Turning a crisis into an opportunity?! A story of the struggles of “people inside” passionately challenging the coronavirus pandemic!

Serious and down-to-earth people...The "people inside" the orchestra group break through such preconceived notions and use Twitter to spread the word about the appeal of the orchestra. The "Nakano Hito Summit," which is becoming a regular event, has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the one thing that will not give up is the "Naka no Hito", who are full of love for orchestras. An online roundtable discussion was held to deepen the relationship through friendly competition.
We will report on the whole story, with the condition that you do not show your face!

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Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra (hereinafter referred to as Kanagawa Philharmonic) It was a truly turbulent year. Almost all Kanagawa Philharmonic concerts have been canceled or postponed from the end of February 2020 to mid-July. Under these circumstances, we were able to open up new channels, such as distributing performance videos and remote appearances by orchestra members on YouTube, so I view that point as a positive.
* Click here for the official YouTube channel of the Kanagawa Philharmonic!

Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra (hereinafter referred to as the Sendai Philharmonic) During the six months that we were unable to perform any performances, it was also difficult to manage Twitter. I don't want to give up at this point, so I decided to take advantage of the situation where I can't disseminate information about performances and disseminate information that focuses on conveying daily life. The main topics are everyday scenes, such as what is happening in Sendai and what the Sendai Philharmonic is preparing for. I think there was no interruption in communication with my followers because there was no delay in sending out messages.
*YouTube Sendai Philharmonic official channel is here !

Yamagata Symphony Orchestra held a regular concert in March last year without an audience. The live broadcast received a great response, but the activities were subsequently discontinued. We started live streaming again without an audience in June, and it wasn't until July that we were able to deliver live music to our customers, albeit with a limited number of people.
However, I was able to take on new challenges during that time, which was a rewarding experience. We planned and distributed ``Konokodokoro Hanagasa Ondo'' as a PR for the crowdfunding hometown tax donation program. Many people watched it.

Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra (hereinafter referred to as Tokyo City Philharmonic) performed a live broadcast without an audience on June 25th last year, and has since resumed performance activities little by little. In addition to our performance activities, volunteers started a video project called ``At-Home Ensemble,'' in which each section was filmed and edited at home in cooperation with orchestra members.When we released it on official YouTube, we received a lot of feedback. Ta.
On the other hand, there were a lot of changes to the songs and performers at the beginning, so it was frustrating to see so many changes and refunds on Twitter. So I'm still careful not to make my tweets at least sad and depressed. I'm grateful for all the positive reactions from my followers, and it motivates me every day.

Japan Century Symphony Orchestra (hereinafter referred to as "Japan Century") It's been a crazy year. After the last concert on February 22nd, they will be able to perform until June 20th without an audience. However, when the regular performance in March was cancelled, volunteer band members took the initiative and said, ``Since we have a schedule, let's do something.'' While taking precautions, we were able to record videos of the performances in the rehearsal room and distribute them one after another as the ``Century Web Concert.''
Perhaps it was worth it, and we achieved 10,000 followers on April 15th!

All 88888888!

In addition to Japan Century , it was a year in which we took on various challenges, such as playing Beethoven's Ninth Orchestra outdoors in midsummer and asking for support through crowdfunding.

Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra Twitter has the advantage of being up-to-date with news, but over the past year I have been busy posting information about program changes and refunds, and I feel like I haven't been able to send out many positive messages. However, I am grateful that Tatsuya Shimono, the general music director, is very cooperative with the message and accepts message videos and cosplay photos.
* Click here for YouTube Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra official channel!

[Looking back on the year of the coronavirus pandemic]

Sendai Philharmonic The Sendai Philharmonic's recent hit work is ``The End of Amore Sukegawa, Who Came at the Last Minute to the Showtime.''

As part of our concert style during the coronavirus pandemic, the Sendai Philharmonic has made everyone aware in advance that they are required to write their name and phone number on the back of their ticket. But in reality, many people don't write about it... Therefore, I created a PR video with Amore Sukegawa (double bass player: Ryu Sukegawa) and posted it on Twitter.

Although it is not the result of the Yamagata Symphony Orchestra Twitter, the “Bravo Towel” received a good response. We created this for customers who were unable to shout "Bravo!" due to infectious disease precautions, and it was surprisingly popular. We are currently placing an additional order for the fourth time.

I was happy to hear that when a long-established European orchestra came to Japan, there were some customers who held this up in the audience. By the way, there is also a "Bravo Tenugui" with a Hanagasa motif, and both have a "people inside" design. I would love to see it spread across the country (lol).

Tokyo City Philharmonic Last fall, we updated the wrapping for our transportation trucks (Oketra), and we received a lot of feedback. Everyone has commented on how cool it is, and I'm very happy that visitors and performers often take pictures of the orchestra and tweet about it.

Some people are calling it a "fire engine color" (lol), but it really does have an impact.

