Inagakuen Wind Orchestra from Japan

[RickF]

We had the distinct pleasure of sharing the stage a couple of weeks ago with this outstanding wind orchestra from Japan. Inagakuen Wind Orchestra is one of the top student groups in all of Japan. The sold-out crowd was blown away by their performance. What a sound, what discipline, what dedication these students showed. Every student sat at the edge of their chair, every music stand at the same height, no one tapping their foot, and their sound... WOW! Their intonation was excellent so you could hear the overtones lining up. Sounded like a pipe organ!

This recording of "Olympiada" (by Samuel Hazo) was recorded at Lake Mary H.S... the day before they performed with us in West Palm Beach, FL. I was in the audience as I've been on the 'injured reserve' for awhile, so it was a real treat for me.

Olympiada

There were 96 musicians - Sophomores and Juniors and mostly girls. Their Seniors were back in Japan studying for their end of the year exams. The concert started at 7:30 with us on stage first - sure glad we went first . These students started rehearsing and warming up at 4:30 with long breathing exercises, singing, and rehearsing the choreography they needed for other pieces when moving their instruments all around.

Here's another video of the tubas showing off:

We Want to Stand out Too - "Tip Toe Through the Tubas"

<< edit to add >>

The Vein of Water (by: Yo Goto)
A new composition as tribute to the Florida Everglades for Inagakuen's Florida tour.

They can also sing:
Inagakeun Wind Orch singing
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If you ever get to chance to see/hear this outstanding group, don't miss it!

[davewerden]

Inagakuen Wind Orchestra from Japan

Wow - that's truly amazing! As you mentioned, the presentation itself is as good as the music. Our own bands could learn a lot just in the area of stage presentation.

I added the tuba feature, which was very well done, to my Tuba Videos page, and sneaked the other piece into the Brass Band/Ensemble page.

Thanks for sharing!