El Sistema Japan was established in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, with the aim of helping children in the stricken area and "to foster the will to live through music."
“While undertaking the process of forming and organizing children’s orchestras and a choral group in Soma and Otsuchi, we found that music allowed the children to grow and improve, not only themselves but also have a similar impact on older people and the community. This impact led us to realize that the need for music and its power, is not just limited to earthquake-affected areas. Children, in rural regions far away from cities, had limited opportunities to take up and enjoy artistic pursuits.”
This realization led us to form the Komagane Children’s Orchestra.
The city of Komagane, Nagano Prefecture, has been actively working on global community development by serving as a training location for JICA’s Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers and they will further their international cooperation by hosting the Venezuelan team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.
As El Sistema originally started in Venezuela, this connection has resulted in a cooperation agreement between El Sistema Japan and Komagane City. In 2017, we launched a project to nurture life skills through music.
Nagano Prefecture is the birthplace of the Suzuki Method, developed by the noted violinist and pedagogue, Shinichi Suzuki, who was based in Matsumoto. Komagane, however, does not have a tradition of string instruments serving as a regional cultural asset.
The Komagane Children’s Orchestra aims to be a new chapter in the city’s musical history. The Orchestra, currently in its third year, has seen increasing numbers of participants every year, with more than a hundred children playing various string instruments.
At the Komagane Children's Music Festival, held on December 7, the Orchestra showcased their talents and hard work. The performers have been a part of the programme since its inception and are currently in their third year as participants. They performed the first movement of Mozart’s Aine Kleine Nachtmusik.