Sunflower Chorus Memorial Concert Part 10: With boundless love, gratitude and prayers for the Hokuryu Sunflower Chorus, who continue to sing with the voices of precious souls and cherish the preciousness of life.

Monday, December 3, 2024

On Saturday, November 30th at 2pm, the "Sunflower Chorus Memorial Concert Part 10" was held in the Hokuryu Town Community Center Large Hall.

As an audience of approximately 100 people gathered, the venue was filled with a wonderful harmony and a wave of deep emotion.

The 10th anniversary memorial concert featured special guests Yuichi Iwasaki and the Iwasaki Juku Ukulele Club, who delivered a wonderful performance that soothed the soul with their fun and bright tones.

Himawari Chorus Memorial Concert Part 10

Himawari Chorus Women's Choir

The Himawari Chorus (led by Mitsuko Fujii) is a women's choir with 22 members from inside and outside Hokuryu Town.

The choir was formed in 1989 (Heisei 1), and this year marks its 35th anniversary. The regular concerts, which began in 2011 (Heisei 23), will be held for the 10th time this year.

The concert was named "Memorial Concert" with the intention of never forgetting the importance of life in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake (Tohoku Pacific Ocean Earthquake) that occurred in 2011 and engraving it in our hearts.

Conductor and tenor: Tetsuyoshi Yamamoto

A resident of Chishibetsu, he graduated from Hokkaido University of Education Sapporo. He is the head priest of Jorakuji Temple in Chishibetsu, and also works as a lecturer at educational institutions and lifelong learning organizations in Hokkaido. He has been leading the Himawari Chorus since 2006.

Piano: Tomoyo Kano

A resident of Fukagawa City, she graduated from the Hokkaido University of Education Sapporo Campus's Department of Arts and Culture, Music Course. In addition to performing mainly in Fukagawa City, she also serves as the wedding organist at St. Margaret Church in Ilum-no-Oka, Fukagawa City, and Bloomington Hill Church in Asahikawa City. Since 2014, she has been active as a pianist for the Himawari Chorus.

Performance with Iwasaki Juku Ukulele Club

Yuichi Iwasaki has been living in Fukagawa since 1997. He was a classmate of Tetsuyoshi Yamamoto at Fukagawa Nishi High School in Hokkaido.

Live bar "Melting Pot" (FacebookWhile running his own company, he is also active in writing lyrics, composing music, and hosting charity concerts.

After moving to Tokyo in 1974, he studied under Pancho Kagami of Pinky & the Killers. After joining Junko Yagami's backing band, he made his debut as a singer-songwriter.

In 1981 (Showa 56), he won the Best Vocalist Award at the Victor Original Song Contest, and in 2014 (Heisei 26), the album for which he provided music won the Planning Award at the Japan Record Awards.

Around 2017, he became fascinated with the ukulele made by Iwasaki's uncle and began playing it, and currently runs the Iwasaki Juku Ukulele Club, a workshop for beginners.

Yuichi Iwasaki is 69 years old and was born in 1955. He was born in Kenbuchi-cho and grew up in Fukagawa City, his mother's hometown.

Mayor Sasaki Yasuhiro and Iwasaki were senior and junior at Fukagawa Nishi High School. When Mayor Sasaki was a student at Nihon University, Iwasaki would often treat him to meals when he came to Tokyo, and they were such good friends that they were very caring.

"My uncle, who was a teacher in Hanno City, Saitama Prefecture, made classical guitars and started making ukuleles 15 years ago. During that time, we kept in contact and he encouraged me to play the ukulele.

When I was in elementary school, the ukulele was popular and my mother used to play it. It was the era of Hawaiian singer Setsuo Ohashi, who sang songs like "Tropical Night" and "Shiawase wa Kokoni."

I've been playing the guitar since elementary school as if it were my life's work. I started playing the ukulele about 10 years ago, and began working to spread the joy of the ukulele to as many people as possible. I started teaching guitar and ukulele about 7-8 years ago.

Having spent a long time in the music industry, I have made it my life's work to share my experiences with local people.

We currently have around 10 members. We hold lessons about twice a month, including folk songs to sing while playing and solo ukulele. We mainly teach beginners. "I want to convey the joy of live performance and increase the number of people playing the ukulele," says Yuichi Iwasaki with a kind smile.

