音楽の力を世界に！米国大学院でピアニストとしての腕を磨きたい

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皆さまのお陰で目標金額の100万円に到達することができました！心温まるメッセージや応援コメントの数々、そして予想以上のスピードでプロジェクト達成に追いついたことに、感動と感激と感謝・・・ここまでこれたのも、皆さまの暖かいご支援のお陰です。本当に、本当に有難うございます！！　

 

5月にプロジェクトを始めた当初は、どうなることかと不安でしかなかったですが、皆さまのご支援のお陰で今回無事にプロジェクトが成立し、やっと無事に今年の8月末から、念願の復学が遂に可能となりました！！ そこで今回復学が決まり、更に上を目指す為、今後やっていかなければいけないことが沢山あります。まずは、もう今年の冬に迫ってきている博士課程の受験、音楽祭又はコンクールオーディション費用、それに伴う飛行機代、レコーディング費用・・・と学費や生活費以外にも音楽を学ぶ学生として、まだまだ負担は大きいです。

 

プロジェクト終了の8月4日締切日まで、残りわずかですが、新たに今回ストレッチゴールを設定させていただくことにしました。今後頂いたご支援は、全てそちらの諸費用に充てさせていただきたいと思っておりますので、引き続き応援いただけましたら幸いです。

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I hope to grow both as a pianist and as a human being, and to keep making music in the hope of bringing happiness to the world. I need your help, so please give me a chance!

 

はじめまして、齋藤岬です。私は中学卒業後から８年間アメリカにピアノを勉強するために留学しています。現在はアメリカの南カリフォルニア大学ソーントン音楽学校にて、ピアノ演奏科修士課程に在学しています。経済的な問題で、「１年間だけ」という条件付きの留学でしたが、在学中の努力が実り。奨学生に選ばれ高校3年間を通い切ることができ卒業できました。そして進学したリン大学音楽学院では全額給費生として認められ、4年間学ぶことができました。

 

そして、ソーントン音楽学校修士課程のピアノ科に進学しました。

しかし大学院一年次を終えたところで資金が不足し、休学という選択を選ばざるを得なくなりました。これまでの努力と幸運も合わさって積み上げてきた８年間の留学と、大学院という、自分を大きく成長させてくれる場を中途半端に離れたくありません。

 

中学卒業後から８年間アメリカでピアノの勉強を続けてきました。そして、ロサンゼルスにある音楽学校の修士課程ピアノ演奏専攻に進学しました。しかし、授業料＋生活費の500万円が足りず、休学を余儀なくされています。皆さまのご支援お願いします。

 

Hello, Everyone! Thank you so much for taking your time to read this. My name is Misaki Saito. I have been studying in the United States for 8 years, and am currently a graduate student at the University Of Southern California Thornton School Of Music pursuing a Masters of Music degree in Piano Performance. First, I came to the United States to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy, which is one of the top arts boarding high schools in the US. Because the tuition was fairly high, my parents told me that I could study abroad for only a year. Luckily, I received a huge amount of scholarship from school, and I could graduate smoothly. Then I received a full-ride scholarship from Lynn Conservatory of Music for 4 years, so I was fortunate to complete my Bachelor’s degree without relying on my parents’ financial help.

Then, I moved forward to pursue a Masters of Music degree in Piano Performance at the University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music. After I completed the first year, I had to take one year off from the school due to my financial issues.

 

“Thanks to my effort and hard work, I was lucky enough to study in the United States for 8 years. And now I am at an important point in graduate school for my growth as a pianist, and so for the sake of my career I do not want to finish in the middle and have to give up.”

 

 

 

The reason why I decided to study abroad was that one of my teachers told me that I have a talent for music and I should not quit playing the piano.

