Individual Examples

25th Session: Star Festival Concert

On Saturday, July 4,2009 we held “The Star Festival Concert for Children: To the Shining World of Sounds (25th Session of the Concert for Children Series, Part 1 starting at 11 a.m., and Part 2 at 3 p.m., with a total audience of 814 people).

Six senior students, who had already taken part in the Outreach in Music Program, as well as eight supporting members, or 14 students in total, appeared with eight different instruments. This marked the first appearance of the horn in this series of concerts, so as to emphasize the merits of performances on a wide variety of musical instruments. This session also intended to show the benefit of collaboration with other arts. In this case, this was also the first trial for dance.

The concert opened with the <Prelude > from G. Bizet’s Opera Carmen, arranged by Yuri Suyama, a former student of the Outreach Program, utilizing a large ensemble of piano, violin, cello, flute, piccolo, horn, vibraphone, cymbal, and triangle, under the instruction of her professor.

Next was the time to introduce each instrument. The respective features and origins were introduced with both ordinary and unique playing techniques, before the performance of typical music selections, highlighting the merit of each.

First were wind instruments: flute, piccolo and horn. The audience was given an explanation of the flute, and why it is included as a woodwind instrument, even though it is made of metal. There was also an explanation of the difference between the flute and piccolo, then a performance of ‘Gavotte ’ from F-J. Gossec’s Opera, Rosine. Next were the horns. A brief history of horns was presented, noting that they had been used for announcing the arrival of mail coaches in Europe in the past, followed by a performance of the 1st movement of W. A. Mozart’s ‘Konzert fur Horn und Orchester Nr. 1 ’.

Then the string instruments, violin and cello, came into focus. After showing the commonality in the playing techniques of the two, and the difference in tonal range, the violin performance of ‘Jounetsu Tairiku ’ composed by Taro Hakase and the cello performance of ‘Le Cygne ’ from C. Saint-Saens’ Le Carnival des Animaux-Fantaisie Zoologique were given to the audience so that they could enjoy the different tone colors of each.

The third part was for percussions, especially for comparing the vibraphone’s sounds with and without pedals. The audience’s applause for cymbals-spinning techniques naturally brought wide, happy smiles to the player.

The next part focused on vocals, where human bodies themselves were used as musical instruments. After explanation on how to develop better voices, ‘Auf Flugeln des Gesanges ’ from F. Mendelssohn’s 6 Lieder op. 34 were sung in duet.

The fifth instrument was the piano. After an explanation on how sounds are made by hitting different strings, Yuji Ohno’s ‘Lupin the 3rd ’ was played in four-handed duet.

The sixth was the pipe organ. The performance of J.S. Bach’s choral ‘Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV. 645 ’ followed the demonstration of pedal boards and stops.

Then the first trial collaboration between dance and music performances followed. To begin with, the differences in motions among classical ballet, modern dance, and contemporary dance were briefly shown, This was followed by the collaborative performance of the music of ‘Moonlight ’ written by Michio Mado, composed by Sayaka Ishiguro, and arranged by one of the former Outreach Program students, Hirono Ishizu. The performance consisted of dance, vocal, piano, and cello. For the dance performance, two dance major students performed original dances created for this stage, which gathered lots of applause from the audience.

Then the focus turned to audience participation. In the morning session, people felt two kinds of simple rhythmic movements of “jelly fish” and “seaweed, while for the afternoon session one more rhythm of “scallop” was added. With these different rhythms, everybody played slapping their thighs or clapping their hands, sometimes overlapping or exchanging one after another. The music from ‘Ponyo on the Cliff ’ by Jo Hisa’ishi cheered them to speed up the tempo. Surprisingly, many fathers in the audience also eagerly tried the rhythms to unexpected successes, followed by singing ‘Tanabata-sama ’ written by Hanayo Gondo & Ryuha Hayashi, and composed by Kan’ichi Shimofusa.

For the finale, all the instruments made an ensemble of ‘Intermezzo ’ and ‘Air de Toreador ’ from the Carmen Suite composed by G. Bizet and arranged by Ken Nakamura & Yuri Suyama, receiving a big wave of applause.

