The Konko Gakuen Music Club Wind Ensemble in Asakuchi City marked its 100th anniversary in 2019.
A century had passed since its founding in 1919.
The ensemble had originally planned to hold a concert celebrating its 100th anniversary in March 2020, but it was canceled in response to the spread of COVID-19.
Since then, despite restrictions on club activities and performances, the commemorative concert they had continued to wait for has finally arrived.
It was three hours looking back on 100 years of history through people and music. The writer, a graduate of the school, introduces it here.
The information presented was accurate when this article was published in April 2023. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Before the concert — Check-in surrounded by smiles and conversation
The day of the concert.
I left home aiming to arrive well before the doors opened, but was surprised when a friend who had arrived earlier told me that the area around the venue was already crowded.
When I reached the venue entrance, I saw a sign saying, “Sold out. No tickets will be sold on the day.”
I had bought an additional ticket at short notice the previous morning, but apparently they had sold out around that time.
When I asked about preparations for the event, no one knew how many people would attend.
Hearing that the tickets had sold out made me unexpectedly happy.
A lobby illuminated by the ensemble's history
Around the reception, there were many groups chatting animatedly as they enjoyed seeing one another again.
Every so often, someone would move from one group to another, or hurry over to someone else.
Rather than a concert lobby, it brought to mind a hotel lobby before a class reunion.
Panels documenting the wind ensemble’s past achievements were displayed in the lobby.
Some were black-and-white photographs, and some had discolored or curled edges.
They used about 70 photographs in total, including those made into panels and those shown in slides during the performance.
“We took out every album lined up in the lockers, turned every page, and looked through thousands of photographs. Each one brought back memories of those days. It was a lot of work.”
Those were the words of former adviser Sato Masatoshi.
It was an anecdote shared between performances.
The ensemble began with just six members, performing at elementary schools and for the Konkokyo Youth Association.
Its performance activities were not lost to war, but instead went on to flourish.
After venturing beyond Japan and leaving a record of successful performances overseas, it faced another difficult period with the spread of COVID-19.
And yet, the commemorative concert of the Konko Gakuen Music Club Wind Ensemble, whose legacy has been passed down, is about to begin.
Part One: Young Soul Stage
At last, the concert begins.
As announced in advance, almost every seat in the venue is occupied.
Program
| Piece | Details |
|---|---|
| Omens of Love | Composed by Hirotaka Izumi Arranged by Shigeharu Miyagawa |
| 13 Lords of the Shogun | Composed by Evan Call Arranged by Mikio Goma |
| Song of Sakura | Composed by Yosuke Fukuda |
| Jamboree Mickey | Composed by Marco Marinangeli Arranged by Mikio Goma |
The conductor was adviser Sonoda Yasuyuki, and the performers were the Konko Gakuen Music Club Wind Ensemble.
A total of 28 members, dressed in white blazers, took their seats.
Sonoda strode confidently onto the stage and stood at the podium. As I waited for the performance to begin, I felt the same nervousness and anticipation as the ensemble members, until the venue went dark.
A song that brings smiles with its lively rhythm and movement — Jamboree Mickey
An exuberant shout rang out, making the air in the venue vibrate.
In response to the conductor’s baton, the spirited sound seemed to stretch straight across the entire venue.
At times, it sounded as if the music were being played on a single instrument; at others, the dynamic contrasts in volume were almost overwhelming.
Playing while stepping is something unique to a wind ensemble.
In an interview before the concert, Sonoda said, “I’ve never felt that we have too few members. We pursue the best we can with the number we have, and I believe we’re achieving it.”
The performance was exactly as he described.
Listening to the music, played with such sincerity in response to Sonoda’s conducting, I could picture the conductor and ensemble members working together, or the members supporting one another, as they had done all these years.
In the final piece of Part One, “Jamboree Mickey,” the ensemble members’ movements grew bigger and faster.
Can you see their tense expressions, smiling faces, and looks that seem to be thinking ahead to the next piece?
When I was a student, I once saw my classmates perform the same piece.
