In May, 1991 I visited with two Japanese bassoonists, Ryohei
Nakagawa and Hitomi Sugawara, at the office of Japan Double Reed
Inc., located near the Shinjuku station in Tokyo, Japan. Being
a Japanese who has lived and worked in the United States for the
past 27 years, I was curious about the state of the double reed
profession in Japan. I was also interested to know if a national
double reed organization existed or if there were plans for creating
such an organization.
I was pleased to discover that there is a growing interest in
the double reeds in Japan. Interest in the double reeds was evident
in the many young and talented players as well as in the existence
of established competitions for oboes and bassoons held in Japan.
Local bassoon and oboe clubs were prevalent and plans to form
and organize unified national organizations were being considered.
During the conference in Frankfurt, Germany, Mr. Sugawara announced
the formation of the official Japan Bassoon Association (J.B.S.)
with an estimated membership of 500-600 bassoonists. The first
official meeting of J.B.S. will take place in February 1993. The
following is
an excerpt from the document, Forming of Japan Bassoon (fagotto)
Association, It's Object and Invitation.
"...If the society can run successfully, we can afford to
obtain new compositions ... and increase the number of repertoire
for the bassoon ... We may be able to create new ideas by way
of communicating with the society of other musical instruments.
As for the design of the instrument, J.B.S. model may be made.
We may be able to contribute not only to domestic field but also
internationally ... How about the idea to exchange courtesies
with foreign orchestras ... Also, the association will publish
newsletters, membership lists to open communication among players..."
My congratulations to the Hitomi Sugawara (Chief Representative
of Promoter for Japan Bassoon Society) who has undertaken the
efforts to organize J.B.S. On behalf of I.D.R.S., best wishes
to the success of J.B.S.
[Yoshiyuki Ishikawa is Professor of Bassoon at the University
of Colorado, Boulder, as well as Secretary of the I.D.R.S. ED]