After the stage performance was the opportunity for the audience to experience each instrument. Many children tried violins, flutes, percussions, and a pipe organ with zeal.

This concert aimed to demonstrate how various instruments with different sound tones can make an ensemble full of bright and colorful sound of the music. That is why we did our best to make a program of good tempo in music selection, time allocation, and general composition. The audience participation period was intended to be most audience-friendly with a wide variety of music from classical to popular numbers. We carefully thought about the content, how to introduce each instrument, and how to make the most of human network from our high school days, so as to attract best guest players as well as dancers.

All of us fully experienced the difficulty of making performances, through all the processes from initial planning to the day of the concert. Two unlucky members, who were unable to join the concert because of their teaching practice engagement, kindly supported us for the preparation and arrangement of the music. Furthermore, the audience was so generous and kind to us, and unified the hall in one rhythmic program. We really felt that the concert was produced not only by the musicians but also by the many staff members who worked behind the scenes, as well as the audience.

After the concert, several families kindly came up to us to say how much they had enjoyed the performance. This concert was a great occasion for us to appreciate the joy and charm of the music.

(By N.F., N.O., and N.O.)

26th Session: Special Concert

On Saturday, October 16,2009 a concert titled Special Concert for Children: Enjoy Do-Re-Mi with a Pipe Organ (26th session of the Concert for Children series) was held at the Auditorium of Kobe College. The concert began at 2 p.m. with an audience of 226 people in total. For this concert, we invited Ms. Keiko Inoue, a representative pipe organist of Japan and part-time lecturer at our Music Department as a soloist so that the audience would fully enjoy the charm of the pipe organ, with wonderful performance, and also video images and comments.

The concert started with Rondeau from J-J. Mouret’s ‘Fanfares pour Les Trompettes, Violins, Hautbois et Tmbales avec une Suite de Symphonies, Melees de Cors de Chasse ’. The splendid sound from the back absolutely charmed the audience and attracted their attention to a huge organ on the second floor.

With a microphone, the soloist sent words of greeting to the floor with the explanation of the aim of the concert before her performance of E.A. MacDowell’s <To a Wild Rose> and B. Bartok’s ‘Roman Nepi Tancok ’ so that the audience would compare the quiet and gentle sound of the former with the colorful and unique tone of the latter.

Then, Ms. Inoue referred to J.S. Bach (1685-1750) as the most important composer in the organ music history. Using video images, she talked about cities, churches, and organs in connection with Bach, and played his ‘Jesus Bleibet Meine Freude BWV147 ’ and ‘Praudium und Fuge BWV 550 ’.

While waiting for the soloist to step down from the second floor to the stage, Ms. Sayaka Hayano, assistant and organist at Kobe College, talked about the history and inside structure of the pipe organ.

Quite surprisingly, organs are said to have a 2,300-year history, with water-powered organs as their origin. In the past, they used human power, but nowadays electricity is used to blow air into the pipes for making sound. Ms. Hayano showed a miniature model to explain the three major components of the organ: pipes, pressure bellows, and keyboards that control air valves from pipes to pipes. Without these three parts, an organ cannot make sound. A real positive organ was then used to show how “stops” worked on the stage. Stops are gears to stop air injection into the pipes. They also work to overlap multiple sounds. After that, Ms. Inoue played J.S. Bach’s ‘Fuge BWV. 578 ’ as solo with a medium-sized organ at the right side of the stage.

Next was the time to introduce different types of organs in the world. Ms. Inoue, who has rich experience playing various organs, showed wonderful photographs of some of them, from the world’s oldest organ in the Church of Sion, Switzerland (Swallow’s nest type=Schwalbennestorgel ), one played by Bach or Mozart, a huge organ with 101 stops (Eglise St. Eustache in Paris ), and a unique organ with horizontal trumpet pipes to the audience. Each has a different design and equipment, like artistic objects with specific beauty. The audience surely understood that pipe organs are all custom-made, and well manifest cultural differences according to where they were made.

