Our "Sankyoku Music Festival 2020" was originally scheduled to be held on May 10, 2020 at the Nihonbashi Public Theater, but it has been canceled due to coronavirus. This is, instead, a series of remote recitals that we, who love traditional Japanese music, have created together.

 ＃StayHome

 ＃LoveTraditionalJapaneseMusic

 ＃WhatWeCanDo

 ＃PlayedHard

Holding the 2020 Sankyoku - Traditional Japanese Ensemble - from Home♫

The cherry blossoms bloomed earlier this season and then began to fall. About the same time, the cancellation of the “2020 Sankyoku - Traditional Japanese Ensemble” was decided. Sankyoku - Traditional Japanese Ensemble is the grandest event of the year for us. This year in particular was to be a special occasion since it would be the 20th anniversary and it was to be held right before the Olympic Games. Ensemble practices were gradually restricted in March and we were not surprised when we heard that the event was canceled. We tried not to be discouraged by the news and focused our attention to the event for the next year. However, the loss of our goal and the feeling of emptiness we had when we sat in front of our musical instruments was unbearable for us.

At this point, several administration members who are quite intuitive gave us the idea to perform the ensemble on-line. It was around the time when musicians around the world started to release concerts and relay performances on the Internet to encourage people globally. The initial idea was to “play and record several songs as a trial.” However, our master Ms. Ono is a person who cherishes innovative and creative spirit. She swiftly created an event to collaborate and perform almost all songs on-line, and it was entitled, “2020 Sankyoku - Traditional Japanese Ensemble - from Home♪.” Recording was prepared in less than a month after the event was planned. Everyone enjoyed recording like a musician who secludes himself or herself in a studio, or like a YouTuber who can spontaneously handle the recording. They used their ingenuity and learned through trial and error every day to complete their parts.

There is a special sensation when we are on the stage. That sensation can bring us pressure or it can propel us. There is also a coordination and harmony with all co-performers and supporting instructors. These elements create special pieces of music that can be performed only at that time. On the other hand, recording of performances brings different challenges. One day, we recorded so many takes but we were not satisfied with any of the performances. Another day we enjoyed playing the music and a beautiful recording was completed in a single take. Sometimes recording with a non-visible performer was smoothly handled until a mistake was made at the last few notes, and we had to record it all over again. We were performing individually, but we realized and learned about many new aspects of music through creating video and media performances.

We would like to express our appreciation to all members who used their ingenuity to record their performances at home and especially to Ms. Ono who expanded the idea to this major event using her outstanding creativity and energy. In addition, we sincerely appreciate the support of our instructors who provided accompaniment and completed our recordings taken with our immature techniques (they must have been bewildered!), and to all members who assisted the work to complete the video production.

It was a completely new style of performance for us and we may appear inexperienced during the performance. However, we truly appreciate from our heart that we were given this opportunity to challenge a new avenue of music amid difficult circumstances. We would like to exert our utmost efforts to improve our skills and discover new aspects of the art based on the challenges we faced and the special experience we acquired.

 This will be the final “Sankyoku - Traditional Japanese Ensemble” with this special 20th event and we would like to open a new chapter with a new style of concert next year. Please continue to look forward to our performance.

2020 Sankyoku - Traditional Japanese Ensemble Administration