Peabody Conservatory

I have been sent an official acceptance letter from Peabody Conservatory, Baltimore, US, to study under Professor Robert Van Sice. I was awarded a US$15,000 Scholarship, and am applying for a job at the Elderhostel which is situated on campus. If I get the job, I'll receive my own room with bathroom in exchange for 15 hours work per week. I am excited about the program that they run. Seniors (55+) attend week long music lessons and stay at the Elderhostel which is right next door to the Conservatory. I think it would be a wonderful environment to live and work in. Please cross your fingers for me!

Takemitsu

I had a wonderful experience today with one of the other percussionts. His name is Sho. He asked me to play a Toru Takemitsu work with him entitled "Cross Hatch." It is only 1 minute in length, but is a simply beautiful piece. It is so sweet, genuine and pretty. We had our first rehearsal today, and it went really well. I have never played with another percussionist and enjoyed it so much. Sho is a wonderful player, very sensitive, and has a great sense of phrasing, and musicality. Despite the language barrier, we had a productive rehearsal. It was a rehearsal that I walked away from feeling I knew more about Sho, and Mr Takemitsu.

Marimba Lesson 3

Today I played Zivkovic's ILIJAS for Mrs Abe. I had a memory lapse in the last page, and was very disappointed in myself. However, Mrs Abe was truly lovely, and encouraged me with her kind words. She asked me if I wanted to be a soloist, and said that she would set aside some time for me so we could have a chat about being a solo artist. This is really wonderful news. At the end of the 5 hours of masterclass lessons, some of the Toho students had learnt the marimba ensemble version of Tambourin Paraphrase, to celebrate Mrs Abe's Birthday. She claims to have forgotten how old she is! She seemed very touched by the surprise performance, the flowers and chocolates! It was such an adorable gesture from the Toho students :)

After this, we had an hour of improvisation class. I was second to play with Mrs Abe, and asked if I could play Vibraphone with her. It was a first experience for me to do this free improvisation on Vibes. Mrs Abe has a most incredible energy, and I think we both enjoyed what happened. We will improvise again together next week and see what develops!

First Commission

I have commissioned my first percussion work from a 4th year composition student at Toho Gakuen. His name is Hideto Arai, and I heard a work of his called "Imaginary Dancer" for quintet at a concert the other night. I loved it. It was a quirky piece, with humour in it, but also depth. I had a talk with Mr Arai after the concert, and managed to communicate that I had enjoyed his piece. I asked one of the percussion boys at Toho to help me translate so that I could ask Hideto to write me a piece for solo vibraphone. Sho, my translator, said that Hideto was thrilled to write a piece for me, and loves the sound of this instrument. Sho has played some of Hideto's works before and said he finds his works really interesting. We talked about what it is to perform another person's work, and expressed similar feelings that one must remove one's ego to do the composer justice. I look forward to seeing what Mr Arai writes for me.

Toho Gakuen Students

There are 35 percussion students at Toho Gakuen. 33 girls and 2 boys - this is very different to back home where I was one of 2 girls! They are all passionate, dedicated, kind and very helpful. They have been very supportive of me even though our communication is limited. I wish I spoke Japanese... Nevertheless, I'm managing to practice about 4 to 6 hours a day at school. Several of the students have their own marimba at home, and have said that if I feel I can't get enough practice time at Toho Gakuen, that they will share their personal marimba with me. I find their generosity very touching, and the team spirit over here is wonderful. I have been asked to do two duets in a concert over here in May with two of the students. One will be a Toru Takemitsu work. Since Mr Takemitsu passed away recently, there are many tribute concerts, and galleries with his works on display, which I am very keen to go to. I really love his music, and his percussion music is wonderful.

Marimba Lesson 2

My second marimba lesson was fantastic. I played Wind in the Bamboo Grove to Mrs Abe. I was terribly nervous of course, because it is her own composition, but I managed to focus and got through it. It's real MAGIC to be in the presence of the creator, so you can gain insight into every note and every silence of the piece. After the first reading she made some suggestions like changing mallets, and brought many different subtleties and nuances of the piece to my attention. Mrs Abe, then improvised with me as I played it through a second time. This is a musical experience I will never forget.

Wine with Gandhi

Last night I went out to a great French Bistro in Shimokitazawa. The staff truly make you feel at home. The owner and his loyal clan of 4 boys are all multi linguists, and all welcomed me and my guest with open arms. I visited the cafe with Dave my housemate, who happens to look exactly like Gandhi. I promise to put a picture up soon, the likeness is remarkable. Dave is an incredible genuine soul, who is also in the music industry. He is a man who shows only kindness on his face! It was great hanging out with him. He's a truly passionate music producer - passionate to help artists from Australia and New Zealand. How wonderful.

"To know music is to transfer it to life." Gandhi

Marimba and Mallets

Here are some little photos of an beautiful marimba I've been lucky to practice on. The first image is the resonators which essentially amplify the sound of the beautiful bars in Image 2. The third image is my fluffy mallets. They have worn out very quickly in the last week!

Beautiful Sakura

The cherry blossoms in Japan are beautiful and delicate. Here are some White, and Pink varieties.

Professor Abe

On the Wednesday, I had my first lesson with the Mother of Marimba - Professor Keiko Abe. It was truly wonderful. Mrs Abe is demure, graceful, deeply philosophical, and it was a real thrill to meet her in person and share her musical energy and ideas. I was most thrilled to hear her talk about her own compositions. Her imagination really transcends to another world. I hope this insight will let me play her music with a depth and maturity I would have never achieved without the intimacy of a one on one lesson.

The plan for next week's lesson is to improvise. I am sleeplessly anticipating this lesson.

Me and My Mallets

Umbrellas.

Umbrellas are an extension of the Japanese arm. Even when it misty, people huddle under their umbrellas like little mushrooms. I bought a bright pink and red one today. I shall be the posionous toadstool in amongst the organic greys and browns!