Watching them play while moving around left me impressed, and memories of my classmates performing came back to me. It was a piece that made me feel nostalgic amid the refreshing atmosphere.
Part Two: Legacy Stage
When Part One ended, the stage was quickly rearranged.
The number of chairs being set out increased in no time.
“We actually haven’t been able to determine how many people are in the Konko Wind Ensemble and the wind ensemble formed by volunteer graduates. It seems the number is still growing.”
Sonoda’s words from our earlier interview came back to me.
At the time, I was sure I had heard there were 80 people.
I casually counted the performers listed in the program and was astonished.
Excluding the current ensemble members, the number was close to 100.
Program
| Piece | Details | Conductor |
|---|---|---|
| Fanfare “Light of the Blue Sky” | Composed by Shuhei Tamura | Yasuyuki Sonoda, adviser |
| Silk Road | Composed by Kitaro Arranged by Genba Fujita | Masatoshi Sato, former adviser |
| Taisho and Showa Era Popular Song Medley | Arranged by Kunitoshi Yamashita | Masatoshi Sato |
| March “Young Soul” | Composed by Masakatsu Ishida | Katsunobu Yoshitomi, former adviser |
| Italian Festival | Arranged by Glenn Osser | Katsunobu Yoshitomi |
| In Memoriam March | Composed by Genba Fujita | Tatsuhiko Ishii ・Konko Wind Ensemble |
| From “Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window” | Composed by Akihiro Komori Arranged by Masatoshi Sato | Masatoshi Sato |
| Festival Prelude | Composed by Alfred Reed | Masatoshi Sato |
Each piece was conducted by a former adviser who had chosen a song that held memories from their time at the school.
The performers were the Konko Wind Ensemble and the 100th Anniversary Wind Ensemble, formed by volunteer graduates.
After conducting, adviser Sonoda joined the performance, showing his transformation from conductor to musician.
To open Part Two, Konko Gakuen Junior and Senior High School principal Michiharu Konko gave a speech. Part Two then continued with former principal Motonobu Sato and former adviser Katsunobu Yoshitomi sharing stories from those days.
A proud, radiant performance — Fanfare “Light of the Blue Sky”
Part Two begins.
Each person lined up on stage seems to radiate a strong presence.
People of different ages and life experiences have gathered for this day, waiting on the stage before me to perform.
The first piece was Fanfare “Light of the Blue Sky.”
The piece was commissioned from Okayama-born composer Tamura Shuhei to mark the 100th anniversary of the Konko Gakuen Music Club Wind Ensemble.
“We knew it would be a fanfare, and when I was thinking about what to call it, the clear skies over Okayama naturally came to mind.”
This was the story behind the name “Light of the Blue Sky,” shared by Tamura after he came onstage following the performance.
The 100th-anniversary wind ensemble’s performance had the buoyant tempo of a fanfare, with a sense of weighty footsteps behind it, yet it also felt bright and celebratory.
“It’s cloudy today, but I’m sure the clouds have parted just above the venue, and you can see the blue sky.”
As Tamura said, it was a fanfare that made you feel certain the music had pierced the clouds and revealed a patch of clear sky.
So powerful it felt like watching a film without images — from “Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window”
The highlight was the digest performance of the musical story “Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window.”
The concert was past its halfway point, and the time had come to move toward the finale.
I was watching with my child, and I had started to think their attention might be fading.
Conductor Sato Masatoshi shared the story behind his choice of music, then surprised us with something special.
To our amazement, a video message from Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, author of “Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window,” was played.
On a panel I spotted in the lobby, members of the ensemble were pictured with Tetsuko Kuroyanagi.
Sato shared stories about composer Akihiro Komori and how the wind ensemble came to perform “Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window,” as well as how they came to perform with Kuroyanagi.
Everything was new to me, and one surprise followed another.
My anticipation for the performance grew even more.
The musical story began with its gentle, tender narration and a theme tune that made me want to hum along: “Ma-do-gi-wa-no Totto-chan.”
