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The Yamaoka Memorial Foundation held “Musical Instruments Clinics” at Nagahama Municipal Takatsuki Junior High School (combined with Kohoku Junior High School) and Nagahama Municipal Nishi Junior High School on November 3, 2023 (Fri).

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. This year's project 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 as how the instruments work, and the fingering technique during a performance. One approach to this was, for example, to use drinking straws and paper cups to teach the students breathing techniques they could use to achieve a more beautiful timbre. During the lessons, 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 rhythmical sounds and surrendered to the music while enjoying the pieces. A variety of music was played, from local tunes that are familiar to Shiga Prefecture residents to grandiose pieces that moved the audience, making the event a wonderful experience that one would want to go on forever.

In the questionnaire responses from the wind ensemble members, the students responded that they had learned a lot from participating in the clinics, with one student stating, “The lesson changed the way I play and enabled me to produce a more expressive and beautiful sound.” Some students also said that the ensemble performance by the instructors led them to a new goal, saying, “I want to aim for a beautiful performance like my teacher’s, where I creatively devise the strength and length of the notes”.

In the questionnaire responses from parents, some said that their children's interest in musical instruments had increased and that they were very grateful that their children could receive direct instruction from a professional performer, as they usually see at home how much their children enjoy playing their instrument. The event received very positive feedback, with all survey respondents, including the participating wind ensemble members and their parents, wishing for the event to be held again next year and beyond.