Ms. Ikuko Sugimoto, who served as MC (Master of Ceremony)

A smiling welcome at the reception

Everyone at the venue

Part 1: A Year in the Sunflower Chorus

• From "Song for You" for female chorus and piano：
  Lyrics by Hiroshi Kurihara, Composition by Fumito Ooto, Arrangement by Naomasa Takahashi
  　
• MC Ikuko Sugimoto:
  "Hello everyone! Thank you very much for coming to our memorial concert today despite the bad weather.

  This time, in addition to our songs, we will also be performing ukulele, so we think you will enjoy it even more than usual.

  The conductor is Professor Tetsuyoshi Yamamoto. As a little tidbit of information, his favorite food is curry rice, and his favorite composer is Beethoven.

  The pianist is Tomoyo Kano. Her favorite food is chocolate, and her favorite piano piece is Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major.

  The acoustics areFukagawa Concert Forum" It is no exaggeration to say that without these people, our concert would not be possible. Thank you for your support today."
  　

• cherry blossoms
• Star Dream
• A song for you
  　
• The chorus backing is a beautiful image of "Sakura" projected on the stage screen.

• MC:The next songs are "Sekirei" and "Hosenka," both popular choral pieces by Miyuki Nakajima. We will sing these two songs back to back.
  　
• WagtailLyrics and composition by: Miyuki Nakajima
• HosenkaLyrics and composition by: Miyuki Nakajima
  　
• The stage screen, "A Grassland Scene Dyed by the Setting Sun," evokes a sense of melancholy.

Part 2: ~With the Iwasaki Juku Ukulele Club~

• MC:The second part will be performed by the Iwasaki Juku Ukulele Club, along with their representative Yuichi Iwasaki, Mr. Yamamoto, and the Himawari Chorus. We encourage the audience to join in by moving their bodies and singing along.

Yuichi Iwasaki

"We are the Iwasaki Juku Ukulele Club, and we've come from Fukagawa. We are 7th and 8th graders, and recently 3rd graders have been joining us. We started practicing the ukulele in order to spread the word about the instrument.

The only ukulele song that most people know is Shinji Maki's "Aa Yannachatta." My mother played the ukulele when I was little (1950s and 1960s). Do you know the ukulele by Setuo Ohashi? You probably don't.

"Today, in addition to Hawaiian music, I will be playing two other songs, 'Autumn Leaves' and 'You Are My Sunshine.' I hope everyone will hear that the ukulele can also be used for jazz standards, chansons, American pop, and more," says Iwasaki.

• Dead leaves(Stage screen: Autumn leaf image)
• You Are My Sunshine(Stage Screen: Heart Cloud Art Collection)

Yamamoto Tetsuyoshi appeared and had a lively conversation with Iwasaki Yuichi.

• Tetsuyoshi Yamamoto:
  "I met Iwasaki-san for the first time in decades at a Fukagawa Nishi High School reunion, and we talked about doing something together, which is how this collaboration came about.

  I teach chorus and he teaches ukulele, and we hit it off because we both wanted to create a world that was familiar to the townspeople and locals.

  I started playing music in the summer of my third year of high school. I saw him playing the latest electric organ in the dining room of the old civic center. I was very impressed by how he played by moving his feet and hands separately.

  His playing inspired me to embark on a career in music. I have taken many detours, including failures and times spent as a ronin, but I have come to where I am today.

  This time, we thought about performing "Manatsu no Kajitsu" together. Then we started talking about how Showa-era songs are great, so we decided to add two more songs."
  　

• Yuichi Iwasaki:
  "Please relax and listen to two songs that fathers from the Showa era knew: 'Glass Johnny' and 'Feeling'."

• Glass Johnny(Stage screen: record player)
• Feeling(Stage screen: record player)
• Midsummer Fruit(Stage screen: Beach image)

Sunflower Chorus Entrance

• MC:I would like to perform together with the Ukulele Club and the Himawari Chorus. We will sing "Ue o Muite Arukou" and "Bara ga Saita."
  　
• Look up and walk:Ukulele Club & Sunflower Chorus (Stage screen: Starry sky image)
• The roses bloomed:The audience sang along while looking at the lyrics sheet that was distributed in advance (stage screen: image of a red rose)

Bouquet presentation: Yuichi Iwasaki

• MC:It was our first time performing with the ukulele players, and it was a lot of fun.
  We practiced a few times, but today we were in top form (laughs).
  I learn a lot from Mr. Iwasaki's wonderful conversation (laughs).
  A bouquet of flowers was presented to Iwasaki Juku representative Yuichi Iwasaki by Ayumi Fukase, vice-leader of the Himawari Chorus. Thank you for today!