Then came the period for children to participate in sounding real pipes on the stage to perform <Do-Re-Mi> from R. Rodgers’ The Sound of Music. All the children did their best to make Do, Mi, Mi, / Mi, So, So, / Re, Fa, Fa, / Ra, Ti, Ti…. by holding one pipe each in their hands to the accompaniment of Ms. Inoue’s organ. Everyone did a rehearsal first with the instructions of the staffers as well as the music before the real performance. They did a great job! Then, three applicants tried to play the medium-sized organ on the stage.

Meanwhile, the soloist went back to the large organ on the second floor, and played a medley of ‘Edelweiss-My Favorite Things-Climb Ev’ry Mountain ’ from The Sound of Music, and ‘When You Wish Upon a Star ’, from L. Herline’s Pinocchio (arranged by Nozomi Aoki). The last number was ‘Hymne au Soleil ’ from L. Vierne’s Pieces de Fantasie to splendidly close the concert.

During the instrument experience time after the concert, a tour to see the large organ on the second floor as well as the corner to experience the medium-sized organ attracted many from the audience. They stood in long lines to wait their turns. At the same time, parents told us how much their children had said “Wow” to the player during the concert. This was a great and rare occasion to learn about pipe organs: both parents and children greatly enjoyed learning about the mechanism of pipe organs and playing them.

(By A.T.)

27th Session: Christmas Concert

The Christmas concert was held at the Auditorium of Kobe College on Saturday, December 12,2009 as the 27th session of the Concert for Children series, under the title of “Christmas Concert for Children: Let’s Make a Musical World Tour!” (The 1st part started at 11 a.m., the 2nd at 4.p.m., with 812 participants in total). Five students, who had already studied at the Outreach in Music program, worked for the concert with the help of one supporting member.

With the stage curtain closed, J.S. Bach’s 8 Kleine Praudien und Fugen BWV559 was played as an organ solo. Then, after the audience became quieter, another piece of organ music, the hymn ‘In Dulci Jubilo ’, composer unknown, was played. An explanation on the origin of Christmas as the world’s most wonderful birthday followed, and the concept of the concert to enjoy the world tour of music together was explained.

The curtain then opened for the vocal solo of ‘Pie Jesu ’ from G. Faure’s Messe de Requiem, the clear voice of which made the children listen eagerly to the music.

Next came the time to start the world tour!

First we went to Italy, the country of the sunshine, with the wonderful soprano coloratura of L. Arditi’s ‘Il bacio ’ . Next we went to France to sing the song of ‘O Holy Night ’, written by a French composer, A. Adam.

The third country was Argentina, where Christmas is held in summer time. A sample of the passionate dance music of Argentine tango, A. Piazzolla’s ‘Libertango ’, was performed by the ensemble of flute, keyboard harmonica, and piano, under beautiful illumination colorful lighting changing between blue and red.

Next came the United States of America with the Disney numbers, J. Dodd’s ‘Mickey Mouse March ’. But it was slightly arranged into a jazz version of piano duet instead of in ordinary style.

For a change, we then had a quiz time with various Christmas songs. For the morning session, which lots of smaller children attended, intro parts of each song were played by piano so that children could try to guess their titles. For the afternoon session, which was mainly for primary school graders, only the handclapped beats of songs were listened to in order to guess the titles. Children joined both, by raising their hands enthusiastically. All the songs used for the quiz, ‘Jingle Bells ’ , ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer ’ , ‘Santa Claus Is Coming to Town ’, and ‘Silent Night ’ were played in a medley to be sung together.

After the quiz, the audience flew to Russia. From P.I. Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, ‘Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy ’ was played by a piano and a celesta, ‘Dance of the Reed Pipes ’, ‘Chinese Dance ’ and ‘Russian Dance (Trepak) ’ were performed by a four-handed piano duet and flute, followed by children’s loud cheers to Santa Claus, who appeared on the stage during the last tune of the medley.

Everybody came back to Japan, the last itinerary item of the world tour, with Santa Claus. We listened to a gentle soft vocal solo of ‘Karatachi-no-Hana ’ written by Hakushu Kitahara and composed by Kosaku Yamada, which gave us beautiful seasonal images of Japanese landscape.