 

15歳の夏。中学3年生、ちょうど高校受験が迫る時期、私は音楽学校ではなく普通の高校に進学する予定でした。その頃、地元のコンサートに出演することが決まり、私は仲の良い中学の英語の先生をコンサートに誘いました。先生は、アメリカの名門イーストマン音楽院をチェロ専攻で卒業した方。そして、私の演奏終了後、先生は演奏の出来から「せっかくの才能があるのに音楽をやめるなんて勿体ない」と言われ、最善の方法としてアメリカで音楽を学べば英語もピアノも勉強できると提案されました。

 

At the age of 15, I was busy preparing for the competitive entrance exams for high school in Japan. During the summer, I had an opportunity to perform in a local concert hall; I invited my English teacher to the concert. Although she was an assistant language teacher, she was graduated from the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Cello Performance. After she listened to my performance, she came up to me and said “You should never stop playing the piano, you have a talent!” At that time I was dreaming of working for the United Nations and I told her that I wanted to study English harder, so she suggested I attend an arts boarding high school in the United States, to study English and the piano at the same time.  

 

 

 

I have experienced many miracles through music, and I started to have a strong feeling that I want to pursue music as a career.

 

私が高校卒業を記念に日本でリサイタルをした際、演奏を気に入ってくれ、その後、毎年夏に私が日本に帰国する度にコンサートを個人的に依頼してくれる方がいました。その方は、ある年に病気で亡くなられました。いつも私の演奏を楽しみにしてくれていたので、私はもっと上手くなって、その方にもっと感動を届けたかったし、もう少し恩返しがしたかった。私はその方の人生を少しでも楽しくさせることができたのか、とひたすらやるせない気持ちになりました。

 

しかしその方の奥様は感謝してくださいました。”主人は、亡くなる直前まであなたの音楽を聴いて、とても幸せだったと思います。本当にありがとう、彼にとって幸せな最期でしたよ”と。彼は、最期まで自宅療養を選び、私の演奏がそのまま録音されている自動演奏ピアノを聴くことが一つの癒しになっていたようです。私の音楽がこんな風に人の人生に貢献できていたとは、思いもよりませんでした。この出来事がきっかけで更に、これからも人々に音楽を届けて幸せにしていこう、と思いが強くなりました。

 

After I graduated from high school, I had a solo recital in Japan. There was a person who really loved my performance and immediately became a huge supporter of mine. He arranged a recital every summer when I was back in Japan. The person passed away a few years later; he was fighting with cancer for almost a year. I have never had felt so uneasy, because I wanted to play more for him: I wanted to get even better and perform for him as much as possible since he was one of my biggest fans.

After his passing, the wife thanked me dearly. “My husband was listening to your music until the day he passed away. I’m sure he was happy that he met you and listened to your music until the last. I cannot thank you enough what you have contributed to his life.” While he was fighting for cancer, he stayed home instead of a hospital, and listened to my recording every day; it was one of his ways to calm down during such hard times. I never thought that my music could affect someone’s life, and particularly because of this experience I decided that I should pursue music as a career, hoping that my music would mean something or make a difference to people.

 

 

 

この他にも・・・私のCDを聴いたら過呼吸で苦しいのが奇跡的に治ったという友人。ある病院でコンサートをしたとき、コミュニケーションをとることのできない重病の方が、演奏後涙をぼろぼろと流しながら、私の手に触れてきたこと。東京、埼玉、千葉、愛知、大阪といった遠方から山梨でのコンサートに足を運んでくださり、演奏を聴けて良かったと応援して下さる方々。

 

今まで、いろんな方々に私の音楽を通して助けられた、感動した、と言って下さる方が多く、それを聞くたびに音楽は人の心を動かす何よりも強い力があるということを強く感じます。そしてそのような体験をするたびに、音楽を続けていてよかった・・・と心の底から思えるのです。

 

Other than that, I have a friend who was suffering from hyperventilation, but her illness got better after listening to my recording. And there was another time when I had a concert in a hospital, immediately after I finished performing, a nurse brought a man in a wheelchair to me and he held on to my hands very tightly as many tears were coming out from his innocent eyes. He was not able to speak, and I did not find out until later that he was brain dead. I was in complete shock after the nurse told me that, but I knew the music spoke to his heart and it gave him something special.

