Click picture to watch video
After winning the hearts of the Tokyoites Tachibana travels now 500 miles west to the port city of Nagasaki at the southern island of Kyūshū, where they were last time in October last year attending the “Marching Carnival in Beppu 2021”. This time they will participate in two events:
On August 13 they were invited to perform at the 1st Nagasaki International Music Festival at Nagasaki Brick Hall. For three days this Festival features large number of high school brass bands, including Tachibana playing at the last day.
On August 14 they will parade at the Brass Band Festival of Huis Ten Bosch, the largest independent theme park in Japan, co-starring with local Sasebo Tōshō High School Marching Band (website, Wikipedia). In the video above Sasebo Tōshō can be seen performing in this Dutch-themed park in 2020 (Sasebo is the town in which the park is located).
This comment repeats others made a while back. But many more recent fans may not know the story of Sasebo Tosho’s Advisor and one of his past students.
Sasebo Tosho is a most pleasant band to watch as the video above testifies. This must be due in great part to their Advisor. His name is Akio Nakamura 中村明夫 . His dedication to support a badly injured student was documented by Japanese TV. The student had been a promising trumpet player when in 2013, her jaw was shattered in an accident caused by a drunk driver. Her recovery, also followed by TV, was slow but determined.
In April of last year, after a spell teaching in a small school in the far south of Kyushu, she was appointed music advisor for Kyushu Bunka Gakuen High School Brass Band club located in Sasebo.
Their story is best told in the following videos. I recommend seeing them through, they are very moving.
[https://youtu.be/NNKISznU16Q]
[https://youtu.be/rPz81EypIFk]
A contributor to the blog called “Jim T” commented “Not enough can be said about her band advisor, Nakamura-san. Everyone should have an opportunity to have a Nakamura-san in their life.”
Which is why I’ll add two more videos. The first displays his teaching style; the second, when younger, his predilection for a sartorial style he has always retained.
[https://youtu.be/K-2mjtW64Zk]
[https://youtu.be/MH3R4OSpRdM]
So when, as I hope we will, we see KT in Nagasaki, please spare some moments also to appreciate Sasebo Tosho and their remarkable Advisor.
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