In the scene where Totto-chan is expelled from elementary school, a chindon-ya comes along to liven things up.
They wore happi coats and played their familiar jingling instruments.
Narrator Tajima’s cheerful call, “Chindon-ya!” drew the audience straight into the world of the story.
Totto-chan transfers to Tomoe Gakuen and enjoys herself there, but only for a short while.
The train carriage being used as a classroom is burned in an air raid.
The ensemble’s percussion thundered, the lights flashed, and the instruments shimmered as they moved with the music.
Tajima’s voice grew low and tense as she painted the scene; it felt like watching a film without images.
I remembered hearing in an interview before the concert that quite a few alumni had picked up their instruments again after a long break to take part in the 100th-anniversary concert.
That may sound like a cliché, but it was impossible to believe that was the case.
The sound seemed to swell and writhe freely.
Then the scene changed, and the music shifted with it, suddenly light, like a breeze gently stroking the heart.
My child said the thunderous scene had been “scary.”
It was a performance so vivid that it was no wonder it stirred our emotions; Part Two left me overwhelmed from beginning to end.
Part Three: Festival Stage
At last, the final chapter.
Members of the Konko Gakuen Music Club Wind Ensemble lined up among the 100th-anniversary wind ensemble, and Part Three began.
A total of 128 people had gathered for the anniversary concert. The oldest, I was told, was in their seventies.
Once again, I felt the length and weight of a hundred years.
Pieces performed
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Japanese Graffiti IV: A Collection of Works by Kosaku Dan | Kosaku Dan / Composer Atsuhiro Isozaki / Arranger |
| SORAN | Takio Ito / Composer Sato Masatoshi / Arranger |
Sato Masatoshi conducted, with performances by the 100th-anniversary wind ensemble and the Konko Gakuen Music Club Wind Ensemble.
Japanese Graffiti featured a medley of classic songs by Yuzo Kayama.
The melody rang out so richly that it sounded like a singing voice, and for a moment I pictured Yuzo Kayama in my mind.
A grand, energetic finale — SORAN
The final piece of the concert was SORAN.
Sato arranged the Soran Bushi, a familiar song with calls such as “Ya-ren so-ran, so-ran so-ran” and “Dokkoi-sho, dokkoi-sho.”
I hadn’t looked through the program to the end, so I was surprised when a Japanese taiko performance suddenly began. Seeing Sato in a happi coat made me feel excited, too.
I found out later that the first half of the piece uses “African Symphony,” a well-known work in the wind band world.
This was SORAN in a style unique to the Konko Gakuen Music Club Wind Ensemble.
As African Symphony played, dancers suddenly entered, swirling their vivid haori jackets, and Soran Bushi began.
Sato’s lively calls joined the irresistibly cheerful melody.
The dancers used their whole bodies and all their strength to portray the rough work of fishing.
It must have lasted more than five minutes. The choreography continued, with the dancers lowering their bodies deeply and repeatedly miming the hauling in of nets.
At one point, Sato called out, “Hey, keep it up!” and I suddenly felt the warmth of the ensemble.
From the Writer
The 100th-anniversary concert came to an end.
A hundred years. Through the concert, I once again felt the presence of the people who had lived through each era.
I doubt any of the six members who founded the ensemble imagined it would last a hundred years.
They did not set out from the beginning to reach a hundred years. Rather, people in each era carefully carried it forward, bringing it to “today.”
I felt that the music passed from person to person had grown richer and accumulated layer upon layer, shaping the Konko Gakuen Music Club Wind Ensemble of today. It was a moment spent savoring the history created by people and music.
Konko Gakuen Music Club Wind Ensemble 100th Anniversary Concert Information
| Name | Konko Gakuen Music Club Wind Ensemble 100th Anniversary Concert |
|---|---|
| Date | March 26, 2023 (Sunday) From 2:00 p.m. Geibunkan Hall Admission: 1,000 yen |
| Location | Geibunkan Hall |
| Website | Konko Gakuen Music Club Wind Ensemble |
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