Marimba Lesson 5

Today I played Ilijas again, and attempted Minoru Miki's "Time for Marimba". It was such a valuable lesson. As Mrs Abe commissioned Time for Marimba, and is a good friend of Minoru Miki, she gave me information which made me feel I could bring the piece to life now. We talked about the influence of Indonesian Gamelan, and about the specific tremelo's which Miki preferred as an effect on the marimba. I feel excited to practice it tomorrow. Abe Sensei has said she will give me Miki's phone number so I can call him to chat about the piece.

AMATERASU

On Friday night I went to see the Kodo Taiko drummers perform with Tamasaburo Bando Kabuki Theatre company in their production based around the sun goddess AMATERASU. Spectacular. Awesome. Magnificent. Funny. Beautiful. Pure. I am in total awe of those musicians and actors. The lead male who played Amaterasu was the most graceful female I've ever laid eyes on. The drummers were just incredible, and I was taken by one female drummer who had such a fiery focus in her eyes - I was captivated.

Design Festa

I caught the train to Odaiba, which was an experience in itself. I saw Tokyo in an amazing new light. Humans created this? I looked out the window of the train to amazing scenes. WOW. Awesome architecture, human creations which intimidate and amaze and that adrenalin rush of feeling so small. The destination was the Tokyo Big Site Design Festa. This festival is where artists, musicians, designers, of all walks of life exhibit their work. From the bizarre to the ridiculous, it is a fabulous festival of visual chocolate everywhere. Here is a small taste.

Shinjuku and Tokyo Moon

2 Concerts and Marimba Lesson 4

I have had a busy 3 days. Monday 15th, the Toho students hosted a mini-concert. I played with Abe Sensei, and it was very well received. I also played a short Takemitsu work with Sho. I was happy with how things went. In all honesty though, I was disappointed by most of the other repertoire in the concert. Most of it was novelty marimba music, and cheesy arrangements which I'm not particularly drawn to... Akiko - a student at Toho, did play a stunning version of Miki's Marimba spiritual though, and this made up for the other pieces. All in all, we had fun, and of course I was thrilled to play with Abe Sensei.

Tuesday 16th, I attended a concert at Senzoku College. This campus was AMAZING. There is obviously a lot of money in this school. The grounds are gorgeous, and where Toho Gakuen has no concert hall, Senzoku has a beautiful sounding hall which was filled with great music last night. There are 100 percussion majors at Senzoku under Okada Sensei. Last night, Igor Lesnik was the guest percussionist. Also on the program was another version of Marimba Spiritual. The soloist at Senzoku wore an outrageous sequined red white and blue top, white pants, and a flowing velvet cape that made him look a bit like david bowie. (I love david bowie, but maybe it cheapened Miki's work a bit in this context....) Anyway, I was excited to hear Lesnik's works, and even more thrilled to meet him afterwards. He was in a frantic rush when I met him, so he dragged me along with him as he rushed off to sign cds. We quickly organised some lessons in Zagreb for 3 days in July. He was a lovely man, very firm handshake, and big bear hug after our 3 minute conversation. I can't wait to spend time with him at a slower tempo!

I have begun to realise limitations of some percussion music. I have been feeling a bit frustrated exclusively playing repertoire for the Linz Marimba Competition, the set piece is so difficult, and makes far more musical sense to me on the piano. So, I've been very angry with myself and a little angry at the limitations of our repertoire. Because classical percussion music is really quite young, there are problems sometimes with writing good literature. I was depressed with my ability, and was thinking "What can I play for my lesson??!!!" so I threw caution to the wind in this, and played Igor Lenik's Midnight Pieces for Solo Vibraphone. I needed some time away from the marimba, and "THE COMPETITION NOTES". I only played the 1st movement, but Abe Sensei was delighted. She invited me to do some concerts with her, and also invited me to come back to Tokyo when I'm free, and teach the Toho Students vibraphone. GOOD DAY HUH?

Marimba Lesson 4

Today I played Michi by Keiko Abe. Abe Sensei improvised with me again and we shared great energy. We also rehearsed Wind in the Bamboo Grove for a concert which we will play in on Monday at Toho Gakuen. I am very excited and keep pinching myself that I'm playing with her - it's a real thrill. I'll play this and Toru Takemitsu's "Cross Hatch" with Sho. Most of my housemates are coming to the concert, and so are the owners and staff of Troc. House in Shimokitazawa. Dave "Gandhi" is also coming to the concert which is great. I'll write again on monday to discuss the concert!

Professor Igor Lesnik

I have some exciting news. Last year I learnt a wonderful piece called "Midnight Pieces" by Igor Lesnik which I played in my final Honours Recital. I was looking on the percussion notice-board at Toho Gakuen, and noticed that Professor Lesnik is coming next week to do a residency at Senzoku Gakuen College. I emailed the Zagreb Music Academy straight away where he heads the percussion program. Mr Lesnik was very quick to email me, and suggested I meet him at Senzoku Gakuen, and said there was a possibility of teaching me in his week in Tokyo, and again in Zagreb at the end of July. This is perfect, and fits in beautifullly as the Linz Marimba Festival finishes on the 23rd of July. I am delighted. His music is beautiful, and I had such a wonderful experience with "Midnight Pieces", I hope I can convince him to write me another vibraphone piece!