The last program of the concert was the British folk song, ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas ’ , with the lyrics slightly changed to a modern version. During this song, Santa Claus was putting colorful boxes on the stage, but all of a sudden he got surprised to find that there were not enough presents. This situation naturally moved to another famous Christmas song of ‘Awatembo-no-Santa Claus ’ composed by Asei Kobayashi. Everybody sang the song together, before a brief introduction of each artist.

After the concert was the instrument-experiencing period. This time was for piano, flute, organ and tone chimes. Everybody looked so happy and satisfied to touch and experience such instruments themselves, the sounds of which they had really enjoyed during the concert.

Actually, we had a small problem during the previous preparation and the rehearsal because of the absence of some artists. But it seemed that the audience accepted the concept of the world tour favorably. Comments on questionnaires or opinions after the concert included how much they enjoyed the concert, how their children listened to the music with shining eyes, etc. With these words, we once again felt the power of the music, the importance of sharing emotion and pleasure with various people, and the significance/merits of holding these kinds of concerts.

(By M.I.)

Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital

This hospital concert on Thursday, August 27,2009 was the first outreach-in-music practice for us.

Having heard that outreach concerts at this hospital in the past gathered not only the patients but also their families and friends, some of whom had deeper knowledge in music than ordinary people, we made a concert plan of classical music for the first part, a short beak for physical exercises, and a second part of familiar Japanese songs to sing together in chorus.

The concert started with ‘Dance of the Reed Pipes ’ (Flute) from P.I. Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, then went to ‘Clair de Lune ’ (Piano) from C. Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque, ‘O Mio Babbino Caro ’ (Soprano) from G. Puccini’s opera Gianni Schicchi, and N. Paganini’s ‘Cantabile ’ (Flute and Piano), so that the audience would feel the differences in the tone color of each instrument, followed by the ensemble of flute, vocal, and piano of ‘Auf Flugeln des Gesanges ’ of F. Mendelssohn’s 6 Lieder op. 34 .

The physical exercise period included simple stretching practices and rhythm played with the music of Jo Hisa’ishi’s ‘Ponyo on the Cliff ’.

The second part consisted of ‘Sukiyaki ’ made by Rokusuke Ei/Hachidai Nakamura, in chorus with the audience, ‘Momiji ’ made by Tatsuyuki Takano/Teiichi Okano in vocal duet, and once again ‘Kono-michi ’ made by Hakushu Kitahara/Kosaku Yamada, sung together in chorus.

This was our first outreach trial, and much needed to be improved; more effective time allocation for rehearsal, or determination to show our potential, for example. Many people told us, however, that they really enjoyed the concert or that it was a great occasion for them to improve their moods. Through these words, we acknowledged the meaning and wonder of outreach activities. We would like to make the most of this experience for our future development.

(By Y.S.)

Nogi Hospital

We held the Autumn Concert at Nogi Hospital on Saturday, August 29,2009.

The program aimed to express the seasonal changes with familiar melodies: ‘Dance of the Reed Pipes ’ (Flute) from P. I. Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker; ‘Clair de Lune ’ (Piano) from C. Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque ; ‘O Mio Babbino Caro ’ (Soprano) from G. Puccini’s opera Gianni Schicchi ; ‘Cantabile ’ (Flute and Piano) by N. Paganini; ‘Auf Flugeln des Gesanges ’ (Soprano duo) from F. Mendelssohn’s 6 Lieder op. 34 ; ‘Sukiyaki ’ by Rokusuke Ei/Hachidai Nakamura; ‘Momij ’ by Tatsuyuki Takano/Teiichi Okano; and ‘Kono-michi ’ by Hakushu Kitahara/Kosaku Yamada.

Originally ‘Momiji ’ was a song for vocals, but we arranged it for this concert to include a flute part to add a more rhythmical feeling. We also arranged ‘Auf Flugeln des Gesanges ’ to make respective solo parts for flute and vocal, followed by the ensemble of both.

Before the concert, we worried about the rhythm exercises in the music of Jo Hisa’ishi’s ‘Ponyo on the Cliff ’, as it might be bit too difficult for beginners to do the complicated physical movements of clapping hands or slapping thighs. But in reality, the audience enjoyed such exercises much more easily than we had anticipated. Their excitement gave us a happy surprise.

