We have successfully held the 41st Annual Concert of the Saitama Prefectural Kumagaya Girls’ High School Wind Band.
I was delighted that we could perform to a full house this year! My sincere thanks go to everyone who attended and supported us. Thank you very much.
I believe that a concert is all about what happens on stage. I have always told the members, “How can we deliver the highest quality on the actual stage?” During the performance, I felt they truly expressed everything they had prepared for.
At the same time, I was deeply moved by the process of working with these students. I can say with confidence that our teamwork was something to be proud of. They were a strong and resilient group where everyone shared the same vision, yet each person could think and act for themselves.
This spirit was shared by our alumnae as well. (As a side note, even the second-year university students came to support us, though they had no specific roles. Seeing 88 people from five different year groups together was incredible!)
Regarding the performance, while there is always room for improvement, the members gave their absolute best. With their current skills, they communicated through the music and changed their tone to match the mood of each piece. Their practice time is about 10 hours a week, which is quite short for a Japanese high school band, and I rehearse only once a week. Considering this, I am very proud of the quality they achieved. They have grown into a wonderful band!
This concert marks the retirement of our third-year students.
As I mentioned last year, I feel more strongly every year that finishing club life with a concert you created yourself is the best way to end. For the upcoming competitions, the new team of first and second-year students will work as hard as they can. I am sure this summer’s experience will make the next annual concert even better.
Highlights of the Day💡
- We could only use the hall from that morning, and we couldn’t make any sound on stage until 11:00 a.m. due to lighting checks. We then had to run through the entire second and third parts for technical rehearsals before the doors opened at 1:30 p.m. The dress rehearsal was only possible because everyone, including the alumnae, worked together as one.
- In the slow section, the melody part sang much more expressively than in rehearsal, using rubato to stretch the phrases, and the other parts supported them beautifully. I wanted to move forward a little more, so I signalled with an upbeat just before the music intensified. The inner parts playing quavers reacted immediately, and we all moved forward together. I felt so happy to have such a deep musical dialogue on stage.
