Turning a crisis into an opportunity?! The story of the "insiders" as they passionately take on the coronavirus pandemic!
Breaking away from the stereotype of serious, uptight people, the "insiders" of orchestra organizations use Twitter to spread the appeal of orchestras. The "insider summit," which had become a regular event, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the "insiders" who are filled with love for orchestras are undeterred. In order to deepen their friendly rivalry, an online roundtable discussion was held.
We will report the whole story, on the condition that their faces are not shown!
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Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra (hereafter referred to as Kanagawa Philharmonic) has had a truly turbulent year. From the end of February to mid-July 2020, almost all of the Kanagawa Philharmonic's concerts were canceled or postponed. Despite this, we were able to open up new channels, such as streaming performance videos and remote appearances by orchestra members on YouTube, and we see this as a positive aspect.
* Click here for the Kanagawa Philharmonic's official YouTube channel!
Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra (hereafter referred to as Sendai Phil) It was tough managing Twitter during the six months when we were unable to perform any musical activities. We couldn't let this get us down, so we decided to take advantage of the situation where we couldn't post performance information and instead post information that focused on conveying everyday life. The main topics were very mundane, such as what was happening in Sendai and what the Sendai Phil was preparing. Because we were able to post constantly, I think we were able to maintain communication with our followers.
* Click here for the official Sendai Philharmonic YouTube channel!
The Yamagata Symphony Orchestra held a regular concert without an audience in March last year. It received a great response after it was live-streamed, but activities were subsequently suspended. It was in June that they resumed live streaming without an audience, and it wasn't until July that they were able to deliver live music to audiences, albeit with a limited number of people.
However, the fact that I was able to try something new during that time was a positive thing. I planned and streamed "Hanagasa Ondo in a Place Like This" as a way to promote crowdfunding-style hometown tax donations. Many people watched it.
The Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra (hereafter referred to as Tokyo City Phil) streamed a live concert without an audience on June 25th last year, and has since gradually resumed performance activities. In addition to performance activities, volunteers have started a video project called "At-Home Ensemble," in which orchestra members work together to film and edit each section at home. When the video was released on the orchestra's official YouTube channel, it received an overwhelming response.
On the other hand, at the beginning, there were a lot of changes to the songs and performers, so I felt bad that there were so many changes and refunds on Twitter. So I'm still careful not to tweet sad or depressing tweets. My followers have responded cheerfully, so I'm grateful for that sentiment and it motivates me every day.
The Japan Century Symphony Orchestra (hereafter referred to as Japan Century) has had a very chaotic year. With the last concert on February 22nd, we were able to continue activities until June 20th, but without an audience. However, when the regular performance in March was cancelled, some of the orchestra members volunteered to take action, saying, "We still have the schedule open, so let's do something." While taking precautions, we filmed performance videos in the rehearsal room and were able to stream them one by one as the "Century Web Concert."
Thanks to that, we reached 10,000 followers on April 15th!
All 88888888!
In addition to Japan Century , the year was a year in which we took on many challenges, including performing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony outdoors in the middle of summer and asking for support through crowdfunding.
The advantage of the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra's Twitter account is its ability to provide up-to-date information, but over the past year we've been busy posting information about program changes and ticket refunds, and I feel like we haven't been able to send out many positive messages. However, we're grateful that General Music Director Tatsuya Shimono has been cooperative in our efforts to communicate, and has agreed to share message videos and cosplay photos.
* Click here for the official Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra YouTube channel!
[Looking back on the year of the COVID-19 pandemic]
Sendai Philharmonic The Sendai Philharmonic's latest hit is "The End of Amore Sukegawa, Who Arrived Just in Time for the Performance to Begin."
As part of our concert style during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra has asked attendees to write their name and phone number on the back of their tickets in advance. However, many people don't actually write their name and phone number on the back of their tickets... So, together with Amore Sukegawa (double bassist: Sukegawa Ryu), we created a promotional video and posted it on Twitter.
Although it's not necessarily the result of the Yamagata Symphony Orchestra Twitter account, the "Bravo Towel" has received a great response. We created it for customers who are unable to shout "Bravo!" due to infection control measures, but it has been more popular than we expected. We are currently placing our fourth additional order.
I was delighted to hear that when a certain long-established European orchestra came to Japan, some of the audience members held up these signs in their seats. Incidentally, there are also "Bravo tenugui" hand towels with a Hanagasa motif, and both are designed by the "insiders." I'd love to see them spread nationwide (laughs).
Last fall, the Tokyo City Philharmonic renewed the wrapping on its transport truck (Oketora), which received a lot of positive feedback. Everyone said it looked cool, and many of the audience members and performers also took photos of the Oketora and tweeted them, which made us very happy.
Some people call it "fire engine color" (lol), but it does have an impact.