Until now, there were many people who have told me that my music helped them in some ways, and were moved by the music… and there are many supporters who always come to my concerts even though they live very far away, just to listen my music. These are the moments I feel so grateful that I have been playing music.

 

 

 

I would like to study and grow more as a professional pianist at a one of the top-leading music institutions, University of Southern California Thornton School of Music.

 

大学卒業後、ロサンゼルスにある世界でもトップクラスの音大の一つで、世界中から優れた学生が集まる学校である、南カリフォルニア大学ソーントン音楽学校修士課程ピアノ演奏専攻に進学しました。

 

私の指導教員のダニエル・ポラック教授は、第一回チャイコフスキー国際コンクール入賞者であり、世界一流のピアニスト、また音楽教育者として活動されている方です。そんな、ポラック教授に一年間師事し、また世界各地から集まるハイレベルな学生たちの中で切磋琢磨し、技術面、音楽面において大きく成長することができました。

 

しかし、ソーントン音楽学校のピアノ科に通うには高額な学費がかかります。一年次は国の教育ローンを借りることで何とか修学しましたが、二年次の学費を工面することが出来ませんでした。しかし、音楽家として更に上を目指すために、ポラック教授の許でもっと学びたいのです。この一年間、休学している間は朝夕とアルバイトに励み、昼間はピアノの練習をしています。数百万が簡単に溜まるわけではありません。大学時代からのバイトで貯めた貯金、そして休学中に稼いだお金などを諸々足して、生活費はなんとか実費で工面できそうですが、授業料の工面がまだまだ足りません。

 

After completing my Bachelors degree, I came to study at the University of Southern California which is one of the top-leading music institutions in the world.

The professor I’m studying with right now is Professor Daniel Pollack who is a world-renowned pianist (1^st Tchaikovsky International Competition Winner) and an educator. I feel that I have grown so much throughout my first year from studying with him, and being colleagues with many talented artists from all over the world was a challenging and inspiring experience.

However, attending USC Thornton School of Music is extremely expensive. During my first year, I borrowed a vast amount of money, a loan of $40, 000, from the Japanese government, and they would not lend me any more for the second year. Since last summer, I have been working very hard doing multiple part time jobs unrelated to music. One job starts very early morning, and the other one in the evening, so that I have limited time to practice the piano during the afternoon. From all the money which I earned and have been saving, I could pay off my living fee and part of the tuition, but it is still not enough… I really do not want to give up at this point, as my hope is to complete my Masters Degree in music at USC and still continue my studies in order to be successful in my music career.

 

 

 

 

Although music is not visible to our eyes, I believe that music has a strong power that can move people’s hearts and souls inside of them, and I want to continue bringing music to people in the hope of making them happy and enriching their lives.

 

私は音楽の力というものを強く信じています。経済的な豊かさ、教育が受けられる豊かさ・・・「豊かさ」というのは色々な形がありますが、人間にとって一番重要なのは、"心の豊かさ"ではないでしょうか。今まで数多くの舞台を踏んできましたが、音楽と人の心の強い関係性を感じ、音楽を続けていてよかったと実感するのは、観客の方が「来てよかった」と涙ながらに言ってくれる時です。音楽という、限られた時間と空間の芸術を他者と共有し、感動し、少しでも人々の幸せに貢献できるということが生きがいに感じるのです。

 

その心の豊かさを少しでも多くの人に私が提供できれば・・・そんな願いを込めて、演奏の際には一音一音を大切に弾くことを心がけています。音楽を聴いた観客が一斉に涙する、目には見えないけれど人の心を動かせるほどの力を音楽は持っています。これからも更に上を目指し、ピアニストとして大成し、世界中の人々に美しい音楽を届けたい。

 

I truly believe that music is a strong tool to move people’s emotions. Music can be used to touch so many hearts and help people. I have had many performance opportunities, but the happiest moment for me is when audience members cry or feel happiness after my concerts. It is not that they are amazed by techniques, but that they ‘feel’ something from the music.