Recently, I tweeted a video taken at the rehearsal for the 339th regular concert held at the end of January of this year, and it also received a great response. After I posted it, I received a comment saying, ``I'm even more excited to go to the performance!'', and as I was listening to the performance myself, I thought, ``I definitely want everyone to hear this!!'' and tweeted it. I was happy because it was something I did.

On July 9th, after the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra resumed its activities, it made its first sound as an orchestra. I was filled with nostalgia for the A sound of tuning and the joy of finally being able to play music, so when I tweeted out my feelings directly, everyone seemed to empathize with me, as if my feelings were conveyed to my followers. You did that.

Nippon Century's tweet that received a great response was the announcement that Joe Hisaishi would be appointed as principal guest conductor from April 2021.

Here's what was just as exciting.

It's been a while since we played Mahler's 5th in a large ensemble, and for that purpose, the bassoonist made a handmade "low A" instrument that looked just like the real thing. When I took a picture with her happy smile and showed her off, I received a lot of positive comments. I thought that what everyone was looking for was tweets that would make the orchestra members feel closer to each other.

Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra A recent tweet that received a lot of reactions was a two-shot of Mr. Shimono wearing an Italian chef costume and Concertmaster Sakuma Daiichi. I'm looking forward to seeing tweets like this that will attract the attention of a wide range of people, including those who have had little connection to orchestras.

[Things I would like to try once the coronavirus pandemic ends]

Let's do the Sendai Phil Real "Nakano Hito Summit"! It's been about a year and a half now.

Yamagata Symphony Orchestra I have lost contact with people, so the first thing I want to do is revive that. It is very frustrating for us to not be able to serve our customers. Once the corona vortex is over, we will not only recover what we were unable to do, but also do our best to provide even more joy than ever before!

Until now, the Tokyo City Philharmonic had held networking events with customers about twice a year after regular concerts. First of all, we would like to restart it with gratitude to our customers who support us. Of course, there is also the “Nakanoto Summit”!!

I would like to hold the Kanagawa Philharmonic's "Nakanoto Summit" as soon as possible. A wide variety of SNS have appeared in recent years, and I would like to consider new things by making full use of existing video content and remote control. Additionally, we have not yet been able to resume seeing our customers off after the show due to infection prevention concerns. It's a very important ``place'' for the orchestra members, so I hope it will be able to reopen soon.

There are a lot of things we want to do, including the Japan Century ``Naka no Hito Summit,'' of course, and we also want to bring back rehearsal tours for members and farewells after concerts. More than anything, I want to shout out to our customers, "Please come to our concert!" It's a shame that even though we are spreading the word about the joy of orchestras and music, we still can't just say, ``Please come.''

The Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra's fan appreciation day that was scheduled for the other day has been cancelled. Regarding public rehearsals and farewells after performances, we have received feedback from our customers that they would like to see them resume as soon as possible. I'm sure many of our customers are looking forward to it, so we're looking forward to returning to an environment where they can be happy.

[What is the appeal of orchestras and music? ]

There is no doubt that Japan Century 's musical instrument professionals have gathered and are seriously working on music. I think that's why we are able to deliver fun, beautiful, and colorful tones and music of various genres. They are serious when they perform, so people tend to think they are formal, but each of them also has a charming side, so I would like people to know that.

As the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra has continued to be unable to perform, I have come to realize that there is something passionate about music that cannot be expressed in words. It's music that has captivated many people over the years, so it would be a waste to not listen to it and hate it!

Sendai Philharmonic The same time will never come again. It's no exaggeration to say that the appeal of live music lies in that. Even if you play the same song twice, the tempo will not be the same both times, and it is impossible for the performance to be the same both times. After all, there are about 60 people playing a variety of instruments. Orchestras have their charm because many people work together to create one thing.
Also, the members of the Sendai Philharmonic are more friendly, more interesting, and more humane than you might think. If you say ``Hello,'' they will respond with ``Hello.'' Really.

Tokyo City Philharmonic strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments. All the instruments come together to create a single piece of music that is powerful and touches the heart of the listener. I think that's the charm of orchestras.

The Yamagata Symphony Orchestra's music has been used in movies, dramas, commercials, and more, and you've probably all heard this song before. That's because it remains in my heart, and even if I don't realize it, it's something that is very close to me. When you listen to such music live, you feel it not only in your ears but also in your body. The raw sound that is not passed through a machine is warm and touches the heart because it is played by a person. I hope I can convey that feeling of excitement and happiness.

The Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra has orchestras active in each region across the country, and their activities are rooted in their local communities. The Kanagawa Philharmonic Philharmonic has come up with various projects to bring out its own unique style, but I believe that ``Nakanohito'' is just a tool to help everyone get to know the orchestra and lead them into the wonderful world of music. I am. Our goal is to increase the number of people who listen to orchestras or feel healed by music through Twitter, where the "people inside" are working hard. From now on, we will continue to work together with "people inside" to spread the charm of orchestras!