Back to New York Sunday August 18.

The Emanuel Handbell Ringers together with Katonah Celebration Ringers attended 21st World Handbell Symposium in Hamamatsu Japan returnd to NY safe and sound. Thanks to the HRJ/ Kinki Nippon Turist who organized the activities before the Symposium including the Friendship Concert in Yokohama in Kanto Gakuin University, the group luckily escaped 3 natural disaster threats which came part of Japan, namely 1) Flush Flood in Kanto area which caused Shinkansen schedule partial delay, luckily the group escaped to to the next destination Kyoto ahead of the incident, 2) Retalively major earthquake in Kyushu causing concern regarding the major quake in western part of Japan, again luckily the group was in Hiroshima area facing Inland Sea, 3) threat of major typhoon #7 which skirted Tokyo and north just ahead of the group's return. The Shinkansen was completelly stopped between Tokyo and Osaka for a day on Friday causing major difficulty in rebooking return flights for overseas visitors. Luckily again the group was bussed from Hamamatsu to Haneda airport directly in time for the scheduled departure on Sunday 18th. In the past Symposium ringers returned with a T-shirt inprinted with " We survived Sympoium in ......" The ringers can this time claim " we survived 3 natural threats and the Symposium ! Actually they survived one more natural threat, tropical like high temperature almost everyday during the stay; one hundred degree Fahrenheit there while in Westchester we enjoyed relatively cool days. Thank you parents, chaperons and numerous supporters for giving young ringers an experience of a life time in Japan,

Day 15 (Hamamatsu) August 17, 2024 (repost from KCR/ER1 Japan Tour 2024)

Hello everyone to the last blog post of our Japan trip! We started, as usual, with breakfast at the hotel! Unfortunately, I ate my breakfast before I could take a picture but I have Sam’s breakfast below!!

We then headed out to the venue and did a quick run through of each piece, lasting around 2 hours. We took a short break and started a dress rehearsal of the entire concert. George, Sam, Jordan, and Noreen had a blast changing parts for a simpler piece part of the symposium. Noreen and Jordan were carrying the choir with their eighth note beats on the mallets and George killed it with the four-in-handing looking like a natural. We had some chuckles during practice!

A bento box lunch was served and some free time to change into concert clothes was allowed. People were lining up to get into the venue fairly early to get good seats! The concert began at 2pm sharp and featured some Mirai choirs, symposium choirs who decided instead of workshops they wanted to ring. After the concert, we broke down the tables at a professional rate I will say.

We then rolled all the bells back to the hotel and started to get ready for the gala! Buses were provided for us to go to the hotel venue. The closing ceremony consisted of food, lots of thanks and clapping. We had a grand dinner including salad, hors d’oeuvres, smoked salmon rolls, meat plates, shrimp, beef steak, assorted sushi and raspberry mousse.

Unfortunately, I was extremely excited to eat everything however I managed to snap a shot of the sushi plate! The dessert was specially designed as a bell by one of the chefs at the hotel. The food was scrumptious and the service was out of this world! The closing ceremony was a great affair! The highlight of the night was Arthur Syin, the symposium translator, was awarded an international laureate for his hard work in translating and collaborating.

Finally, we would like to thank a core member of our handbell program, Scott Munson, for not only administrating and posting this blog but for being a strong and steady figure in our KPC music program. During the difficult time of finding a new music director, Scott stepped in and graciously took over the handbell responsibilities. We are incredibly grateful for the knowledge and time that he dedicated to the handbell program that has thrived for decades. He will continue to grow our handbell program with the Junior ringers! BUT WAIT!!!! We would have not been able to travel to Japan and organize ourselves without Eiko and Sarah’s hard work and strategic planning! People have no idea how much coordinating, organizing, planning and grit that goes into a trip across the globe. We have had a wonderful time all because of them! The combination of their language fluency and preparation skills. We all give a huge thanks to their hand work for this 21st handbell symposium. And….. That is all for the KCR adventures in Japan! Thank you for following the blog and supporting these musical experiences! See you in Aberdeen 2024!!!!!

George & Sasha

Day 14 (Hamamatsu) August 16, 2024 (repost from KCR/ER1 Japan Tour 2024)

Today was our penultimate day at the symposium center on this trip. It started as usual, with a 3-hour morning rehearsal. Today, we fit seven pieces into that time slot instead of six, as the schedule was adjusted for the evening’s concert.