Before singing Japanese songs of ‘Sukiyaki ’ and ‘Kono-michi ’, we distributed lyric sheets so that everybody could join the chorus. Surprisingly some were nearly in tears while singing. The song chosen for the encore was ‘Momiji ’ again. As so many people joined in chorus, we really felt the sense of community with the audience.

All the participants were enthusiastic to feel the rhythm with our music. This was a really impressive concert for us to share a wonderful time with the people.

(By T.K. & N.O.)

Toneyama National Hospital

We held a sixty-minute hospital concert on Thursday, March 4,2010 at Toneyama National Hospital.

As this concert was titled “Spring Concert ,” we decorated the concert hall, which was usually used for Work Therapy, with pink cutout pieces of paper, hoping they would give the impression of cherry blossoms.

The program, for which we had put our brains together to make it enjoyable, started with a spring song medley: ‘Haru-yo-koi ’, ‘Dokoka-de Haru-ga ’, and ‘Haru-ga-kita ’. Next was seasonal music of the vocal duo of ‘Hana ’ by Rentaro Taki, the soprano solo of ‘Soshun-fu ’ by Akira Nakada, and the piano solo of ‘Sakura Fantasia ’ by Kozaburo Hirai.

We then played classical songs. Seeing stairs for rehabilitation work as an opera stage, a vocal solo of ‘O Mio Babbino Caro ’ from G. Puccini’s Opera Gianni Schicchi , in which the Father is asked for permission to marry his daughter, and the flute solo of E. Elgar’s ‘Salut d’Amour ’ were performed.

During the time for physical exercises, we asked the people in the audience to stretch their arms or do deep breathing so that they could relax themselves.

Next was the period for standard Japanese numbers. While doing rhythmic exercises, the audience joined in singing ‘Mikan-no-hana-saku-oka ’, ‘Furusato ’, ‘Kojo-no-tsuki ’, ‘Ringo-no-Uta ’, and ‘Aoi-sanmyaku ’ with lively voices.

We were pleased to see and hear the audience naturally start singing in chorus together with us, when we began the ensemble of the vocal and flute duo of ‘My Favorite Things - The Song of Do-Re-Mi - Edelweiss ’ and the last two songs of ‘Sukiyaki ’ and ‘Kawa-no-nagare-no-yoni ’ .

In preparation for this concert, we had constantly revised and fine-tuned the program, but our efforts bore fruit as every participant looked so happy after the concert. Their smiles and kind words gave us lots of satisfaction. We also thanked hospital staff members’ valuable suggestions and comments.

(By T.K.)

Nishinomiya City Harukaze Kindergarten

We did a forty-minute outreach concert at Nishinomiya City Harukaze Kindergarten with both children and their guardians on Friday, September 4,2009 .

With the aim of participants feeling the pleasure of classical music, we made a concert program of familiar numbers. The concert started with ‘Yama-no-warutsu ’, a popular song for children. After short words of greeting came a medley of four pieces of music: ‘Yagisan-yubin ’, ‘Aisu-kurimu-no-uta ’, ‘Obake-nante-inaisa ’, and ‘Shabon-dama ’, all with simple body movements.

Next was the time for the flute. After showing how to make sounds with it as well as explaining a method called “flattering,” ‘Dance of the Reed Pipes ’ from P. I. Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker was performed. This music has been used in a commercial film for mobile phones, and many children showed great interests. Then, a four-handed piano duo of J. Brahms’ Ungarische Tanze, and a vocal duo of ‘Brindis Libiamo, Libiamo Ne’ Lieti Calici’ ’ from G. Verdi’s opera La Traviata were performed.

We then gave a period of rhythmic play for children, as a similar period was very popular at the Star Festival Concert in July. First two rhythms of “jelly fish” and “seaweed” were used for clapping hands or slapping thighs. Next, the melody of Jo Hisa’ishi’s ‘Ponyo on the Cliff ’ was added to play with both rhythms, making children’s eyes much more brilliant.

