[Report] Spring Percussion Event 2023

Even though restrictions on movement have been significantly eased and we are free from the suffocation, the world is still a little cramped, but the music scene is finally regaining its former vibrancy. Meanwhile, a variety of events filled with the passion of many people involved in percussion instruments were held almost normally for the first time in a while. We received reports from each site about the situation.

 

 

■WestJapanpercussion instrument association

westJapanPercussion Instruments Association Hiroshima Branch Director Yayoi Yamashita

Percussion Festival 2023 in Hiroshima |March 26th Elizabeth College of Music

On March 26th, the Percussion Festival 2023 in Hiroshima was held at Elizabeth College of Music in Hiroshima City.
The event was broadly divided into a solo competition in the morning, a drum workshop in the afternoon, and a main concert, but it was a luxurious day with lively performances of percussion instruments in every corner.

The percussion solo competition was divided into elementary, junior high and high school students, university students, and general categories, and we were treated to wonderful stage performances that were full of individuality and made us forget that it was actually a competition.
In the drum workshop in the afternoon, we invited Mr. Arata Orita, and the students, ranging from elementary school students to university professors, spontaneously expressed their opinions. The two hours went by quickly, drawing them deeper and deeper into Mr. Arata's world, getting used to the rhythm, notes, and drums, and having fun performing.

The main concert that followed featured a special guest, ``Marimba Twins,'' who have won numerous awards at international marimba competitions around the world.They performed a variety of songs and experienced new percussion music.
Following the special guests, we had a group of university students and working adults from various regions of Chugoku and Shikoku perform, and it was a very valuable concert that allowed us to make new discoveries and deepen our interactions.

Needless to say, the atmosphere at the booth was lively! The booth was so packed with people that you couldn't even pass each other, and you had the urge to buy every instrument.It was a booth that soothed your heart and eyes, conveying the passion of the shop.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their cooperation in organizing this festival. We would also like to once again express our gratitude to Elisabeth College of Music for their tremendous support and cooperation.

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Percussion Fair 2023 in Hiroshima |May 4th and 5th Aki Citizens Cultural Center

“Percussion Fair 2023 in Hiroshima” was held on May 4th and 5th at the Aki Civic Cultural Center. Last time it was held in the lobby, but this time it was held in a spacious gallery!
The space was much larger than the lobby, so the number of stalls and the number of musical instruments had expanded, making it very lively. Participants in the seminar that was being held at the same time went around each store looking for the mallet they were looking for and trying out various musical instruments. It was also impressive to see them having so much fun playing instruments that you don't often get to see!

A children's workshop was also held on the 5th, and the children participating looked around the gallery with great interest. Then, we entered the gallery with the parents and saw the children having fun in front of the many musical instruments!
The cajon was especially popular, and it was heartwarming to see the children curiously touching the wooden box as they heard the various sounds coming out of it. It was a percussion fair that everyone enjoyed, not only professionals but also students and children!

I’m looking forward to the next event!

 

 

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■AllJapanPercussion Federation

Rudiments JAPAN Seminar 2023 AllJapanAfter the Percussion Federation Fresh Concert |April 15th Wako Civic Culture Center Large Hall

AllJapanPercussion Federation | Secretariat Kazunori Meguro

AllJapanThe Percussion Federation is organized from five percussion instrument associations nationwide, and plans and holds the "Rudiments JAPAN Seminar" as an opportunity for members to improve their skills. This year, the event was held on April 15th (Saturday) at the Wako Civic Culture Center Large Hall with the following content.

[Fresh Concert]

In addition to 11 people recommended by each percussion association, two special participating performers (Duo) performed. The results of the examination are as follows.

• Grand Prix Award: Momoko Maeoku (Graduated from Osaka College of Music)
• Tsukada Prize: Ryusei Ono (graduated from Soai University), Rinka Miyazato (graduated from Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts)

 

[Duo piece performance/research presentation]

• Performance/commentary: Kei Yamaguchi (doctoral course, Kunitachi College of Music), Masaya Takagi (graduate school, Kunitachi College of Music), Kazuhide Takeshita (doctoral course, Kunitachi College of Music)
• Songs performed: Zilch Tune No.2 for Vibraphone & Marimba, Duo for Two Marimba, Elephant World
• In addition, the efforts and great achievements of Keiko Abe, honorary advisor of our federation, regarding the exhibition of duo music scores and the development of the 5-octave marimba were also introduced.

