This is an English translation of an article published in Nikkan San on Sep. 17, 2020, as a part of my column, “The Way of the Pianist.
The fires have been spreading in the American West Coast. Satellite images display the smoke covering the region, spilling out onto the Pacific Ocean. The first seasons are starting earlier and ending later, effecting greater regions. Will the CO2 from the first worsen the climate change? Is it possible to keep social distancing at wherever we end up in if/when we have to evacuate? Anxieties accumulate.
But “all the world’s a stage” The show must go on!
This reminds me of 3.11: The earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear meltdown in the Tohoku region of Japan in 2011. We got together to raise funds for the recovery efforts. I will never forget the friendships, the communal efforts, the togetherness I felt then. And the charity concerts I organized and performed in then, gave my path in music a new direction. It made me want to make my music making more socially relevant.
It also reminds me of 9.11. I played for the rescue workers, resting in between their shifts at a church near Ground Zero. I kept on playing all the comfortable pieces I knew. A fireman, still in his full gear, stopped by my piano, and then put his hands together and bowed, as I played on. I will never forget him.
I also think back to stories I heard of the air raids in Japan during World War II, when 20,000 civilians perished. Tokyo Metropolitan Hibiya Public Hall, one of the structure that was left standing, became a makeshift morgue. But in less than a month after the end of the war, Nippon Symphony Orchestra (Now NHK Symphony Orchestra) performed a concert in that very hall.
Please take a big breath in as you raise your shoulders to your ears, and drop them as you breath out completely. End smile, even if you have to force, and sing. You can hum to yourself, or really sing out loud. Any song. Too much focus on the source of the stress can be destructive. It can lead to an excess induction of the stress hormones and adrenaline, undermining your executive functions. Studies have shown that destructing yourself from the source of tension can improve your performance. For example, when you are putting in golf, if you hum to yourself, your scores will likely improve.
Smile, breathe, and sing! We are all in this together!!
