I’m delighted to hear that one of our members received an invitation to perform from the neighboring community association. It shows that we’re gradually building our reputation.
As it happens, I’ll be away on a business trip that day. This is an unexpected opportunity! Usually, I help keep the rhythm with guitar and piano for them to play along with, but for this upcoming performance, that won’t be possible… In other words, the children will have to perform entirely on their own.
When we tried a practice session, the tempo was indeed uneven, as expected. When I asked them “What do you think?”, they seemed aware of it themselves, and with each practice round, everyone’s focus started coming together!
Even when resuming practice after breaks, I didn’t start them off – instead, I let the children take the lead. It seems that when children are entrusted with responsibility, their motivation increases. The older children were actively speaking up and trying to move things forward.
When children gather to do something, if even one adult is present, activities tend to become adult-centered, and children tend to look to adults for leadership. However, to truly master music, being proactive is absolutely essential.
Actually, there was a time before when I caught the flu right before a performance and had to withdraw. At that time, we hadn’t prepared for the children to perform on their own, so we had no choice. But this can be an opportunity for the group to grow into one where children take the leading role.
It’s been almost two years since we established the Kitamae Orchestra, and I’m excited to see how we’ll evolve from here!
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