Konko Gakuen Music Club Wind Orchestra 100th Anniversary Concert ～ A special time to enjoy the orchestra’s journey and the history of music at Geibunkan Hall

Interview with Sonoda Yasuyuki, advisor to the Konko Gakuen Music Club Wind Ensemble, and Fujii Kazuo, president of the alumni association

A commemorative concert was scheduled to be held in 2019, the 100th year since the ensemble was founded, but it had to be postponed at the last minute due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Three years after the postponement, we introduce the preparations for the commemorative concert and the thoughts behind it.

The people involved in the 100th-anniversary concert

We understand that the commemorative concert will feature a joint performance with Konko Wind Ensemble, made up of alumni. Could you tell us about the members?

Sonoda (surname only hereafter)

There are 30 current ensemble members who are students at the school.

We plan to have graduates volunteer to join, with members of Konko Wind Ensemble as the core.

We’ve already started rehearsing, but actually, we don’t know the total number yet.

We’ve heard there will be around 80 people, but it seems more graduates are volunteering.

Are there many current students?

Sonoda

I think most of the graduates volunteering are taking their instruments out of the closet again and returning to practice for the commemorative concert.

I’ve also heard that alumni who play with Konko Wind Ensemble and people working professionally in music will take part.

Many people in the generation I taught have young children, so most of the participants are students of former advisor Mr. Sato Masatoshi.

Mr. Sato will conduct the commemorative concert.

I imagine some people are enjoying the rehearsals and reminiscing about their club activities.

How are you rehearsing?

Sonoda

We held a few rehearsals when we planned the commemorative concert in 2019.

But then it was postponed.

This time, we set up an organizing committee around the summer of last year (2022), and began rehearsals at the end of December.

Since then, we’ve been rehearsing once a month, or twice when we can, and hope to have about six rehearsals before the concert.

The 100th-anniversary concert postponed

You mentioned the postponement. What was the situation like at the time?

Sonoda

Initially, we planned to hold the 100th-anniversary concert on March 29, 2019, but COVID-19 emerged in Tokyo around the middle of January that year.

By February, we decided that it just wasn’t possible and cancelled and postponed it.

We thought we might be able to hold it the following year, but three years passed as we kept looking for the right time each year.

This fiscal year (2022), our regular concert reached its 50th edition.

Actually, there was talk of combining the regular concert and the commemorative concert, but we ultimately decided to hold them separately.

To be honest, I still don’t know what will happen later this year (2023).

What does the 100-year milestone mean to you?

Fujii (surname only hereafter)

The wind ensemble was founded in 1919.

There was a period when it could not operate because of World War II, but it seems that after the war it began performing in the local community and at elementary schools.

After meeting many people and going through various twists and turns, I think it became the wind ensemble it is today.

As the number of members changed, I feel grateful to all the people who supported us and the teachers who helped keep the ensemble going through their instruction.

I’d very much like to make this milestone a success.

The Konko Gakuen Music Club Wind Ensemble, carried forward by many people’s dedication

Could you tell us about the wind ensemble as a school club?

Sonoda

There are currently 30 ensemble members.

People say the number has fallen from its peak, but when there are many members, some are absent, so I’ve never felt that we were short on numbers at concerts, either.

I think we’re doing our best work with the number of members we have now.

In the midst of all kinds of things, big and small, during the time when people grow most emotionally, I feel they are deepening their bonds by working through things together and making concerts their goal, just as I did when I was a student.

What does the wind ensemble mean to you, Mr. Sonoda?

Sonoda

That’s a difficult question.

Club activities are part of education, so I think they’re a chance to learn things that you can’t learn in the classroom day to day.

When you enter the workforce, your experiences in the wind ensemble, including the hardships, can support you and help you feel that you’ll be all right in your current job.

I think the purpose of club activities is to learn things that are useful in society.

As with this concert, I’m looking forward to hearing about what they’re doing and how they’re getting on, more than the results themselves.

I think it’s a place where we can teach them things that can’t be taught in classroom lessons.

Could you tell us about the relationship between the ensemble members and the alumni?

Fujii

Actually, we don’t have much contact day to day; our main involvement is helping behind the scenes at camps and regular concerts.

Once holding regular concerts became one of our main activities, we needed people to work backstage.

The current members can perform brilliantly onstage thanks to the people working behind the scenes.

After graduating and becoming alumni, they take on the supporting role and learn about various aspects of stage management and venue setup.

I think the greatest benefit when they enter the workforce comes from observing the backstage work while they are still performing, then helping backstage after graduation and experiencing connections with society.

Then, as they get older, they become the people working behind the scenes themselves.

Sonoda

People sometimes say that you graduate from the wind ensemble after nine years, including three years at university.

When they become university students, they first help supervise students at the wind ensemble camp; the following year, they take the lead in running the camp, and in their final year, they plan and manage the regular concert.

These days, venue staff often handle things like lighting at regular concerts, but we started helping with the other tasks, such as reception, door duty, and stage setup, because we thought, “They’ve helped us all this time, so let’s help out.”

I think this has been passed down through the generations, with the desire to give back to our juniors what others have done for us.

Highlights of the 100th-anniversary concert

Could you tell us what to look forward to at the commemorative concert?

Sonoda

The concert is planned to have three parts: a performance by the current ensemble members, a performance by Century Band, made up of Konko Wind Ensemble and graduates volunteering, and a joint performance by both groups.

It was originally planned as a two-part concert, but someone suggested that, since it was a commemorative concert, it was important for everyone to stand on the same stage.

I think it’s because of the “100 years” that we can all come together.

I’m a graduate myself, and when I look at the program, I see many pieces I played as a student.

I think it will be a concert that people who came to hear the ensemble in each generation can enjoy.

The concert is also structured as a journey through the ensemble’s history, with episodes we’d like to share as we look back on its 100 years, from its early days to turning points in the club’s history.

Graduates of Konko Gakuen may hear pieces they remember hearing the students practice often while they were at school.

We’re rehearsing in the hope that this concert will convey our gratitude to everyone who comes to hear how what we’ve built together has continued to this day.

From the Writer

“We keep coming up with more ideas, and I’m worried we won’t finish within the scheduled time.”

As they wrapped up the conversation with those words, both Sonoda and Fujii were smiling.

With so many people involved and bringing their thoughts together, the preparations are certainly not easy, but perhaps they can overcome the challenges precisely because of their experiences as students.

I felt that they might be enjoying the preparations for the commemorative concert themselves, worries and all.

What came through in the interview was their desire to express their gratitude.

Even if you don’t usually encounter wind band music, I hope you’ll join us for this 100-year milestone and enjoy the harmony of history.

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) Doors open: 1:30 p.m. Concert begins: 2:00 p.m. ※Please do not contact Geibunkan directly regarding the commemorative concert.
Location	Kurashiki City Art and Cultural Hall
Admission (tax included)	Ticket price: ¥1,000 How to purchase tickets ・Purchase from current ensemble members ・Purchase from Century Band participants ・Purchase through the ticket application form on the Konko Gakuen Music Club Wind Ensemble website ※Tickets purchased through the application form must be paid for in cash at the venue on the day.
Website	Konko Gakuen Music Club Wind Ensemble

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