Recently, I tweeted a video taken during the rehearsal for the 339th regular concert, which was held at the end of January this year, and this also received a great response. After posting it, I received a comment saying, "I'm even more excited to go to the concert now!" I was listening to the performance and tweeting it because I thought, "I definitely want everyone to hear this!!" so I was very happy.
On July 9th, after the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra resumed activities, we played our first sound as an orchestra. The nostalgia of tuning into A (ah) and the joy of finally being able to play music just melted into my body, so I tweeted about my feelings directly, and I guess my followers could relate, as they all empathized with me.
The tweet announcing that Joe Hisaishi will become the Principal Guest Conductor of the Japan Century Orchestra from April 2021 received a huge response.
Here it was just as exciting.
We recently performed Mahler's Symphony No. 5 with a large ensemble for the first time in a while, and for that purpose, one of our bassoonists handcrafted a realistic looking "low A" bassoon. We showed it off with a smile on our face and took a photo, and received a lot of positive comments. I realized that what people want is tweets that make the orchestra members feel closer to them.
A recent tweet from the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra that received a lot of attention was a photo of Shimono and First Concertmaster Sakuma dressed as Italian chefs. We hope that tweets like this will attract the attention of a wide range of people, including those who have not previously had much connection with the orchestra.
[Things I want to do once the coronavirus pandemic is over]
Let's hold a Sendai Philharmonic Real "Insider Summit"! It's been about a year and a half since we last did this.
Yamagata Symphony Orchestra: We've missed interacting with people, so first of all, we want to bring that back. It's frustrating for us that we can't provide services to our customers. Once the coronavirus pandemic is over, we'll not only do our best to make up for what we weren't able to do, but we'll also do our best to bring even greater joy than ever before!
Until now, the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra has held social gatherings with audiences about twice a year after regular concerts. As a token of our appreciation to our audience for their support, we would like to resume these events. And of course, we would like to hold the "Insider Summit" as well!!
I'm looking forward to holding the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra "Insider Summit." A wide variety of social media platforms have emerged in recent years, and I'd like to explore new possibilities by making full use of existing video content and remote communication. Also, due to the need to prevent infection, we haven't yet been able to resume seeing off audiences after performances. It's a very important "place" for orchestra members, so I hope we can resume it soon.
Of course, I want to hold the Japan Century "Insider Summit," but I also want to revive the opportunity for members to watch rehearsals and see off the members after concerts, and there are many other things I want to do. More than anything, I want to say to our audience, "Come to our concert!" It's a shame that, even though we're spreading the joy of orchestras and music, we still can't casually say, "Come!"
The Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra's Fan Appreciation Day, which was scheduled for the other day, has been canceled. We have received requests from our audience to quickly resume open rehearsals and post-performance farewells. We know there are many fans looking forward to these events, so we look forward to the return of an environment in which everyone can enjoy themselves.
[What is the appeal of orchestras and music?]
There's no doubt that Nippon Century is made up of professionals of each instrument who are serious about music. That's why we can deliver fun, beautiful, and diverse sounds and genres of music. Because we're so serious when we're performing, people tend to think we're "stiff," but each of us has a charming side to us, and I want people to know that too.
As the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra was unable to perform for a long time, I realized that there is something passionate about music that is hard to put into words. It is music that has captivated so many people over the years, so it would be a shame to dislike it without even listening to it!
Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra: The same moment never comes twice. It's no exaggeration to say that this is the charm of live music. Even if you play the same piece twice, the tempo won't be the same twice, and it's impossible for the performance to be the same twice. After all, there are about 60 people playing various instruments. The charm of an orchestra lies in the fact that one thing is created by many people.
Also, the members of the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra are more open-minded, friendly, and interesting than you might think, and they're very human. If you say "Thank you," they'll say "Thank you" back. Really.
Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra: Strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion... All of these instruments come together to create a single piece of music, creating a powerful impact that pierces the hearts of listeners. I think that is the charm of an orchestra.
The music of the Yamagata Symphony Orchestra has been used in movies, dramas, commercials, and more, and I'm sure you've all had the experience of thinking, "Hey! I've heard this song before!" It's because it's so memorable, and even if you don't realize it, it's something that's very familiar to you. Listening to that kind of music live is something that you feel with your whole body, not just your ears. The raw sound, unprocessed by machines, is warm and touches your heart because it's played by a human being. I hope to be able to convey that sense of excitement and happiness.
Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestras are active in each region across the country, and they carry out activities that are deeply rooted in their local communities. Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra has launched various projects to give itself a unique character, but we believe that the "people behind the scenes" are merely a tool to help people get to know the orchestra and lead them into the wonderful world of music. Our goal is to increase the number of people who listen to the orchestra or find healing in music through Twitter, where the "people behind the scenes" are working hard. We will continue to work together to spread the appeal of the orchestra!