Part 3: ~With gratitude from the Himawari Chorus~

• Suzhou NocturneLyrics by Yaso Saijo, composed by Ryoichi Hattori, and arranged by Koichi Yamamuro
  (Stage screen: Waterfront cityscape image)
• cherry blossoms: Lyrics by Hakuhi Miki, music by Takako Okuma
  (Stage screen: Sakura image video)

• MC:Next, we will present a song by Professor Yamamoto. It is a Mexican song called "Intima," which translates to "Beloved" in Japanese, and will be sung in Spanish.
  　
• Professor Yamamoto:This song is Mexican. I will be singing it in Spanish because 90% of people in Mexico speak Spanish. The translated lyrics will be displayed on the screen, so I hope you will listen to it while watching.
  　
• IntimaTata Nacho Lyrics and composition by Tetsuyoshi Yamamoto, tenor solo
  (Stage screen: Image of rose with Japanese translation)

• MC:The concert is drawing to a close. The next two songs have very strong messages.

  It is said that the lyricist of "Song of Green Leaves" wrote the poem with the image of green leaves sparkling in the sunlight as his wish for world peace.

  We also conducted a survey among our members about the song they would like to sing, and "Song of Life" came in first place.

  This song is very important to us as well. Sixteen years ago, twins Mana and Kana sang this song in the NHK morning drama "Dandan." The lyrics were written by Mariya Takeuchi. "Dandan" apparently means "thank you" in the Shimane dialect.

  Please listen to the two songs "Song of Green Leaves" and "Song of Life" in succession.

• Song of Green LeavesLyrics by Komori Kaori and music by Kumagai Kenichi
  (Stage screen: Wakaba image)
• Song of Life：Miyabi Lyrics by Takatsugu Muramatsu Music by Junko Yokoyama Arrangement
  (Stage screen: sunflower illustration image)

Bouquet presentation: Professor Tetsuyoshi Yamamoto & Tomoyo Kano

Greetings from Vice-President Kazuko Teragaki

"Thank you very much for coming to our concert today despite your busy schedules and the bad weather.

The regular concerts, which began in 2011 (Heisei 23), will be held for the 10th time this year.

I remember singing this song with all my heart after the Tohoku earthquake in 2011, learning about the preciousness of life from those affected and feeling grateful to be able to live peaceful daily lives.

Although the concert has since become an annual event, we still call each one a Memorial Concert because we want to remember the feelings we had at that time, cherish them, and keep them in our hearts year after year.

For those who are looking forward to our performance, we will continue to sing to the best of our ability at these concerts. We hope you will continue to support the Himawari Chorus.

Just one announcement. As stated on the back of the program, we are currently recruiting new members. We practice every Thursday night from 7pm in this large hall. We will be taking a break in December and January, but will resume activities from February. We hope you will come and watch us practice and experience the joy of choral harmony. All of our members look forward to seeing you.

"Finally, we have received calls for an encore, so we will play one more song, 'Country Road,' an important song that we have been singing for a long time, with our guests today in a special version. Please sing along with us. Thank you very much for today," said Vice-President Teragaki Kazuko.

Encore: Country Road
Joint chorus with the Ukulele Club and Himawari Chorus

The beautiful singing voices and harmonies echoed throughout the venue, and the audience was filled with emotion as they erupted in applause and cheers of "Bravo!!!"

• MC:Thank you all so much for joining us today.
  Please be careful not to leave anything behind and be careful on your way home.
  I wish you all good health and happiness as I bid you farewell. Thank you very much for joining us today.
  After this, members of the Himawari Chorus will see you off. Please take your time and enjoy your journey home.

Seeing everyone off

With boundless love, gratitude, and prayers, we send our heartfelt thanks to the wonderful women's choir "Himawari Chorus," which, more than 35 years after its formation, continues to sing with the voices of precious souls and cherish the preciousness of life.

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Other photos

Photos (255 photos) from Himawari Chorus Memorial Concert Part 10 are here >>

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◇ Interview and text: Ikuko Terauchi (Photography and editing assistance: Noboru Terauchi)