Today’s lunch was accompanied by a performance called the ‘Bell Smile Lunchtime Concert’. The team consisted of intellectually and emotionally challenged ringers from Oyama City.

After lunch and a shortened afternoon rehearsal, we had the opportunity to enter the Hamamatsu City Museum of Musical Instruments either before or after our workshop. The museum trip replaced what is normally a free hour, so the afternoon was especially busy.

However, we were able to rest for the remainder of the day and enjoy the ‘Ring the Future’ international concert. We got to watch the Kanto Gakuin choir, whom we played with at the friendship concert, represent Japan.

There was also communal bento dinner at eight. It was the first dinner of the symposium where all attendees shared dinner. It served as a celebration of our practice and the coming concert. The day was a collection of tying up loose ends and enjoying performances to prepare the finale of the symposium.

Andrew & Dante

Day 13 (Hamamatsu) August 15, 2024 (repost from KCR/ER1 Japan Tour 2024)

Symposium Day 4! Today was an early morning for KCR/ERI. We had a rehearsal at 8:30am for our solo pieces. Each “team” is only given 10 minutes to rehearse each song, so we had to be prepared and ready to ring when we came in, in order to make each second count. Some of us even got here early to stretch in a session led by Jordan!

After the rehearsal, there was a memorial service for the former president of the Handbell Ringers of Japan, and the former executive director for the Handbell Ringers of Japan, starting at 9am. Afterwards, we started to practice for the concert with all of the groups. Unlike the other rehearsals from the previous days, we only practiced each song for 15 minutes. This was due to the excursion later in the day.

After the excursion there was another solo concert. This time we played in the solo concert! We played two songs together and we were second to last overall. Our pieces went really well, and at the end of the second one, the members of Kanto Gakuin sand Dona Nobis Pacem with us. It was so beautiful, and members of the staff claimed that it made them cry. We were insanely proud of the friendship that our groups created throughout the week and from the Friendship Concert last Sunday. We also took pictures with their group!

After the concert was over, we (Noreen and Crawford), along with Brian, Miyako, Eiko, Susan, Issac, Andrew, George, Susan, David, and Samantha (yes, there were 12 of us) walked around trying to find a restaurant that would seat all of us. It took a little while and we ended up being split into 3 tables, but we went to a nice “American style” restaurant. Overall, it was a satisfying day to say the least. There was a lot accomplished, and we were heavily congratulated on a job well done on our solo pieces. See you on day 5!

Noreen & Crawford

About Hamamatsu City

Hamamatsu is the center of musical instrument manufacturing in Japan. Yamaha and Kawai both make their pianos here and the Roland (synthesizer). There are also Suzuki (not related to cars) making all kinds of musical instruments from recorders to wind instruments. The Hamamatsu Musical Instrument Museum is the largest of its kind in Japan. I am not sure if the bell ringers had enough time to visit any of them, but touring the grand piano manufacturing factory (both Yamaha and Kawai offer the tour) is an experience that musicians definitely enjoy. The Hamamatsu area is also known for its industrial origin. Honda Motors (motorcycles and later cars) started here and so did Suzuki (very popular motorcycles and small cars).

You can take a virtual tour of this Musical Instrument Museum HERE

DAY 12 (HAMAMATSU) August 14, 2024 (repost from KCR/ER1 Japan Tour 2024)

This morning, we woke up ate breakfast, then left to play even more bells. We had fun ringing all together. We learned how to make music even more musically. For lunch today, there was beef bento boxes, and a three rice vegan (actually vegetarian) meal. After I ate my beef bento box, I went to the family mart across the street and got an amazing Hagen Daz matcha ice cream. The matcha ice cream here is so much better than the one at home! Everyone had either free time afterwards, or a workshop. The workshops consisted of finger weaving (from Canada), playing Ghibli festival music (Japan), mastering mallet technique (USA) and many other options. I went to one where we learned something called “Tsumami Zaiku”. This is when you make something out of fabric with special folds and stitches. We learned to make a flower. Jordan went to a workshop on preventing handbell injuries. It was very interesting to learn from a physical therapist as to how we can better warm up and stretch before playing. She says that she will run a stretching session tomorrow morning before our solo practice! After that, we had another few songs of practice. It is very fun and one of my favourite parts of symposiums to learn under different conducting styles. We are refining our music and improving our musicality for our final concert. Then, we had the absolute best time listening to the second solo concert. One of the best choirs in the world blessed our ears with an insane rendition of an overture. It is a good reminder that while we are good, we always have room to grow and improve. For dinner, we were on our own. It is very easy to pick up a quick meal from a local konbini— we constantly comment how in America we would never eat from a gas station, but from here the food is great and delicious! We are looking forward to a great day tomorrow that starts early and ends late. Another day in beautiful Hamamatsu— surrounded by amazing musicians and musicality.

