A highly popular feature! A roundtable discussion with the people behind Twitter!

In the world of professional orchestras in Japan, the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra (hereinafter referred to as Sendai Phil) from Miyagi Prefecture has a Twitter account that stands out. The Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra (hereinafter referred to as Kanagawa Phil) also started operating its Twitter account in 2010, and is steadily increasing its followers while striving to promote the orchestra.

Our popular "Twitter insider" interview series is back! This time, two people from the Kanagawa Philharmonic and Sendai Philharmonic shared their thoughts in a passionate and in-depth manner.
It turns out these two are actually friends in their private lives. The atmosphere was incredibly lively! As the moderator, I was laughing the whole time.
This passionate "insider discussion" is born from a love for orchestras, so please enjoy it to the very end!

Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra Twitter account

Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra Twitter account
 
 
 
An online conversation took place on a certain day in March.
Right at the start, the topic shifted to the office building visible in the background (lol).

Sendai Philharmonic
The office is so clean! I wish I had one!

Kanagawa Philharmonic
I just moved recently, so it's nice, right?

Sendai Philharmonic
Wow, that's really nice! We're actually redecorating our house for the first time in decades!

facilitator
...Nice to meet you! Looking forward to working with you!

Both
Oh, please! (laughs)

What a brilliant icebreaker! Now, let's get down to business.

 
 

I aimed to create tweets that were full of human warmth.
Sendai Philharmonic
I wasn't in charge when the account was first created, but most of the posts were advertisements for concerts. There were a lot of rather mechanical tweets about concerts, and not many tweets with a human touch.
There weren't any tweets that would make my followers want to retweet them or share them widely.

Kanagawa Philharmonic
It's amazing that you even noticed that they lacked humanity in the first place.

Sendai Philharmonic
So, I wanted to try making more personal tweets, like revealing behind-the-scenes stories or anecdotes about the instruments. I thought it would be nice to have tweets that offered a glimpse into the personal feelings of the people behind the accounts, just like the official accounts of major companies that were popular at the time.
It has a strangely human quality to it.

Kanagawa Philharmonic
So the Kanagawa Philharmonic saw the Sendai Philharmonic's attempt and thought, "Oh, that's a good idea, maybe we should try it." I don't think I could have done it on my own.
These days, the two of them interact a lot and joke around with each other, so people ask, "Are you two dating?" (laughs)
There are things like, "I might get in trouble for this." It's actually difficult to draw the line.

Sendai Philharmonic
That's right. It can't just become a personal account; it's strictly the official account of the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, but they're actually using their ingenuity to let the human side of the person managing and operating it show through (laughs).

Funny tweets from the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra account

facilitator
By the way, have you ever experienced what's commonly known as "going viral" or "having a controversy"?

Kanagawa Philharmonic
I have received criticism, not exactly a backlash, but rather reprimands from the orchestra members telling me to stop messing around and take things a bit more seriously. However, in my case, I used that as motivation and became even more determined to create an account that would gain more support.

Sendai Philharmonic
I don't think there will be any controversy.
Well, since there aren't any clearly defined rules, as the administrator, I have to use my discretion and judgment to decide what's okay to write and what's not, so it's definitely difficult. But I always post with the responsibility of representing about 70 orchestra members on my shoulders. That's why I make sure to differentiate between the emotional tweets of the people in charge and official promotions, using different writing styles.

Kanagawa Philharmonic
Yes, I'm always conscious of how my followers feel and how they perceive things.

Sendai Philharmonic's serious tweet

Kanagawa Philharmonic's serious tweet

Twitter is an activity that broadens its reach.

Sendai Philharmonic
I'm not thinking of using Twitter to sell concert tickets.
Of course, it would be great if we could sell records, but first and foremost, we want to raise awareness among people who don't know anything about the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, or even orchestras in general. We want to broaden our fan base, and that's what we're working towards.
Because people all over the world can find out about us in real time.

Kanagawa Philharmonic
Our approach is a little different. Rather than wanting people to know about the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra, our primary goal is to dispel the image that orchestras are intimidating and to convey the enjoyment and excitement of them.

Sendai Philharmonic
Yeah, or rather, don't you hate it when people say it's "too exclusive"?

Kanagawa Philharmonic
No way!!

Both
Please don't worry about things like, "What if I accidentally clap?" or "What should I wear?" Some people even come in jinbei (traditional Japanese summer wear) in the summer (laughs). It's not rude at all, and jeans are perfectly fine too. We'll just be grateful that you came.

facilitator
I'm definitely the type who thinks I need to dress properly when I go out. Oh, so that's not the case!

Both
It's perfectly fine to be completely normal! (Absolutely!)
I often wonder why people think it's intimidating, but I'm sure that will be dispelled once you come, so please do come. It's really interesting!
 
 
 

Account selling points

Both
It has a certification mark, I guess (lol).
When we first got our certification mark, it was really tough to get it. The application form was all in English. We had to rely on Google Translate to help us get it. The Sendai Philharmonic got rejected the first time but got it on their second try.

Kanagawa Philharmonic
The Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra has many accounts run by its members, and each one has such a strong personality, which makes them really interesting.

Sendai Philharmonic
That's right, we call them our "merry band of friends," and they include not only the orchestra members but also the librarian, inspector (who acts as a manager for the entire orchestra), choir (the people behind the scenes), website administrator (the boss), and even the department head. They have lots of accounts and everyone retweets each other. So, from an official standpoint, it's quite helpful. There are tweets from the perspective of the instrumentalists that I might not be able to pick up on myself.

Kanagawa Philharmonic
I guess my account has turned into a dog account (lol). I think I'm doing a good job of using it to promote the orchestra and post lighthearted tweets.
Blue Dal, the Kanagawa Philharmonic's cheering mascot, is also a dog!

Kanagawa Philharmonic Dog Tweets

Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra's cheering mascot, Blue Dal
 
 
 

Please reveal the secrets of the people behind the scenes!

Kanagawa Philharmonic
Actually... I can't eat natto (fermented soybeans). I just can't.
By the way, my favorite food is dorayaki (a type of Japanese sweet).

Sendai Philharmonic
Actually... I can't touch cats or dogs. Or rather, I'm not good with animals in general.
My favorite food is Tokyo Chocolate Waffle Sandwiches. I'm available 24/7, 365 days a year (lol). By the way, I can eat natto, I prefer the small beans.

Both
LOL