The Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra will perform with Yokohama Municipal Chigasaki Junior High School.

The Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra (hereinafter referred to as Kanagawa Phil) held a collaborative concert with the Yokohama Municipal Chigasaki Junior High School Brass Band on September 23, 2024 (Monday, holiday). A week before the concert, on September 16, twelve musicians from the Kanagawa Phil visited Chigasaki Junior High School and conducted a workshop where they practiced their instruments individually. This report covers that workshop and the passionate performance on the day of the concert.

Three hours of dedicated practice for each instrument.

The "Yokohama Next Concert 2024" is a dream concert project featuring the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra and children from Yokohama's 18 wards. This year, for the second installment of the concert, the Chigasaki Junior High School Brass Band will take to the stage.
On September 16th, one week before the performance, musicians from the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra, including flutists and oboists, visited Chigasaki Junior High School to provide direct instruction to the band members. The students were initially nervous, but the Kanagawa Philharmonic musicians patiently taught them the basics, such as how to handle their instruments and how to produce sound. The students readily accepted the advice and improved their playing on the spot, producing better sounds and achieving more in sync rhythms.

After the workshop

We spoke with Ms. Egawa, flutist, and Ms. Toyoda, horn player, both members of the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra.

—What did you think of today's workshop?

Egawa is full of motivation, and his straightforwardness in immediately incorporating advice is wonderful. He was honest and very enthusiastic.

The practice session at Toyota was very lively. Because he has strong bass skills, he was able to quickly incorporate any additional advice.

—Do you have a message for the students who will be performing next week?

The Toyota Concert is different from a competition, so I hope you'll enjoy it. You have a lot of room to improve, and I think you'll get much better with each practice session. I think today's instruction will be put to good use.

Now, it's showtime! The dream concert

The first part of the concert opened with a majestic fanfare by the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra, followed by a performance by Chigasaki Junior High School. Under the direction of their band advisor, Mr. Kenichi Asuyama, they played two pieces they had also performed at the brass band competition: "Märchen" by Itaru Sakai and "Reconstruction" by Hiroshi Hoshina. It was hard to believe that the performance was by children, most of whom had only started playing instruments in junior high school, as it was full of emotion and vitality. For the third piece, a Eurobeat Disney medley, everyone wore brightly colored capes, and the first-year students performed a dance at the front of the stage. As they played familiar melodies such as "Mickey Mouse March" and "It's a Small World," the entire audience clapped along, creating a joyful atmosphere.

Then, Kanagawa Philharmonic's principal solo concertmaster, Yasuhisa Ishida, performed with Chigasaki Junior High School, playing Koichi Ohashi's arrangement of "Jealousy" and Kenjiro Urata's arrangement of "The Theme of Remembrance." Ishida's smooth and beautiful violin tone resonated deeply, and the interplay with the students was wonderful, moving the audience. When he wasn't playing, Ishida would turn his body and make gestures of watching over the students.

The second part began with a performance by the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra, who played three pieces: the Alvamar Overture, Romanian Folk Dances, and the Polovtsian Dances from the opera "Prince Igor." Then came the joint performance with Chigasaki Junior High School. The Yokohama City Anthem was conducted by advisor Kenichi Asuyama, and the Triumphal March from the opera "Aida" was conducted by Kanade Yokoyama. The students performed from the back of the stage and in front of the pipe organ in the second-floor seating area.

The sound of each instrument harmonized with the whole, creating a beautiful harmony. The encore piece was "The Stars and Stripes Forever." The orchestra and wind ensemble's performance, with its grand scale, captivated the audience with its powerful impact. After the performance, the members of the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra applauded the students with thunderous applause. The applause from the audience continued for quite some time, suggesting that the joint performance by the students and the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra deeply moved those who listened.

After the performance

We asked Yu Kumai, a horn player with the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra, for his impressions.

—Please share your honest thoughts and a message for the students.

I believe this initiative, where young soccer players from Kumai High School played soccer with Yokohama F. Marinos, is a very meaningful one that broadens the world of children. Students from Hodogaya Junior High School, who performed with us at last year's Yokohama Next Concert, joined the Junior Orchestra this year. I think that today's experience may inspire them to pursue music in the future. Some students may have the image that an orchestra is a step above a wind ensemble, but the entry point is just different; the vast world of music is the same. I hope they will broaden their horizons and enjoy music, realizing that it's okay to enter from anywhere.

We also asked Chiyoko Yamamoto, the head of the Chigasaki Junior High School brass band club, for her thoughts.

—Please give us a brief comment about today's events.

Yamamoto: It was fun. I still feel a bit lightheaded, but when the performance ended and I looked at the faces of the other band members, they were all smiling. Seeing that, I felt glad and happy that we had enjoyed it. Before the concert, Mr. Asuyama told us that there are many different instruments besides wind instruments, and that he wanted us to realize that there are different paths for each of them, and that he wanted us to know that the world of music is vast. Through this experience, I realized that this is indeed true. I don't know what the future holds yet, but I've become interested in string instruments and other instruments, and I feel like my world has expanded.

As the name "Yokohama Next Concert" suggests, I believe this concert will connect to the future of the children and the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra. I wonder which ward's junior high school brass band will be chosen next year.
I'm looking forward to the next time as well.

Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra
Official website: Click here
Concert schedule: Click here