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The Yamaoka Memorial Foundation held “Musical Instruments Clinics” at Nagahama Municipal Kita Junior High School and Nagahama Municipal Takatsuki Junior High School (combined with Kohoku Junior High School) on November 3, 2022 (Thu).

This project was designed to help students who play in junior high school wind ensembles, to learn how to create music with a wide range of musicality and expressiveness by learning how to play instruments and express themselves from guest teachers who are professional musicians at the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra and other orchestras.
In view of the situation of the novel coronavirus, we held this year’s event again after taking all possible measures to prevent infection with the virus.
This year's events again included separate lessons for each instrument from the professional guest teachers, and then a performance by the guest teachers to give the students guidance on performance and expression methods.

In the lessons, the students were instructed on the basics, such the fingering technique during a performance, and how the tone of an instrument changes depending on the breathing technique. The students learned that it is important to play their instruments while keeping in mind the thoughts of the composer and the background of the piece. Some students swayed back and forth while playing.
During the lesson, it was very impressive to see how eagerly the students took in the guest teachers' advice on how to play the instruments in order to refine their own technique.

The ensemble performance by the instructors was attended by the school wind ensemble members as well as their parents. Some of the audience swayed their bodies to the beautiful sounds and surrendered to the music while enjoying the pieces. A variety of music was played, from bright pieces that delighted the children to moving pieces, making the event a wonderful experience that one would want to go on forever.

In the questionnaire responses from the members of the school wind ensembles, students responded that they had learned a lot from participating in the clinic, saying that the lessons had changed their approach to practicing the basics, which they hadn’t enjoyed before, and that they felt some personal growth in the sense that they had become more confident in the way they produce sounds.

Some parents responded to the questionnaire, saying this event had greatly stimulated their children who otherwise don’t have the opportunity to be instructed directly by professional performers. The event received very positive feedback, with most participants wishing for the event to be held again next year and beyond.