I played yesterday at a preschool in Yokohama with Yu Manabe on violin. The first set we did was just for the parents of the children. The second set was for the kids and their parents. This was my 3rd time playing at a preschool in Japan and it is so much fun. The excitement in the room was really amazing. I hope I get many more opportunities to play at preschool's in the future.
I don't often get to play a show in the neighborhood where I live but it's always nice being able to walk to the show. It's also nice to see lots of familiar faces and get that kind of support that you can only get from where you live. This past weekend I played an outdoor solo concert at my home station in Tama Plaza. The weather was perfect and the reception was great. It really made me feel lucky to live in such a great place. Thank you Tama Plaza!
今日は奈良にある『光明寺』という小さいなお寺でリサイタルを行いました。お寺で演奏するのは初めてではないのですが、リーダーとしては初めてでした。９０人ぐらいがお寺に入ってぎゅうぎゅう詰めでした。来てくれたお客さんが興奮してくれたので、とても演奏しやすかったです。お寺のコーラスの伴奏も少しやりました。子供の頃に教会でよくやっていたので、懐かしかったです。 レーベルメート『三浦明利』に誘われました。彼女の最新のCDのために１っ曲をアレンジして、今日は初めて生で『花束レクイエム』という曲を共演しました。彼女の声は非常にユニークです。是非聞いてみて下さい。
I played a very special concert this afternoon at a small Buddhist Temple in Nara called Komyoji. This was not my first time to play in a temple but it was my first time as a featured soloist. About 90 people packed in to this relatively small but quaint temple. The people were so excited to hear my music that it made it so much fun to perform. I also got to accompany the temple's choir which brought back memories of playing in church as a child for the choir. I was invited by a fellow label mate Akari Miura. I arranged one of her songs on her latest CD and we also got to perform that song today for the first time. She has a very unique voice and I recommend checking it out.