[Percussion history]

• Basel Trommel and other exhibitions

We would like to express our deep gratitude to the Wako City Cultural Promotion Corporation, a public interest incorporated foundation, for co-sponsoring this year, and to the supporting member companies of the federation for their continued support.

 

 

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■Kansai Percussion Instrument Association

Percussion Festival 2023 Vol.37 in KANSAI｜May 3rd and 4th Osaka Philharmonic Hall

Kansai Percussion Association Director Masako Hayasaka

Percussion Festival 2023 Vol.37 in KANSAI was held at the Osaka Philharmonic Hall on May 3rd and 4th, blessed with refreshing and fine weather.
Due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which has lasted for more than three years, festivals have been forced to postpone or hold irregular events since 2020, and this is the first time in four years that a regular two-day Golden Week festival has been held.

Many people came to the supporting members' booth as soon as the venue opened, and were happy to be able to try out various musical instruments for the first time in a while.

From 12:30pm to 3pm, clinics were held on 4 types of percussion instruments: general percussion instruments, keyboard instruments, timpani, and drum sets.The guests this time, members of percussion group 72, were in charge of everything except drums.
All instruments were held in the style of open lessons where participants were invited to participate if they wished, making it easy for the audience to understand and I think it was a valuable opportunity for the participants.

The main concert from 4:00 pm opened with an ensemble performance by graduates, followed by wonderful performances by students from Nishinomiya City Koryo Junior High School, Kansai University (3rd), Kyoto Korean Junior and Senior High School, and Himeji Junshin Gakuin Junior and Senior High School (4th), who had achieved excellent results in the ensemble contest. And finally, guest percussion group 72 will appear.

First, they played S. Reich's Mokugata Music and J. Cage's Living Music, and after the break they played Akira Nishimura's Kecak. All of them are very famous pieces that can be said to be classics for percussion ensembles, but it is rare to have the opportunity to hear them all at once live, and I was very moved by the precision and precision of the ensemble and the mature performance that has been in existence for 51 years. I heard that the organizer, Mr. Shigemitsu Nagaso, would be retiring after this concert, and Kecak's powerful timpani performance was burned into my eyes and heart.

 

After this, a large ensemble of association members and members of 72 performed lively performances of Brahms/Hungarian Dance and G. Gershwin/An American in Paris.The event ended with the unchanging encore Yuzo Toyama's Rhapsody performed by all performers under the direction of Chairman Sakagami.

Up until four years ago, the event was a success, with auxiliary chairs provided for the audience, but this time the attendance was a bit disappointing at 360 people over the two days. We are starting to see some light, but I hope that next year we will be able to get back to the same level of excitement as before and be able to have a launch together.

Last but not least, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all the supporting members and association members who worked hard to make this event possible.

 

 

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■Japanpercussion instrument association

2023 Percussion Festival IN Wako |May 5th, 6th, 7th Wako Civic Cultural Center Sun Azalea

JapanPercussion Instrument Association Chairman | Executive Committee Chairman Tomoyuki Okada

Ten years ago, in 2013, we held the Percussion Festival IN Wako, now in its 11th year as a joint project with the Wako City Cultural Promotion Corporation, for three days on May 5th, 6th, and 7th at the Wako Civic Cultural Center Sun Azalea.

[First and second day of the tournament]

The 39th annual "Percussion Newcomer Concert" was held. 18 people selected for their outstanding performance in the graduation exams of the Tokyo Metropolitan College of Music competed in their performances. The grand prize "Hiroyuki Iwaki Award" was awarded to Natsuko Ozaki (Tokyo College of Music) and the Special Jury Prize to Hideyu Sakurai (Senzoku Gakuen College of Music) was awarded the grand prize by the judges, who are prominent figures in the percussion instrument world.

[Small hall on the third day of the tournament]

"The 11th Solo Competition for Junior and Senior High School Students" was held. In the small drum section, 6 junior high school students and 27 high school students participated in the performance of a new piece written by a member of the association. Junior High School Student Grand Prix Award: Mitsusuke Fujitsu, Gold Award: Koki Tabe, High School Student Grand Prix Award: Kanta Nishiyama, Special Jury Award: Sakina Kumekawa, Gold Award went to 8 students: Kotoko Senda, Yunosuke Iwano, Daiki Tochio, Yuna Kanai, Sotatsu Hattori, Misaki Arai, Haruka Soeda, and Ami Maruhira.

Eight high school students participated in the timpani division (required piece, BALLAD FOR THE DANCE).Grand Prix Award: Daiki Tochio.

