【My Music Activity report】From January to July 2024 [op.E-2]
(*This article is translated that was written in Japanese in July 2024.)
Hello, or perhaps good evening. Summer has finally arrived here in Belgium, and it seems Japan is facing an intense heatwave. How is everyone doing?
For those of you who may not know, let me briefly explain my situation. I am currently pursuing a master's degree at a music conservatory in Belgium. Last August, just as I was transitioning from my bachelor’s to my master’s program, a financial issue arose within my family. There was a point when it seemed like I might have to return to Japan permanently. In light of this, I started a crowdfunding campaign to seek support for my tuition fees, and I was incredibly fortunate to receive warm assistance from many people. Thanks to this support, I have been able to secure my tuition for this year and continue my studies. This article serves as a report on my activities for those who supported me through crowdfunding or in other ways. You can read the previous report here.
January
First Semester Exams
January was exam season at the university as usual. At my university, practical exams are only held in the second semester, except for first-year bachelor's and second-year master's students. Therefore, this year I only had one academic exam, an interim report on my thesis, and a chamber music exam, which made it much less stressful compared to previous years. I don't think I ever want to go through the bachelor's program again, at least not abroad haha.
For chamber music, students in their second year and above can participate in up to three groups for the exams, regardless of their year. This season, I was involved in a guitar duo, a violin quartet, and, as I’ll mention later, a piano quintet.
The guitarist I partnered with is an exchange student from Lithuania. We’ve been playing together since last year, and this year we chose a slightly more challenging repertoire, which helped us grow even more. We both had a clear vision of what kind of music we wanted to create, and we were comfortable expressing our opinions and making compromises when necessary. It was a very comfortable and positive relationship, not to mention that he’s just a really nice person.
The violin quartet was formed with members from my teacher’s class. Two of them, exchange students from Spain, I’ve known since last year. The other member was a Belgian student who was here for only half a year on an Erasmus exchange from another school, but I was happy that we became good friends. Again, I was fortunate to be surrounded by such wonderful people. Character really does matter.
Thanks to all of this, both groups received high scores, which motivated me for the future.
February
Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra
In February, I participated in a concert with an orchestra I’ve had the privilege of joining since last year. A quick side note: there is actually a professional orchestra called the Brussels Philharmonic, and we are often mistaken for them, but unfortunately, it's not the same. (Why did they choose such a confusing name for both groups?)
Anyway, for the February concert, we performed Sibelius's Violin Concerto. I never expected to play Sibelius’s orchestral parts so soon. (By the way, I have yet to play Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto, both orchestral and solo—I really need to get to that.) I was grinning throughout rehearsals and the concert—I must have looked suspicious!
The main program for the second half was Grieg’s "Peer Gynt" Suites No. 1 and No. 2. This piece holds a special memory for me. Back when I had been playing the violin for less than a year, I participated in an amateur orchestra at a music festival in Fukuoka, and one of the pieces was “In the Hall of the Mountain King” from Peer Gynt. At that time, I was a complete beginner and couldn’t play it at all. I was so frustrated that I still remember it vividly. So, I guess you could say I finally got my revenge.
March
LUCA Philharmonic
March was our university’s Project Week No. 2. This year was also the year for the university’s traditional performance of St. John Passion, which meant four consecutive days of performances—a grueling schedule that would make even professional musicians wish for a day off. It nearly killed me, but I somehow survived. University, please consider scheduling rehearsals and concerts with a bit more breathing room in two years. Everyone who participated in both projects was completely exhausted.
First up was the LUCA Philharmonic. This year, I took up the viola as a minor subject, so I participated in the Philharmonic project on viola. For some reason, I also ended up playing viola for St. John Passion. Even though it’s my minor! Since I was involved in both projects, I only played the main piece, Brahms's Symphony No. 4, for the Philharmonic project.
I had the opportunity to perform Brahms’s Fourth Symphony in Japan and after coming to Belgium, so I ended up completing all three parts—first violin, second violin, and viola—this time. So if you ever find yourself short of players for Brahms’s Fourth Symphony, I can play any of these three parts, so feel free to reach out lol.
Participating in the orchestra on viola made me realize that, while what you’re playing is subtle and doesn’t stand out much, there’s hardly any time to rest. When I think about it, playing the violin seems much easier. I suppose it depends on the piece, but I never realized how demanding the viola parts were. To all the viola players out there, thank you for your hard work.
The other two pieces in the program were Debussy’s Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune and Stravinsky’s Pulcinella. I listened to these pieces from the audience with the other off-duty players, and the solos by the principals were all outstanding. Bravo!
Johannes Passion
One of the signature concerts at my university is the biennial performance of Bach's Johannes Passion. Last time, as an undergraduate, I participated as part of the choir, but this time, I was thrilled to join the orchestra, even though it was on viola.
