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