Soma Children's Orchestra and Chorus

Composition Classes for Children in Fukushima

Since 2013, the Friends of El Sistema Japan has been organizing composition classes with Dai Fujikura, a composer with a strong belief that we are all creative by nature. Mr. Fujikura invites guest musicians to participate in his classes, each of whom plays a different instrument – everything from the soprano saxophone to the shamisen, a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument.  Children first listen to instrument demonstrations, and then compose pieces of music of their own. This process takes approximately 30 minutes, which to many people may seem rushed.

While Mr. Fujikura’s instructions are kept to a minimum, two points are stressed: the first is to feel free and able to create whatever comes to mind, and the second is to remain open and not judgmental about your own and others’ work. Rid of the fear of making mistakes, children are able to freely express themselves and create compositions in record time.  According to Mr. Fujikura, children often take a liking to “weird sounds”.  In fact, the pieces composed by participants are often so unique that even experienced guest musicians find the compositions challenging to play.  It is inspiring to see how children’s eyes shine when they witness their ideas and compositions being translated into actual music.

Thanks to the generous supporters like you, we can provide free music education for children like these composition classes. We assure you that, despite various hardships, the children are building life skills by the means of creating music with others.

We appreciate your continued support from the bottom of our hearts – thank you!!!