ISU WIND ENSEMBLE
TO PERFORM IN TAJIMI

A student percussionist practices with members of ISU's Wind Ensemble in preparation for their trip to Tajimi, Japan.

By CURT KOEHLER

"Music frequently provides an opportunity to bridge cultural gaps in a way that words are unable to do."

Indiana State University Director of Bands John Boyd will get a chance to prove his statement above when he takes the Symphonic Wind Ensemble to Tajimi, Japan May 8-14. While there, the group will perform at several local schools and at the city’s Shimin Bunkasai cultural festival.

Associate Director of Bands Doug Keiser and Department of Music Chairperson James O’Donnell will also be making the trip to guest conduct and perform, respectively.

The Shimin Bunkasai Festival is of significant importance in Japan and annually features choral groups, traditional Japanese musical groups and modern Japanese musical ensembles. The Wind Ensemble will be opening the week-long festival with a Sunday performance in the main concert hall of the Tajimi Cultural Hall.

"We’re going to combine pieces of Japanese interest as well as some of the best American and world pieces for this tour," says Boyd. "The Japanese are serious music lovers and music makers."

While in Japan, ensemble members will also perform chamber music concerts in the local schools, live and eat with Japanese host families, visit cultural and business centers, and develop a true feeling for the Japanese way of life.

"It’s going to be a very interesting experience for our students," Boyd predicts, "many of them have never been to Japan. In fact, most have never been there. It’s only my second time to be in Japan and May, we’ve been told, is the most beautiful month to visit."

Andrew Miller, a contrabass clarinet player, will be one of the 50 wind and percussion players to make the journey.

"I was astounded that a student group would be so honored," Miller said. "I want to experience as much of the Japanese culture as I possibly can — sights, sounds, foods, beverages, things like that. This experience will allow us to interact with Japanese people on a higher level than if we stayed in a hotel."

The group's invitation from Tajimi City Mayor Masaya Nishidera came as the result of a long-standing Sister City relationship between Tajimi City and Terre Haute.  Terre Haute Mayor Judith A. Anderson subsequently endorsed the project as an expression of the Sister City friendship.

O’Donnell, who also will serve as a trumpet soloist on the trip, says, "This trip by the Wind Ensemble is a fine expression of support of our sister city relationship."

The relationship of the two cities began over 38 years ago when Ralph Tucker was mayor of Terre Haute. Four businessmen came to represent Tajimi as the seeds of the city-to-city relationship began to take root. Since then, delegations of politicians and businessmen from both sides have made the long journey across the Pacific and western portion of the United States on trips of goodwill and exchange. More than a decade ago, a small exchange of students began to take place with the Vigo County School Corporation. As a result, many young people of Tajimi have chosen to come to America and study at ISU.

Plans for this particular trip began almost a decade ago after the Faculty Brass Quintet made a trip and gave performances in 1993. Since then, a steady stream of correspondence and some actual face-to-face meetings between the music department administration and cultural ambassadors from Tajimi have allowed it to progress from there. This will be the first ISU student ensemble to make such a trip. 

The Symphonic Wind Ensemble has engendered high acclaim for its performances at numerous music conferences, including the Atlanta International Band and Orchestra Clinic and the Music Educators National Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio.  The group has released two commercial compact discs that have received radio airtime in the United States and throughout the world.

Boyd has twice served as a guest conductor for the United States Army Band, conducted and lectured at the Royal Northern College of Music (UK), and conducted and lectured at WASBE (World Association for Symphonic Band and Ensembles) international conferences. Later this year, he will travel to Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom to participate in festivals and conferences. In addition, he conducts and records with the ISU Faculty Winds and the professional wind ensemble, Philharmonia à Vent. Recordings by these groups have received positive reviews in American Record Guide and Fanfare. Boyd's work as an arranger and composer has been published by Ludwig, G. Schirmer, Barnhouse, Cole, Associated Music, and Warner Brothers.

A combination of institutional resources, foundation grants, corporate contributions and private gifts has ensured the success of the trip.

"We’ve been fortunate in accruing a lot of support from Japanese businesses in Indiana, from other corporations and from individuals, and each student will pay a portion of his or her own way," Boyd said.

For more information about the ISU Wind Ensemble’s trip to Tajimi City, call the ISU Band office at (812) 237-2750.

April 25, 2001