Basic Information

Participants：Fifteen students of Instrument Music (Undergraduate, Graduate and Practical Music Courses)
Location：Los Angeles, USA
Period：August 1-10, 2015

Achievements

The students traveled to Los Angeles to participate in the International Horn Symposium, an event that brings together horn players from all around the world.
As many as 248 programs were offered for a week, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., including open masterclasses by renowned players, warming-up sessions and recitals by guest artists, as well as ensemble and solo competitions.

With the presence of internationally acclaimed players and instructors, the students actively participated in the masterclasses and competitions. They were able to have firsthand knowledge of the level required to succeed globally by not only “listening to” music but also “performing” it.

The students examined and considered most advanced ideas of how to express music through playing the instrument when they attended the open masterclasses offered by Professor Gail Williams of North Western University, Professor Will Sanders of University of Karlsruhe, and Mr. Andrew Bain, the leading young horn players who holds the position of Principal Horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

The symposium gave the students the opportunity to develop themselves by performing for a large audience, and despite the short time, helped them to take the next step to grow more. At the solo competition, four out of five finalists were our students, who ended up winning the first and third places, and two other prizes.

In the ensemble category, our student quartet and octet were selected to hold pre-concert performances at places such as the Hollywood Bowl and the Broadway Theatre. In addition, an ensemble of all our participating students was formed to hold a concert. Other horn players such as those of Berlin Philharmonic praised the students for their world class performance, recognizing its precise and sensitive music. This made the name of Tokyo University of the Arts better known and there were actually some inquiries regarding admission to our university.

The students had spent so much time on rehearsals prior to the symposium. During the preparation phase, they learned not only to improve techniques but also to achieve a common goal while considering co-players.  Moreover, after attending the symposium, they felt firsthand what they could offer and also what they were decisively lacking on the world stage. They also learned the attitude necessary to solve an issue while getting used to an unfamiliar environment, and witnessed that top players were “enjoying” playing music (The students also got a glimpse of the steady and incredible amount of effort and research made by such players to do so.) All these were the biggest achievements for the students, and some of them became serious about studying abroad. It is expected that the students will make a big leap forward both in Japan and overseas.