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Music of hope from Fukushima

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Even if they had not played a single note, the Fukushima Youth Sinfonietta’s mere arrival in the United States would have been a tremendous success. To be invited to play Boston’s majestic Symphony Hall is no small feat. It is an accomplishment few musicians can lay claim to. But here they were, on a chilly April day, aged only 14 to 18, inside the city’s most historic of concert halls, giving an exuberant and probing interpretation of Glinka, Mozart, Barber, and Rachmaninoff.

The concert had its moments of youthful indiscretion. The challenging selection of repertoire demanded technical perfection, rhythmic discipline, and an impeccable sense of intonation. The nervousness of the strings showed in the musicians’ fractious approach to the scalar passages of Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmila Overture. The brass struggled with articulation in moments that required subtlety. Despite the bravery of the woodwind soloists in the second movement of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, their lack of artistic maturity was on display. It sounded more like a youthful exploration than the polished execution you would have expected from the NHK Symphony Orchestra.

The Fukushima Youth Sinfonietta played its age. That is the highest praise I could give them, because for three hours on stage, it was not Fukushima children on stage. It was simply children on stage.

The name “Fukushima” has come to evoke a range of pathos, from fear and guilt to pity and loss. Yet, on stage, those tethers were not present. The amateur musicians performed like any other young person would on one of the greatest stages in the world. They were nervous. They were playful. They were careless. They were bold. If you looked carefully enough, you could see the mischievous smiles teenagers make when trying to hide their blunders, or the feelings of liberation in their movements when they were given permission to indulge in the rare sforzando. To ask young people from Fukushima to perform in front of strangers in a different country, much less after leaving their families and homes devastated by the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, would have been a challenge not many could have made. Their joyous performance, however, suggested not only an emotional maturity beyond their years, but also lives that belied the indescribable hardships they had faced.

Before intermission, the ensemble gave an unscripted performance of "Furusato," a traditional Japanese children’s song. “Some day when I have done what I set out to do, I’ll return home one of these days. Where the mountains are green, my old country home, where the waters are clear, my old country home.” Reflecting on these lyrics, I couldn’t help but ponder on their eventual journey back to Fukushima.

While it has been five years since the tsunami triggered the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi power plant, the region still faces a litany of challenges. Only a fraction of the region’s residents displaced by the spread of radiation have returned to home. Of the 470,000 people displaced in Tōhoku, almost 100,000 residents of Fukushima continue to live in temporary housing. Communities have been forever split from those lost or missing. Town coffers have dried up due to the rising health care costs of the region’s large elderly population. Those who have tried to reassemble some sense of normalcy face the stigma of having been in contact with radiation from the rest of the country. Outsiders are hesitant to consume the products from the local fruit and vegetable farms, and fisheries that distinguish this region, fearful that it could spread contamination.

Yes, Fukushima must rehabilitate its homes, rebuild its communities, and restart its local economies. Radiation cleanup efforts have been slow, but progress is being made. While the immediate area surrounding Fukushima Daiichi will require many years and up to $10 billion dollars to decontaminate, residents will soon be able to go home. The evacuation orders are cautiously being lifted. Government officials estimate that up to 70% of the displaced will be able to return to their homes by 2017.

But Fukushima also needs to rediscover its ways of expression that can restore the mind and soul. Keys of Change, the British-based non-profit organization responsible for putting together the Sinfonietta’s American debut, has taken up the challenge of providing such artistic vehicles for change to this ravaged region. These initiatives could be enhanced by greater Japanese recognition and support. Increased financial support and collaboration with organizations like Keys of Change can help local communities address the psycho-emotional issues associated with relocation, stigmatization, and loss of community and family by providing vulnerable populations catharsis and artistic expression.

The performance from the Fukushima Youth Sinfonietta earlier this month served as proof of the power of creative expression. It can bring solace, hope, and a sense of normalcy to people who have experienced unimaginable loss. When these children return home to Fukushima, let us celebrate their accomplishments not with applause or praise, but by providing support for the continuance of their musicianship so that these young people can continue to be young people.

© Japan Today

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