Results of the 11th Solo Competition for Junior High and High School Students (PDF)

[3rd day large hall]

"Festival Concert"

Following the opening speech by Satoshi Ishiuchi, chairman of the concert committee, 19 members of the WAKO Marimba Club, organized by the Wako City Cultural Promotion Corporation, supervised by marinist Mutsuko Fujii, and guided by Ayaka Chiba, Saki Kikuchi, and Eri Hirano, performed songs such as "Mickey Mouse March," "Kiratari Hoshi," and "Small World." Their innocent performances created a heartwarming sense of peace. Following the kana moment, Kodaira Daisan Junior High School and Saitama Sakae High School, who won the grand prize at the Percussion Ensemble Contest JPEC 2023, which was co-sponsored by the Association and the Wako City Cultural Promotion Corporation, were performed on April 2nd, and the students performed well-controlled, deep tones and full of color, and we were moved by the splendor of their musical expressions.

In the last program of the first half, Natsuko Ozaki (Tokyo College of Music), who won the Grand Prix "Hiroyuki Iwaki Award" at the "Percussion Newcomer Concert 2023", impressed with her marimba solo performance "Hiten Seido/Maki Ishii".

After the break, the Wadaiko Kai Wako Daiko performed, and I couldn't help but feel the excitement of their pedigree as they performed powerful performances by a group that has been highly acclaimed for their 50th anniversary of tradition and skillful use of stillness and movement, and has been invited 15 times to perform at the Wadaiko Festival, Asakusa Taiko Festival, NHK-TV, Vietnam, China, the Philippines, and the San Francisco festival in the United States.

At the end of the program, a large ensemble of about 80 people, including today's performers, backstage staff, and members of the Uchibukai, performed the well-known "Rhapsody" composed by Yuzo Toyama and arranged by Hiroyuki Iwaki.
This "Rhapsody" was performed by the NHK Symphony Orchestra in 1960, shortly after the end of World War II.JapanDuring a concert tour around the world to have the music culture of Japan recognized around the world,JapanThe conductor performed ``Rhapsody for Orchestra'' composed by Yuzo Toyama as an encore piece with the melody ofJapanHiroyuki Iwaki, who served as the president of the Percussion Instrument Association, arranged this piece for a percussion ensemble, and it is customary to perform it at the finale of this festival.
This time, the conductor: Tomoyuki Okada (JapanPercussion Instruments Association President), vibraphone soloist: Ayaka Chiba (winner of the 34th Iwaki Prize), performers, association members, guests Wako Taiko, and a total of about 80 people will perform at the 2023 “Percussion Festival IN Wako”.』stage has been closed.

After the performance, a networking session was held for all those involved, and the 2023 "Festival" was brought to a close in a friendly atmosphere with a bingo game and the mallets, Dr. Bachi's CDs, textbooks, etc. provided by the sponsoring companies, association members, and judges.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the event, which started in 2013 and was co-hosted by the Wako City Cultural Promotion Corporation. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Wako City Cultural Promotion Corporation for their understanding that allows us to hold this festival every year.

Sponsored byKOROGIWe would like to express our gratitude to the following companies: Komaki Musical Instruments (JPC), Zen Ongaku Publishing, Nonaka Boeki, Pearl Musical Instruments, Baroque Music, and Yamaha Music Japan. We would especially like to thank Mr. Hajime Narita and Mr. Toshiyuki Yamada of Komaki Musical Instruments for taking time out of their busy schedules to come to the venue.

 

 

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■Chubu Percussion Association

Percussion Festival 2023 in NAGOYA (21st Percussion Festival) |May 7 Nagoya College of Music

Chubu Percussion Association Chairman Masanori Izumi

The 21st festival has ended successfully. Sunday, May 7th started with a brass band repertoire lesson from 11:00 to 12:30, followed by the main concert, which lasted from 2:00 to just after 5:00.
Unfortunately it rained all day! Judging from the fact that the number of actual attendees was about 20 fewer than the number of tickets sold, it seems that the number of visitors was slightly affected. It must have been difficult for the customers, but it was also difficult to bring in and remove the instruments used at the concert, the instruments and other items for the booths of various manufacturers and retailers.

Although the number of participants in the morning's repertoire course was rather small, at just under 40, instructors Kenji Kubota and Joel Biedritzky (both of the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra) conducted the course carefully, using a projector, and during the Q&A session at the end of the course, a rhapsody rehearsal began, so I had no choice but to forcibly end the session, which resulted in an unfortunate situation.

