Archive - Open Lesson Concerts

On November 3, 2024, the Yamaoka Memorial Foundation held the 8th Junior and Senior High School Brass Band Open Lesson Concert, conducted and coached by Kiyotaka Teraoka, at the Amashin Archaic Hall.

This project invites world-renowned conductors to interpret the historical context in which the piece was written, as well as the composer's intentions and feelings, which are not stated in the sheet music, and teaches junior and senior high school brass band students how to create music with a wide range of musicality and expressiveness.

This time, we welcomed Maestro Teraoka (Mr. Kiyotaka Teraoka), a world-renowned conductor who is active both domestically and internationally, mainly in Austria and Germany, and he performed pieces by Adolf Scherzer and Ottorino Respighi. As in previous years, the program began with the students receiving a lesson from the maestro, followed by a full performance.
First, Mayor Matsumoto of Amagasaki City spoke about how Amagasaki and Augsburg, Germany, became sister cities thanks to the efforts of Magokichi Yamaoka, the company's founder. Afterwards, members of the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra and active soloists participated as instructors to support the lessons and full performances, explaining and instructing the students in the performance techniques and expressions that the maestro was looking for.

During the lesson, the students listened attentively to the maestro's instructions, making sure not to miss a single word of his explanations about the background of the songs and how to play them. During the lesson, the maestro carefully explained the background and story of the piece, and provided instruction to help the students understand the composer's intentions. By each student using their imagination, the performance after the lesson became more expressive. At the end of the event, the Amagasaki Sousei High School brass band performed the Bavarian March, a piece that the junior high school students had learned in the first part of the event, as an encore, and the performance ended with thunderous applause.

In the survey responses from the audience, we received comments such as, "It was moving to see the students being able to improve their performance even more through professional instruction," as well as many voices expressing their desire for the event to continue next year and beyond. In addition, students who took the lessons have commented that, "Previously, I didn't find playing an instrument interesting, but thanks to my improved expressiveness through the lessons, I can now enjoy playing."

■Date & Time: November 3, 2024 (Sun) Start: 2 pm (Admission from 1 pm)

■Venue: Amashin Archaic Hall (Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture)

■Performed by: Amagasaki Municipal Sonoda Junior High School
Amagasaki Municipal Tsukaguchi Junior High School
Amagasaki Municipal Amagasaki Sousei Senior High School
Members of the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra et al. (for support)

■Program:

・Part 1

Composer: Adolf Scherzer
Piece: Bavarian March

・Part 2

Composer: Ottorino Respighi
Piece: Belkis, Queen of Sheba