On November 16, world-renowned conductor Mr. Leonard Slatkin came to the Yotsuya Campus to give a special lesson to the Sophia Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO), the student orchestra of the university. Mr. Takao Kanayama, the conductor of the SPO, had studied with Mr. Slatkin for three years at the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and their longstanding friendship since then led to this visit to our university.

Mr. Slatkin came to Japan to conduct with the NHK Symphony Orchestra. After the rehearsal, the Maestro came to the Yotsuya Campus and spent two hours with the students. The piece they practiced was Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 from the program of the SPO’s concert scheduled in December. At the end of the rehearsal, Mr. Slatkin told the students how wonderful it is to make music together and how important it is to love and respect music, and he hopes that they will enjoy life and make the world a better place through music.

With his advice and message in mind, the students will continue to practice hard in preparation for their concert on December 26.