Hibiki’s Spirit of Japan Celebration

At the Spirit of Japan Celebration, I learned much about Japanese culture and festivals. It was nice volunteering for an event that strove to represent the culture that I was a part of, and I had a blast. Our music program consisted of a large number of traditional Japanese songs, and it was fun learning them. 

I learned today that setting up and breaking down a performance takes a lot of time, and that often unexpected things may happen. I also learned that it’s important to choose music appropriate for the setting, which we did well. 

Next, I would like to challenge myself with something similar. Playing at festivals is fun, but maybe something more formal would be better. Playing in a more structured setting would keep us from cutting pieces out of our setlist and provide a more predictable environment. For example, while outside, sound is unpredictable. In a concert hall, however, the sound is easy to control and manipulate. 

I think music can impact society in many positive ways, but for now I’ll just focus on one. I think music is a way for people to communicate things that can’t be expressed in words. In a society with so many expectations and conflicts, I feel that music is something that keeps everything bound together. 

Sincerely,

Zen Parris/Violin/9th Grade