The guest for this year's main concert is "SINSKE".
For the program, we had requested in advance songs that the general public would enjoy rather than new solo songs, so I think SINSKE's character was fully expressed.

Daiki Kato also participated in the general participation group and performed one of his signature songs, ``Kerbers Drum.''
Other participants include Aichi Prefectural Gei, Nagoya College of Music, Nagoya University of Arts, 3 Universities Joint, CECIRIO, ONCE + Daiki Kato, Honoka Yamada (representative of the Chubu Newcomer Concert), the Toyota Rakuyu Association Brass Band, and a drum circle led by facilitator Shihoko Matsuo.
The last song is the customary “Rhapsody”. The Vib. solo was performed by ``SINSKE'', and it was apparently his second time playing Vib. in front of people.

The "launch" after the concert has also been revived. This was also a big hit with the usual student entertainment.
The Aichi prefectural art skit is a masterpiece that lasts for 15 minutes! It's great that everyone gathers at the festival!

In addition, exhibition and sales booths of various companies were set up in the lobby on the first floor. The store openings include "Komaki Musical Instruments, Komaki Tsusho", "Yamaha Music Japan Yamaha Nagoya Store", "Pearl Musical Instrument Manufacturing", "Nonaka Boeki", "Satake Drum Shop", "KOROGIThe companies were ``KPG Kobo'', ``Setomono Percussion Instrument Shiki'', and ``Esperanza'' (titles omitted).

From next year, the event will be co-hosted with the Inazawa City Cultural Promotion Foundation, and the venue will be changed to the Nagoya Bunri University Cultural Forum (Inazawa Civic Center). The event will be held using all of the hall's facilities.

 

 

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■Hokkaido Percussion Instrument Association

Hokkaido Percussion Festival 2023｜May 14th Sapporo Lifelong Learning Center “Chieria”

Hokkaido Percussion Instrument Association Chairman Yuji Magai

The Hokkaido Percussion Instrument Association has approximately 100 members, including professional and amateur percussion players, instructors, and instrument stores.
We believe that the annual percussion festival, in which all members gather together for lectures, exhibitions and sales, and concerts, attracting many customers, is very meaningful in order to further spread the wonders and culture of percussion instruments in Hokkaido.

On May 14, 2023, the "Hokkaido Percussion Instrument Festival" sponsored by the Hokkaido Percussion Instrument Association was held at the Sapporo Lifelong Learning Center "Chieria". Since last year, this festival has been a two-day performance of "Djembe Live" and "Percussion Festival", and "Djembe Live 2023" held on the 13th has also ended successfully.

Prior to the concert, the percussion festival on the 14th included a lecture on snare drums by Kazuki Oya (assistant principal player of the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra), a lecture on timpani by Sho Irikawa (principal player of the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra), and a djembe workshop given by Kenichiro Tokuda (djembe player), which were very popular. In addition, exhibits by musical instrument stores were held in the lobby, which was especially popular with students.

A solo ensemble concert was held in the large hall.
The first part was a solo performance by the winners of the Newcomer Audition 2023, including Momoka Inaba (Excellence Award, Sapporo Otani University) with J. Schwantner/Velocity, Rimika Umezu (Grand Award, Hokkaido University of Education) with Ken Tanaka/Echo from South, and Duo Cacio e Pepe (drums and marimba) by Alumni of Kyoiku University, A. Babe/Marrrrimba. Rrrrock, New Ensemble Premiere by Hokkaido Composers Association Members (1) Journey through Sicily, composed by Daisuke Kinoshita, was performed by Takenobu Moro/Jomon Taiko x Djembe Ensemble of the Jomon Arts and Culture Foundation.

The second part after the break will be Samba Ensemble Bloco Sapporo's Yohei Takamatsu / Batucada (Bloco Sapporo Special), Castanet & Marimba Ensemble Yuji Magai and All Stars & VivaMarimba Sapporo's G. Bizet / "Toreador" from the opera "Carmen", J. Strauss I / Radetzky March, Masaki Takimura and Toy Orchestra's Aqua Vista School (edited by Masaki Takimura)/Aqua Vista, new ensemble premiere by members of the Hokkaido Composers Association (2) Honeycomb rhythmic Style composed by Hidetoshi Wami, and finally Percussion Festival 2023 Special (conductor: Yuji Magai) Latin with an ensemble of all performers
A medley (edited by Eri Hidano) was performed.
The event ended on a high note, with customers saying that they were able to enjoy the rich variety of percussion instruments.