My journey No.1

I am from Kanazawa, which is located in the west-central part of the Japanese mainland. I was born and raised there. In 1988, Kanazawa city established a chamber orchestra called the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa (OEK). You can find more information about them on their website: https://www.oek.jp/en/biography.

During my school years, the OEK would come to perform concerts at my schools, and that’s how I became familiar with the sound of orchestras. I was involved in wind orchestra activities at the time. Tom O’Kelly, my life and music mentor, was a member of the OEK and played the timpani. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to take several lessons with him while I was attending Kanazawa University. However, since I couldn’t speak any English, I struggled to understand what he was saying. Thankfully, the OEK violinist, Troy Adam Googins, would kindly join my lesson and provide translations for me. It was incredibly helpful, and I had a great time during my lessons with Tom. At one point, Tom asked me if I was interested in going to Brisbane to study percussion with him. I had no idea where Brisbane was; I only knew about the Gold Coast. I also struggled with English, so deciding what to do was a challenge. At that time, I was studying music education, which was related to music but not exactly what I wanted to pursue. My true passion was to play music full-time. After nearly two years of contemplation, I finally decided to take this opportunity.

In 2002, I arrived in Brisbane. I was worried about getting kidnapped or something bad happening to me at the airport. Fortunately, the person I had paid and organized had a nameplate, so I knew who to follow. Despite my uncertainty about my destination, I was scared and unable to ask questions due to my limited English proficiency. Consequently, I simply followed the arrangements made by my language school. Luckily, my host family and another homestay mate from Switzerland were kind to me, and I had a wonderful time staying with them.

I attended the language school, and despite not understanding what was being said, they placed me in an intermediate class because I could read and write English. It was a struggle at first, but my social skills helped me make friends from various countries such as China, Russia, Korea, Spain, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, France, and more.

It took me a year to improve my English skills enough to enter tertiary education. I attempted the IELTS test multiple times, although it was expensive, lengthy, and tedious. Despite the challenges, I persisted and eventually succeeded.

And so, in 2004, I finally started studying at the Conservatorium.

To be continued…