The orchestra rehearsals took place only during Project Week in March, which was better than the choir schedule. However, since I was juggling both the Philharmonic project and the Passion, it meant two weeks of rehearsals from early morning until late at night. I’m amazed I didn’t fall ill during that time.
One of the joys of performing Johannes Passion is the chance to see rare instruments up close, like the viola da gamba and theorbo. You don’t often encounter these instruments unless you’re doing Baroque music, and it’s even rarer to hear them at such close range, so I spent my breaks just listening. Lutes are wonderful.
In the end, I successfully made it through one LUCA Philharmonic performance and three Johannes Passion performances!
April
Koinonia Orchestra of Europe
I joined this orchestra at the invitation of a friend. The programme was mainly baroque and classical works, and it was a good experience for me to enjoy and discover something different from the philharmonic orchestra. Also, I played Dr Haydn's symphony for the first time, for what it's worth.
I also played Mozart's Concerto for Harp and Flute, which was a very fresh combination that doesn't happen very often.
And I also gave a concert in Paris. Even though it was the first time in my life in Paris, I didn't feel Parisian at all. Laughs.
It was a good experience in many ways.
Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra
We have a concert about once every two months, and this time we invited a cello and piano soloist.
The main programme was Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 "Italia".
May, June
Second semester examinations
There was no major concerts in May because it was an examination period and various circumstances.
The second semester exams are longer than the first semester exams and usually last until mid-June. In the second semester, there are practical exams for all grades, so you can hear everyone practising hard from the practice rooms on each floor, but towards the end of the exam period, you gradually hear less and less practice, and it is quite mentally draining (this time my practical exam was the last one).
First, I introduce with the chamber music exam.
In the second semester, there was only a piano quintet, but it was a good decision to focus on one, as the programme was quite hard. The quintet was born at the beginning of the school year, when I was invited by a violinist I had become friends with. I will write about this quintet properly in a separate article later. The members are all international students from countries other than Belgium, and they are all very personable people. I really feel that I am blessed with good people.
I was more than happy to be able to play Schumann's piano quintet, which I had always wanted to play, with these members. The teachers' evaluations were thankfully very positive, and I ended up with the best scores ever in the chamber music examinations, both before and after the term.
Finally, the practical examinations.
Except for the third year Bachelor and second year Master's students, each student plays for 25-30 minutes. As you can imagine, but at the beginning to study in Belgium, I had never played performance in a solo for that long (until then it was usually Max 15 minutes) and it was quite mentally and physically demanding, but I'm used to it now.
In this year's exam I played the first movement from Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 4 and the first movement from Sibelius' Violin Concerto.
I received very good feedback from Julie's teacher, and I personally feel that I have grown since last year, and I am determined to do my best again.
Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra
The June concert was a programme of French pieces. Debussy's Prelude to the Pastoral Afternoon, Ravel's Piano Concerto and Poulenc's Sinfonietta, all of which I enjoyed. I was especially happy to be able to play Ravel and Poulenc at this concert, as I don't often get the chance to play them.
Also, I completed both violin parts of Debussy (lol).
Guest performance at Choir Concert
This is a job brought to me by a member of the quintet, and I played Schumann's Piano Quintet as a guest. I was happy to have the opportunity to play it again after the exam.
At the reception after the performance, many guests gave me warm words of encouragement, and I really felt glad to be doing music again.
July
Orchestra Academy audition
I had an audition for the first time. It was a disappointing result, but I gained a lot. I wrote about the audition in a separate article, so I hope you will read that too. (This article is written in Japanese but there is a possibility of translating articles into English in the future.)
I am relieved to have finished the 2023-2024 season safely in Europe, because since the summer a year ago, I have still been thinking about money, my future career path, my relationship with my family, my disappointment at not being able to give anything back to my friends and acquaintances who help me, where and with what do I really want to do. I thought too much about these things and could not face what was in front of me, and there were days (and still are sometimes) when I became mentally ill. Even so, I think that I was able to finish this year successfully again because of the support of my family who supported me from afar and the people I met in Europe, including my violin teacher. I really can't thank them enough. To be honest I am also currently in danger of losing my financial situation for the next term, but as this is my final year and I have been working hard for almost five years, my greatest hope is to somehow manage to hold on for one more year and finish my master's programme properly.
At the moment I'm not sure if I will launch another crowdfunding campaign this year like I did last year. Hopefully I won't have to do it again, though.
Thank you for reading this long article to the end. I hope to be able to write another activity report in six months!
よろしければサポートをお願いします。いただいたサポートは、ヴァイオリンのメンテナンス費や弦など消耗品の購入に使わせていただきます。