From Percussion Rooms of the World Vol.18 | Helsinki, Finland Naoki Yasuda

I am Naoki Yasuda, Deputy Principal Timpani Player of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. I would like to write a little about how I ended up in Finland, the music situation here, and my life there.

●How I joined the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (hereinafter referred to as the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra)

After completing graduate school at Kyoto City University of Arts, he joined the Hyogo Arts Center Orchestra and was a core member for three years. At that time, I had no intention of working overseas, but as I interacted with the members in an environment where half of them were foreigners, my mindset changed, and I started auditioning not only domestically but also overseas.

I have no experience studying abroad and my place of residence isJapanBecause of this, it was difficult for me to receive audition invitations from overseas. Under such circumstances, I heard that Scandinavia seemed like a good opportunity, and in particular, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra had a DVD screening, so I was not rejected at the document screening, so I was invited to an audition and was hired. I originally had a good image of Scandinavia, and in addition to Finland, I had also applied to Sweden, and I had also approached the United States and Canada, but my criteria for selection was whether I thought I would like to live in that country. I have been a member of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra since 2014.

●Daily life in Helsinki

The darkness in winter with short daylight hours can be quite difficult, but other than that, Helsinki is a very comfortable city to live in. The language is Finnish, but many Finns can speak English, so you won't have any problems in daily life. (There are people who have lived there for over 10 years and still only speak English (!)) However, e-mails and documents are in Finnish, and the more you get involved in Finnish society, the more you need it. As for me, I usually try to speak Finnish as much as possible, and when I really don't understand something or want to talk about something important, I try to speak English.

●About the daily work of the orchestra

The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra is based at the Helsinki Music Center, which was opened in 2011, and holds most of its rehearsals and performances there. During the season, we have regular performances every week, and in between, we record, and (although there are no performances this season due to the coronavirus) we also hold overseas performances several times a year. Rehearsals usually last two to three days, about four hours a day with a break. So we had to play major songs every week and also contemporary songs quite often, so it was difficult for me to get used to it. Instead, I have plenty of vacation time, including Saturdays and Sundays, New Year's holidays, about two months of summer vacation, and a week of skiing vacation around February (!). There are two timpani players and two percussion players in the orchestra, and I am in charge of the timpani, but the other timpani player is in charge of the timpani, and if three or more percussion players are needed, I will also play percussion instruments.

●Main percussion instruments in the orchestra

Performances featuring only classical pieces will have only the timpani on stage, along with commonly used large drums, cymbals, small drums, etc., but on weeks when there are contemporary music or commissioned works, in addition to the above instruments, some accompaniment or special instruments will be on stage. On weeks when there are two or three contemporary songs on the program, there are so many percussion instruments on stage that I am always troubled by the question of whether it will be possible to change them or whether they will all be on stage at all.

●About the instruments used. How to purchase and procure percussion instruments

We have five Günter Ringer and five Hardtke timpani, and most performances are played with one or the other. In addition, in classical works by Beethoven and Mozart, baroque instruments such as trumpets and horns are often used, and the timpani is a small Schneller timpani from Wiener Paukenwerkstatt. I also have a Premier in my instrument cabinet, but I use it when I don't want to play with real leather due to special playing techniques.

As for percussion instruments, I mainly use Kolberg and Lefima drums, and Zildjian and Sabian cymbals. The xylophones we use are made by a manufacturer called Concorde, but when I first joined the company, I found it strange that they looked similar to Korogi's, or rather, they were made exactly the same except for the logo, so I looked it up and found out that it must be true.The Korogi xylophones distributed in Europe are sold under the name Concorde. I also own an Adams xylophone, but my co-workers also like the Concorde, which has a warm and strong presence. Also, the marimba is the main instrument used by MarimbaOne, and the glockenspiel is the main instrument used by Fall Creek.

I have a strong impression that each player uses a mallet that they like, and it's not like everyone uses a particular brand. However,JapanI feel that branded mallets (Playwood, Saito, etc.) are highly rated. I mainly use Kappert, Cymbo, and Kaufmann timpani mallets.

Musical instruments needed for orchestras are often purchased by ordering them directly from manufacturers. For example, most of the stands used by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra are from Kolberg, but we contact Kolberg directly to purchase and have the stands shipped to us. Also, in Helsinki, there is a percussion instrument specialty store whose president is a professional percussionist and has finally opened a store several years ago, and I often purchase small instruments and mallets from him. He also makes snare drums, small instruments, and other stands, and I once had him make a stand to fit Fall Creek's glockenspiel, and I told him the size of a small item holder that can be attached to the bottom of a timpani mallet stand, so I rely on him as a Doraemon who will help me when I'm in trouble (lol).

This is my 8th year living in Finland, and I am satisfied that I am living in a safe environment where I can play music without any inconvenience.JapanIt would be a lie if I said that I don't miss my time at the school at all, but I will continue to work hard every day to improve my performance by repeating challenges and self-reflection in the pursuit of even better performances, along with my trusted colleagues.

◇ ◇ ◇

Naoki Yasuda Profile

Graduated from Kyoto City University of Arts. Completed the same graduate school at the top of his class. With the support of the Aoyama Foundation, he studied in Berlin, Vienna, and Stockholm. After working as a timpani and percussionist with the Hyogo Arts Center Orchestra, he joined the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2014, where he served as deputy principal percussionist and currently serves as deputy principal timpani player. In 2008, he held a solo recital at the Aoyama Music Memorial Hall in Kyoto and won the Aoyama Music Award Newcomer Award. Part-time lecturer at the Faculty of Music, Kyoto City University of Arts in 2017. In 2019, he was invited to give a timpani lecture at the "Korean Orchestral Percussion Symposium" in Seoul, South Korea. Since 2019, he has appeared as a timpani player at the Pyeongchang Music Festival (Korea).JapanHe also holds master classes in various locations such as South Korea and Finland. So far, he has studied percussion with Akemiko Ito, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, and Mutsuko Tanetani, timpani with M.Vladar, W.Welzel, J.Kapanekas, and B.Flas, and drums with Yukihide Kutsuno.