Aria & Jordan

21st International Handbell Symposium Final Concert to be Live-streamed

According to the Handbell Ringers of Japan, there will be a live stream of the final concert of the 21st Internationa Handbell Symposium being held in Hamamatsu Japan. It will start Japan time Friday Aug. 17th from 2pm which unfortunately would be 1 am in New York. Hopefully there would be uploading of recording on their home page or Youtube later on. If you are intent to catch all the details of this festive concert,please use THIS Youtube link. The program published for the ringers can be found HERE

DAY 11 (HAMAMATSU) August 13, 2024 (repost from KCR/ER1 Japan Tour 2024)

We started our first official day of the symposium with an early morning start. We ate breakfast quickly, because we only had 20 minutes to set up before the first piece of the symposium. Much to our dismay, the morning was packed with playing after playing, with one 10 minute break.

As the afternoon fell upon us, lunch relieved our hunger and fatigue. Lunch was provided by the symposium, and there were a couple options. Most consisted of rice, some greenery, and a protein. Most days we will be provided with lunch and this is a great place for us to mingle with the other ringers. Even though most people traded their gifts last night, people were still eager to trade during off time. Lunch was also a fantastic transition into our interactive workshops that were individually picked. After lunch, everybody went to the workshop that they had signed up for. Mine (Sam) was about Singapore, its history, and their bell programs there. Their cost of living is very high, and you have to bid for a license to be able to even buy a car, which can cost almost $70,000! Only about 10% of Singapore owns a car because of the cost and scarcity. Fun fact, Singapore is hosting the 2028 handbell symposium. This will be great for anyone going because Singapore has some great places to visit, and even better food. Everyone who grows up there also learns 2 languages: English, and whatever their “mother tongue” is. Your mother tongue is whatever language is spoken by your race, since most everybody there is Chinese, Malay, or Indian, and they want to keep everyone knowing whatever language is spoken in their country of origin.

For me (Issac), I learned all about Korean Culture and played many famous folk songs and hymns from all around Korea. It was a beautiful learning experience and I was fortunate enough to not only expand my understanding of the music, but the people as well. After workshops it was back to mass ringing. But this rehearsal was almost half as short, and had a lot more fun songs in my opinion. After the rehearsal, there was the first solo concert, with 14 different songs. Then we were all free to go and get dinner by ourselves or with others to end our day.

Sam & Isaac

DAY 10 (HAMAMATSU) August 12, 2024 (repost from KCR/ER1 Japan Tour 2024)

For the first day of non-touring in Japan, we were able to sleep in! It was very nice since it was the first and the last time we will be able to sleep in during this trip. Some people in our group woke up earlier and decided to get up for breakfast in the hotel. However some people, like myself, slept in as much as possible and didn’t make it to have breakfast at the hotel before they stopped serving people. I woke up and started getting ready and then a bunch of us met in the lobby to go out and go shopping and explore Hamamatsu for the first time. Conveniently, there is a large “mall” across the street from our hotel with many stores, places to eat and just a nice area to walk around in.

For the first day of non-touring in Japan, we were able to sleep in! It was very nice since it was the first and the last time we will be able to sleep in during this trip. Some people in our group woke up earlier and decided to get up for breakfast in the hotel. However some people, like myself, slept in as much as possible and didn’t make it to have breakfast at the hotel before they stopped serving people. I woke up and started getting ready and then a bunch of us met in the lobby to go out and go shopping and explore Hamamatsu for the first time. Conveniently, there is a large “mall” across the street from our hotel with many stores, places to eat and just a nice area to walk around in.

For the first day of non-touring in Japan, we were able to sleep in! It was very nice since it was the first and the last time we will be able to sleep in during this trip. Some people in our group woke up earlier and decided to get up for breakfast in the hotel. However some people, like myself, slept in as much as possible and didn’t make it to have breakfast at the hotel before they stopped serving people. I woke up and started getting ready and then a bunch of us met in the lobby to go out and go shopping and explore Hamamatsu for the first time. Conveniently, there is a large “mall” across the street from our hotel with many stores, places to eat and just a nice area to walk around in.

