午夜剧场

I was born and raised in Sendai. Along with life itself, what my parents gave me was music. However, I was by no means a child prodigy; it was only in high school that I finally realized I was truly and hopelessly in love with music. Later, I entered the Major in Aesthetics and Art History to study musicology. The Tokyo metropolitan area was filled with overwhelming stimulation, gathering music, art, traditional performing arts, and cultures from all over the world—more than enough to quench the thirst I felt upon realizing my passion.

In regional cities, famous people who can guarantee a commercial success are often invited, and famous pieces tend to be prioritized for programs. In other words, content that someone has already deemed good and is promised to sell well is automatically supplied... I still struggle with that dilemma today.

I often compare the ideal state of music projects in regional cities to a "museum with a good permanent collection." Invited projects are important in the sense that topicality, new things, and masterpieces, famous songs, and great performances that one should experience once in a lifetime come to the city. On the other hand, I want to create an environment where people can always encounter works they love, hear good music regardless of whether it is famous or unknown, and encounter things that move their hearts.

Currently, I am involved in planning and production for the "Sendai Classical Music Festival" and the chamber music project "Music from PaToNa" at the Miyagino Ward Cultural Center. With the help of highly motivated players gathered in cosmopolitan regional orchestras and performers from the local area who are active both at home and abroad, I am working to create a time and place where musicians and audiences can focus deeply on music. Eventually, the audience begins to feel a sense of pride that they are supporting and nurturing the performers. Only with such an audience can performers take on challenging programs. I am increasing opportunities to appreciate music more deeply, such as holding seminars to assist with appreciation before performances and distributing commentaries. Not just for a few days during invited events, but a place where one can encounter rich musical content 365 days a year. Using that as a base, I work daily with musicians, innovating ways to present music that resonates more effectively.

Sendai claims to be a "City of Music," but what makes it so? Good halls are a given, but it must also be a place with a good audience and a place where good musicians want to gather. I am striving to increase the number of places in this city that quench their thirst for the music they love, and places where they can choose what they like based on their own sensibilities.