 

Music is all about sharing the limited time, space, and the art together, and I feel great joy if I can enrich their life, or their day, even a little. I still want to grow as a better musician, and would be delighted to share my experiences in the field of music, hoping to help make people happier and make the world a better place.
 

このご支援、絶対に無駄にすることはなく、これからの経験に生かしていき、皆様に恩返しをします。どうかご支援よろしくお願いいたします。

 

Thank you so much for taking your time to read this. I appreciate any of your help, and I promise that I will continue to grow and give back this to everyone. Every bit of help makes a huge difference toward reaching the goal, so thank you so much!!

 

 

Misaki Saito grew up in Yamanashi, Japan and began playing the piano at age eight. She has enjoyed a variety of experiences playing in communities in the United States and Japan, such as at vocational aid centers, hospitals, nursing centers, and recital halls. Ms. Saito is dedicated to bringing music to these locations in the hope of bringing happiness and relaxation. She is devoted to this calling due to her handicapped sister, who has given her inspiration to express music to all humanity.

 

Ms. Saito is now a first year Master of Music performance student at the Thornton School of Music in University of Southern California, studying with the eminent pianist Daniel Pollack. She attended the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan from 2007-2010. She attended Lynn University Conservatory of Music on full scholarship with Roberta Rust. She studied piano previously with Naoko Watanabe, Michael Coonrod, and organ with Thomas Bara. She performed in master classes of pianists Philippe Entremont, Jon Kimura Parker, Rebecca Penneys, Ory Shihor, Brian Preston, Thomas Lymenstull, and Robert Palmer, among others. She also was a participant in chamber music master classes with eminent violinist’s Elmar Oliveira and Midori. She also was a winner of Walenstein Competition in May 2013.

 

In addition to playing the piano, she developed a variety of interests such as ballet, figure-ice skating, Japanese traditional dance, voice, musical theatre, and ping-pong. She also is a photographer of Getty Images, Inc.

 

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♪サンクスレター

・・・手書きで寄付してくださった方々に丁寧にお手紙を書きます。

 

♪LAお土産

・・・寄付金額によってリターンのお土産内容は変わります。

詳細は、サイドバーに書いてあるのでそちらをご覧ください。

 

内容：人気オーガニックマーケット Trader Joe's, Whole Foods等の限定エコバッグ、日本では手に入らない研磨剤を多く含んだ歯が白くなる歯磨き粉、ボディ及びフェイスに使えるアメリカで大人気のOLAY石鹸、アメリカでしか売られていないRanchドレッシング、LA限定デザインスターバックスマグ、南カリフォルニア大学限定グッズ、アメリカ限定デザインTシャツ等

 

♪コンサート出張

・・・全国どこでも出張でリサイタルをしに行かせていただきます！（ただし、交通費・宿泊費は除きます

 

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*Return Gifts*

Plan A: 3,000yen ($30)
I will send you a thank-you letter!!

Plan B: 10,000yen ($100)
Thank-you letter and a CD

Plan C: 10,000yen ($100)
Thank-you letter and Japanese Candy and Snacks (Matcha green tea Kit-Kat as an example)

Plan D: 30,000yen ($300)

Thank-you letter, CD, Japanese Candy and Snacks OR Japanese goods (Japanese fans, Tenugui-towel, or chopsticks) *Choose one

Plan E: 50,000yen ($500)

Thank-you letter, CD, Japanese candy and snacks or Japanese goods, AND a set of “breathtaking views of Japan” summer series from PAS-POL (this includes one of my pictures which are sold throughout Japan)

 

Plan F: 100,000yen ($1,000)

Contents of Plan E + A private concert just for you! (except travel and accommodation expenses)

 

*Just to know that return gifts can be flexible and negotiable, if you do not eat sweets or not really interested in Japanese goods, I will think of another ideas just for you!