This was an opportunity for the ringers to go around to other choirs and individuals from different countries, or even the same country as themselves, and trade pins and other goodies as well as get to know each other. One of the main reasons for having these symposiums is the connection everyone experiences, and this was just one way for us to do that. The IHC also provided food trucks from local vendors so there was plenty of food and drinks to go around. While we were eating, Sasha, Sam and I (Julia) met two ringers from Tokyo named Yuki and Sae. We all chatted about KCR/ER1’s tour of Japan and talked about some differences between Japan and New York, one of which was the lack of jaywalking in Japan. After we finished eating, Sasha and I moved on and met Hailee and Judy from Hong Kong. We learned that it was their first time at a symposium as we exchanged goodies. They actually found us later in the night to exchange social media handles. Both of us met many more people and exchanged many more pins and by the end of the night, everyone had a nice haul.

This is my name tag with the pins I got today plus some extra things, but some people had even more stuff. The night ended with a mini concert by a Traditional Japanese Drumming choir. They were amazing and it was very cool to see, as most of us haven’t seen anything like that before. I was told that the last time the International Handbell Symposium was held in Japan in 1998, there was a drumming concert similar to what we experienced tonight, but not many people from our choir were there for that, so it was a good experience for the rest of us.

Eventually everyone started trickling back to the hotel for some much needed rest in anticipation for our first massed ringing rehearsal tomorrow morning.

Brie & Julia

NY & Yokohama Friendship Concert Video

Emanuel Ringers and Katonah Ringers joined the NY & Yokohama Frieendship Concert organized by Takasusensei of Kanto Gakuin English Handbell choir ahead of the 21st Handbell Symposium in Hamamatsu. See the recording here.

DAY 9 (HIROSHIMA > HAMAMATSU) August 11, 2024 (repost from KCR/ER1 Japan Tour 2024)

Today was a hybrid day. In the morning, we visited the Hiroshima Peace Park and Museum. This site is centered around the blast site of the bomb that was dropped on August 6, 1945 (79th anniversary was recently celebrated). The morning marked the end of our official tour. We then took 2 bullet trains (Shinkansen) to the site of the symposium, Hamamatsu.

After making our way to our hotel, where we’ll set up camp for the next week, we got found our luggage, and made our way to our end of tour dinner.

We had a wonderful time celebrating the past week and are now ready for the symposium week ahead. We told the kids to enjoy their morning off tomorrow, because starting Monday afternoon we are off to the races!

DAY 8 (HIROSHIMA) August 10, 2024 (repost from KCR/ER1 Japan Tour 2024)

This morning we gathered in the hotel lobby for 9am after eating the breakfast that was provided for us. It was very good and there were many different options like miso, soup, rice, bread, croissants, and different types of fish. This is what our breakfast set up looked like.

After breakfast, we took a short walk to the subway station where we took a very modern looking subway which was a short ride and then we took about a 30 minute ride on the train to the ferry which took us to Miyajima. The ferry ride was short, but we had a very good view of both the mainland of Japan and the island. It was nice on the ferry to get a good breeze after being outside in the brutal heat. > >

After the ferry ride, we all walked together to the entrance of the shrine. The shrine was very cool because it was built over water. because of this, we got a nice photo with everyone!

Also, check out this cool picture Crawford took!

After walking through the shrine, we had free time so people split up. I (London) went to the Miyajima aquarium, which was very cool. It wasn’t very different from an aquarium that I’d visit in America except there were some interesting fish that I wouldn’t see.

After the aquarium, we walked along the street with lots of shops and we ended up at probably the most expensive lunch place you would find in Japan. However, it was worth it because the food was very, very good.

Brie, Dante, Aria and I (Chloe) went to an area with a lot of street food and had kara age, Japanese fried chicken. We walked up the street for a while; it was packed with dozens of shops.

We wandered into a Japanese jewelry shop and bought a few souvenirs, and then we decided to take the ropeway up to the top of the mountain. We had to hike up to the the start of the ropeway, which took about 15 minutes. Then we entered the first gondola lift, which was about 15 or 20 minutes long. The second lift was about 5 minutes and took us to the top, where we had a short walk to the very top of the observatory, where you could see around an entire side of the island and across the water to Hiroshima. The view was incredible.

After getting back to the bottom, we had to rush to get back to our meeting point in time, but we still stopped for some matcha ice cream. At our meeting point we all sang ‘happy birthday’ to Sasha America-style (joyfully loud), and then we took the ferry and two trains back to our hotel in Hiroshima.

Chloe & London