From Percussion Rooms of the World Vol.24｜Hoka Masuyama, Connecticut, United States

●Student life in America

Until recently, I was enrolled in a master's program at the University of Hartford Hart School in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. I finished all my programs and graduated from graduate school in early May, and am currently on summer vacation for about three and a half months. From the end of August, I plan to enter the doctoral program at the same university.

This time, I would like to introduce the percussion department program at the Heart School that I attend. First up is the percussion ensemble. The Hartt Percussion Group, a mixed group of undergraduates and graduate students, and the Hartt Graduate Percussion Ensemble, each consisting of only graduate students, rehearse twice a week. Our repertoire is limited to works composed purely for percussion instruments, and ranges from so-called classical works such as John Cage's Third Construction to new ensemble repertoire (commissioned works by So Percussion and other American percussion groups).

Hart School also has a steel pan band. Students in the percussion department are assigned an instrument by their professor at the beginning of the school year, and spend one year learning that instrument. During my two years in the master's program, I was in charge of the double tenor part (equivalent to the second violin in an orchestra). The repertoire performed is mostly traditional Trinidad and Tobago music, calypso and soca.
The percussion ensemble rehearsals are held four times a week, and are filled with activities such as steel pan rehearsals and percussion ensemble repertoire.

Next, I would like to touch on private lessons. In addition to weekly private lessons with percussion professor Ben Toth, the Heart School also has a guest teacher program.
Under this system, six teachers who are experts in different genres of world percussion come to teach once a week for a one-year term. We offer one-on-one private lessons and group classes for the entire percussion department. Learn technique in one-on-one lessons and musical styles by playing with your teacher in group classes. I have learned Middle Eastern drumming from Shane Shanahan, African drumming from Joe Galeota, and Cuban and Hay Shan drumming from John Amira and Marcus Kreiger.

During the next three years of my doctoral program, I will also study Brazilian drumming with Rogerio Boccato and jazz vibraphone with Ted Piltzecker. This system is extremely rare even among music colleges in the United States, so I am very happy to have been blessed with such a valuable opportunity.

●Music activities in America

Since I am staying in the United States on a student visa as an international student, it is currently difficult for me to perform outside of school. However, there is a way to legally perform as a musician by applying for a system called OPT (Optional Practical Training). I received OPT at the beginning of May and was given permission to perform outside of school as part of my studies during the summer vacation, which has given me more opportunities to perform at churches, local community orchestras, and musical productions. From the end of July, I will be participating with my drum set in a musical called Bandstand that will be performed at a local theater called Playhouse on Park.

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Honoka Masuyama Profile

Graduated from Tokyo College of Music. Completed master's program at Hart School, University of Hartford. Plans to enter the university's doctoral program as a full scholarship recipient. Sub-percussionist for Off-Broadway musical productions After Happily Ever After. She has studied percussion and marimba with Mayuko Uchida, Chieko Sugiyama, Jun Sugawara, Momoko Kamiya, Makoto Shibahara, and Ben Toth. Studied world percussion with Takeshi Ishikawa, Shane Shanahan, Joe Galeota, John Amira, and Marcus Kreiger.

Notice

I post my daily life at school on Instagram, so if you are interested in life at a music college in America, please take a look. Account: honoka___m (There are 3 underbars!) Also, the Hart School percussion program is introduced in detail on the YouTube channel of Steve Weiss Music (a major American percussion instrument shopping site). The title is Epic Percussion Gear Tour – The Hartt School. If you like this too, please check it out.