Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra performs with Yokohama Municipal Chigasaki Junior High School

The Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra (hereinafter referred to as Kanagawa Philharmonic) held a concert in collaboration with the Yokohama Municipal Chigasaki Junior High School Brass Band on Monday, September 23, 2024 (a holiday). On September 16, one week before the concert, 12 members of the Kanagawa Philharmonic visited Chigasaki Junior High School and held a workshop where they practiced their instruments. We will report on the workshop and the passionate performance on the day of the concert.

3 hours of dedicated practice per instrument

The Yokohama Next Concert 2024 is a dream concert project in which the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra and children from Yokohama's 18th Ward will perform together. This year, the second concert will be held, and the Chigasaki Junior High School Brass Band will take to the stage.
On September 16th, one week before the performance, players of various instruments including flutes and oboes from the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra came to Chigasaki Junior High School to give direct instruction to the brass band members. The students looked nervous at first, but the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra players carefully taught them the basics, such as how to handle their instruments and how to make sounds. The students listened to the advice obediently, and made progress on the spot, producing good sounds and getting into rhythm.

After the Workshop

We spoke with Egawa, a flute player, and Toyoda, a horn player, from the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra.

What did you think of today's workshop?

Egawa: He was full of motivation, and I was impressed by his straightforwardness in immediately implementing the advice he gave me. He was honest and very enthusiastic.

Toyota: It was a lively practice session. Since he has a strong base, he was able to immediately incorporate extra advice.

- Please say a few words to the students who will be taking the test next week.

The Toyota Concert is different from a competition, so I hope you enjoy it. There is a lot of room for improvement, so I think you will improve with each practice session. I think today's instruction will be useful.

Let's get started! The dream concert

The first part of the concert began with a solemn fanfare by the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra, followed by the performance of Chigasaki Junior High School. Conducted by the brass band advisor, Mr. Kenichi Asayama, the band performed two pieces, which they had also performed at the brass band competition: Fairy Tale by Itaru Sakai and Reconstruction by Hiroshi Hoshina. Most of the children started playing instruments in junior high school, and the performance was full of energy and energy, which was hard to believe. For the third piece, a Eurobeat Disney medley, the first-year students all wore gorgeous, colorful capes and performed a dance in the front row of the stage. The whole audience clapped along to the familiar melodies of Mickey Mouse March and It's a Small World, creating a fun atmosphere.

Then, in a joint performance with Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra's Principal Solo Concertmaster Yasunao Ishida and Chigasaki Junior High School, they performed Jealousy arranged by Koichi Ohashi and Theme of Remembrance arranged by Kenjiro Urata. Ishida's smooth and beautiful violin sound touched the heart, and the parts where he interacted with the students were also wonderful, moving the audience. When Ishida was not playing, he turned his body and made a gesture of watching over the students.

The second part began with the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra performing three pieces: Alvamar Overture, Romanian Folk Dance, and the Polovtsian Dance from the opera "Prince Igor". Then, finally, it was a joint performance with Chigasaki Junior High School. The Yokohama City Song was conducted by the advisor, Mr. Kenichi Asayama, and the Triumphal March from the opera "Aida" was conducted by Kanade Yokoyama. The students performed at the back of the stage and in front of the pipe organ on the second floor.

The sound of each individual instrument blended with the whole and produced a beautiful harmony. The encore song was "The Stars and Stripes Forever." The performance by the orchestra and brass band was grand in scale and captivated the audience with its powerful impact. After the performance, the members of the Kanagawa Philharmonic praised the students with a big round of applause. The applause from the audience continued for a long time, and the joint performance by the students and the Kanagawa Philharmonic must have deeply moved the audience.

After the performance

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

- Please give us your honest thoughts and a message to the students.

Kumai : I think this is a very meaningful attempt to broaden the world of children, like young soccer players playing soccer with Yokohama F. Marinos. A student from Hodogaya Junior High School, who performed with us at last year's Yokohama Next Concert, joined our Junior Orchestra this year. In this way, I think today's experience can be a catalyst for them to become involved in music in the future. Some students may think of an orchestra as something a step above a brass band, but the wide world of music is the same, just the entrance is different. I want them to broaden their horizons and enjoy music, knowing that it's okay to enter from anywhere.

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

-Please give us your thoughts on today in one sentence.

Yamamoto : It was fun. I still feel a bit out of it, but when I looked at the faces of the brass band members around me after the performance, they were all smiling. Seeing that, I thought it was good and I had fun. Before the concert, Asuyama-sensei told me that there are many other instruments besides brass bands, and that he wanted me to realize that each one has its own path, and that the world of music is wide. Through this experience, I realized that this is indeed true. I don't know what my future holds, 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 think this concert will lead to the future of children and the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra. I wonder which ward's junior high school brass band will be selected next year.
I'm looking forward to the next time too.

Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra
Official website: here
Concert schedule: here