Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra holds workshop at Chigasaki Junior High School

On Monday, September 23, 2024 (a national holiday), the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra (hereafter referred to as Kanagawa Philharmonic) will hold a concert in collaboration with a junior high school brass band in Yokohama. One month before the concert, conductor Kanade Yokoyama, who will also be conducting on the day, visited the junior high school to hold a workshop. This time, we spoke to the members of the Yokohama Municipal Chigasaki Junior High School Brass Band about their impressions and enthusiasm immediately after the workshop.

Direct instruction that made me feel the power of a professional

With just one month until the concert, conductor Yokoyama held a workshop with the brass band at Yokohama Municipal Chigasaki Junior High School.

They performed mainly pieces that were performed with an orchestra, and stopped the performance whenever Yokoyama noticed something that bothered him. He expressed it through singing or explained it in an easy-to-understand way using analogies to help improve it.

If there was anything they were concerned about with the tone or expression, they would stop the performance and give instructions. From the outside, this workshop seemed a little strict for the junior high school students. What did the advisory teachers and students think?

We spoke with the advisor, Mr. Asuyama.

- Professor Asuyama, what did you think of today's workshop?

In regular practice for competitions, accuracy of the notes relative to the score is required. However, today, Professor Yokoyama Kanade overlooked the small details and conveyed to the junior high school students in an easy-to-understand way that "it's about understanding the score and the song, and 'expressing' the music." I think the students found Professor Yokoyama's instruction refreshing.

- Professor Asuyama, you yourself majored in tuba in college and have been teaching wind bands for over 30 years. How do you prepare for a concert?

It has only been six months since the first-year students started playing instruments. Therefore, the sheet music has been simplified for the first-year students. They are practicing "Yokohama City Song" and three other songs so that all of them can perform them on stage.

Yokohama City has guidelines for club activities, which clearly state the number of practice days and times on weekdays, and a maximum of three hours on either Saturday or Sunday on weekends. The amount of time available for all club members to practice together has decreased compared to before. I imagine everyone is struggling with finding time to practice.

The students of the Chigasaki Junior High School brass band are busy performing outside almost every week, including at brass band competitions and local events. I often encourage the members to apply one piece of instruction to other pieces as well.

-Please tell us your thoughts about performing with the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra.

I have been teaching brass bands for 30 years, and I feel that this is a very rare opportunity for a professional orchestra and junior high school students to perform together on a large stage like Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall.

We spoke to members of the Chigasaki Junior High School Brass Band

We interviewed the club's director, Yamamoto Chiyoko (center/bass clarinet), deputy director Kaise Kotone (left/oboe), and deputy director Kitada Erina (right/alto saxophone).

-Please tell us your honest thoughts after the workshop.

I found the instruction from Yamamoto to be very refreshing. However, there were some overlaps between what Yokoyama-sensei pointed out and what our advisor, Asuyama-sensei, always teaches us. Asuyama-sensei often says, "Try to apply what he points out to other songs, not just that particular one," so we all decided to keep that in mind.

I feel that the enjoyment of music and the approach to music are the same at both the Kaise Wind Orchestra Competition and this concert. I am excited to be performing with the string players, to see what kind of music will be created when the tones of string and wind instruments come together, and above all, to be performing with professional musicians.

At the Kitada Wind Orchestra Competition, there are set pieces, and we identify the points we need to pay attention to and work towards improving our performance. The approach is slightly different between a competition and a concert, but we want to deliver music to the audience while cherishing the basic principle of "creating one piece of music together."

-How do you want to spend your time until the actual event, which is one month away?

Yamamoto, Kaise, and Kitada: As we are third-year students, this concert with the Kanagawa Philharmonic will be our last concert before we retire from the brass band. As club president and vice president, we want to unite the members and make it the best concert possible so that the audience can enjoy it.

During the workshop, the atmosphere was tense and serious, and the students seemed to be well-motivated by the direct instruction from a professional. A workshop was held by members of the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra at a later date, leading up to the actual performance.

Come to Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall to experience the music that the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra and the fresh and vibrant junior high school students will create.

<Yokohama Next Concert 2024 meets Tsuzuki Ward>
Date: September 23, 2024 (Monday, holiday) 15:00 start
Venue: Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall
Official website: Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra