support.