The last number was the song ‘Mori-no-Kuma-san ’ sung in chorus by everybody. For the encore, we played a four-handed piano of J. Strauss (I)’ ‘Radetzky-Marsch ’, asking the audience to join with their handclapping.

By adding the children’s songs and audience-participating periods, we probably succeeded in reducing their distance from classical music a bit. But we still realized that we had to continue making improvement for greater success.

(By N.F)

Nishinomiya City Shukugawa Kindergarten

We gave a concert on Tuesday, September 8,2009 at Nishinomiya City Shukugawa Kindergarten. As this was the Autumn Concert for small children, we prepared the program carefully so that they would have an enjoyable time all through the concert.

First was a medley of nursery rhymes of ‘Yama-no-Warutsu ’, ‘Yagi-san-Yubin ’ ‘Aisukurimu-no-uta ’, and ‘Obake-nante-inaisa ’. Our original funny choreography worked well to attract the children’s attention. The concert hall was filled with a wonderful mood for everyone to fully enjoy the music, before the song ‘Shabon-dama ’ was sung by everybody.

Then we moved to classical music: ‘Dance of the Reed Pipes ’ from P. I. Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker (Flute), Ungarische Tanze from J. Brahms (Piano four-handed duo), and ‘Brindisi ‘Libiamo, Libiamo Ne’Lieti Calici ’ from G. Verdi’s opera La Traviata. Before the concert, we had worried whether we could keep the children’s attention and concentration, but they never got bored during the concert.

At the next “Let’s Enjoy Together” period, all the participants played a game of different tempos with the music of ‘Okina-kuri-no-ki-no-shita-de ’.

The concert ended with the chorus of ‘Mori-no-Kuma-san ’.

All of us were pleased to see both the children and the guardians looking happy during the concert. This was a great occasion to realize the worth and need of such concerts, and we thus would like to give similar concerts even after graduating from the college.

At the same time, this concert was held at the end of our summer vacations. We thus were able to spend lots of time in preparation and sharpening our MC skills or improving our attitudes on the stage. We are quite sure to nurture our flexibility to cope with unexpected accidents since they often occur during live concerts. The accumulation of similar experiences would be critical to make our practices more meaningful for our future.

(By H.I.)

Hibarigaoka Gakuen Primary School

We did outreach exercises for four classes of fifth graders at Hibarigaoka Gakuen Primary School on Tuesday, March 16,2010 .

The theme of this concert was “Pleasant Classical Concert: Feel the Charm of Each Number,” and the performance proceeded with familiar numbers together with a brief explanation of each.

It started with G. Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue ’ (Four-handed piano duo), a song having gained popularity because of a famous comic story, followed by W. A. Mozart’s ‘Turkischer Marsch ’ (Four-handed piano duo and vocal duet), F. Chopin’s ‘Grande Polonaise Brillante Precedee D’un Andante Spianato ’ (Piano solo), and F. Schubert’s ‘Erlkonig ’ (Baritone solo).

In the “Let’s Play with Rhythm” period, children enjoyed rhythmic physical games with L. Anderson’s ‘Plink, Plank, Plunk ’ (Four-handed piano duo).

Then we continued with ‘Prelude ’(Piano four-handed duo) and ‘Entracte No. 1 ‘Les Dragons d’Alcara ’ (Flute solo), both from G. Bizet’s opera Carmen, followed by ‘Habanera ‘L’amour Est un Oiseau Rebelle ’ (Mezzo soprano, solo), ‘Air de Micaela ‘Je Dis Que Rien Ne Me Pouvant ’ (Soprano, solo), and concluding the concert with one of music teachers of the school, Mr. Okamura’s baritone solo of ‘Air de Toreador ‘Votre Toast, Je Peux Vous Le Rendre ’.

Honestly, we were not so sure that we could do four classes in a row, but the children happily concentrated during each session, and joined the concert with rhythmic movement and singing songs. We successfully maintained a proper intimacy with pupils, which helped us to build a great occasion for them to experience the music.

Having successfully ended our outreach practices with great results of this concert, we are determined to continue similar activities in future.

(By H.I.)