Video Game Orchestra (VGO) Symphony Hall Concert October 2012

As one might expect, the days around the concert were filled with anxiety and anticipation. Will is succeed or fail? Will things run smoothly? What might go wrong? Despite these feelings of worry, I was quite elated. Why? Because it was really setting in that I was able to work with some people that I have admired for a long time. I played their music, I listened to the OST, I played the games... these people were really here and I was having froyo with them? And drinking with them? o.O Surreal. But they are all truly amazing people. Not just saying this as a fan, but honestly some of the most humble, gracious, kindhearted, and fun people I have ever met. I am so grateful for these fond memories and the experience!

やっぱり本番前はみんな結構ピリピリしていました。成功するかしないかで緊張が張り巡らされた空気の中、まほは一人ルンルン気分でした。なぜかとゆうのやっぱり憧れの作曲家さんたちと一緒に週末を過ごせたり、フローズンヨーグルトを一緒に食べたりしたからです！皆さんとっても素敵な方で本当、良かったです！なんかもう好きだったのにもっともっと好きになりました！って… 告白みたいw でも、本当に素敵な思い出になりました！将太さん、本当にありがとうございます。

自由行動で皆さんとフローズンヨーグルトタイム！

なぜかキューリがトッピング…？

Went out for froyo and sight seeing! 

Why is there a topping choice of cucumber? O.o 

バークレーでのQ&A

Berklee Q&A Session

下村さんとツーショット！

私の大好きなゲームの作曲家、下村さんに会えてとても光栄です！とっても素敵な人なので会って、更にOSTが好きになりました！本当にありがとうございます！

Photo with Shimomura-san!

I am very honored to have met the composer of one of my favorite games of all time! KINGDOM HEARTS!!! After meeting her, I fell in love with the OST even more. Thank you! 

岩垂さんとツーショット！

岩垂さんが作曲したグランディアのOSTを聞くといつもいい気分で一日中ニコニコしてます！会えてすごく嬉しかったです！ありがとう~❢ 

Photo with Iwadare-san

Every time I listen to the OST from Grandia, I am in a good mood for the day! Thank you!!!!!!! 

VGO 本番前のリハーサル

VGO Dress Rehearsal 

本日のファッションはこんな感じ！フリフリピンクのワンピと黒いニーハイブーツ！

Today's fashion for MahoMaho! Frilly pink dress and black knee high boots! <3 

いよいよ…

Setting up for tonight's concert! 

コンサートはお友達と見ることが出来ました！

やっぱり生オケ最高…

オケに叶うものなんてマジでないです。

I was able to see the concert with my friends! 

Live orchestra is the best thing in the world.

NOTHING is better than live orchestra!!! <3

コンマスの翔くん！NYからコンサートの為に来ました！

素敵なバイオリニストです！

AMAZING VIOLINIST!! Sho Omagari was the concert master for this concert and he came all the way from NY!

最後の方に勇気を出してサインを頼んじゃった…

皆さんお疲れなのに… 私って厚かましい…

でも！サインしてくれました！

下村さんも「LOVE」って特別に書いてくれました！

岩垂さんの「ありがとう」もなんとなくジーンっと来ました！

宝物にします！

＼（＾∀＾）メ（＾∀＾）ノ

At the end of the VIP session, I summoned all of my courage and asked for the composers to sign my program!

I know how tired everyone must be and felt selfish for asking... 

BUT THEY GRACIOUSLY SIGNED FOR ME!!!

Shimomura-san even wrote "LOVE" for me! 

And Iwadare-san wrote "Thank you"

I am so full of gratitude and awe....

I will treasure this forever!!! 

コンサート と VIP Meet and Greet 終了後

UNO'Sでの飲み会

最高！

皆さん、お疲れ様でした！

VGO のコンサート本当に楽しかったです！

After the concert and the VIP Meet and Greet!

Celebrating at Uno's! 

What an incredible weekend... Thank you for everything Shota and VGO staff! 

Translator? O.o

VGOがなんとボストンシンフォニーホールで演奏するっと聞きびっくりしました！

え？ ｢(ﾟﾍﾟ) 嘘！？マジで？カッコイイじゃん！てか羨ましい！ｶﾞ━━Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)━━ﾝ!!

そんな時、将太さんからメールが来ました。通訳の手伝いをしてって頼まれた時、正直ビビりました。まほでいいの？まほ通訳なんてほとんどやってないよ… てか、やったけど雑誌とかで好きなとき時間たっぷりの状態でしかやったことないよ！てゆうか将太さん英語ペラペラじゃん… 誰の通訳？っと聞いてみたら… 

(･_･ ) ( ･_･)ｷｮﾛｷｮﾛ…

日本のゲーム音楽の作曲さんたち… てかめっちゃ惹かれの人ばっかり！
下村 陽子さん、岩垂徳行さん、西 隆宏さん、山下 絹代さん と崎元 仁さん！！！！！
なんじゃこりゃ！？！？絶対嘘だ！てかすごすぎる！！まほマジでこの人達と仕事してもいいの？


すごい！！！（ToT）


「やります！頑張ります！ありがとうございます！」＼(>o<)／

幸せ… <3 ううう～ボストン来てよかったよ… （泣） 

VGO was going to perform a concert at Symphony Hall in October! I was so surprised! I thought to myself, "Wait... what? Really? ZOMG!! I'M SO JEALOUS!!" Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)

Soon after, I received a call from Shota asking me to help as a translator. Honestly, I was a little scared. I had only translated for video interviews or articles in which you have ample time to think and respond but on the spot translations for interviews was something that I had never done professionally. And then the thought occurred to me that Shota is fluent in English. Maybe not amazing, but certainly good enough... who was I going to translate for? 


(･_･ ) ( ･_･) .......

When he told me, I passed out a little inside. I have admired all of these composers for so many years!! LEGENDS!!! Yoko Shimomura-san (Kingdom Hearts!!!!!!), Noriyuki Iwadare-san (Ace Attorney and Grandia), Nishi Takahiro-san (Sound Director for Lunar: Eternal Blue!), Kinuyo Yamashita-san (Castlevania and MegaMan X3!), and Hitoshi Sakimoto-san (FFXII and FF Tactics!!!)!!!!!! WHAT!?! NO WAY!! OMG! BE STILL MY HEART!!! >_<

"OF COURSE I'LL DO IT!!! I WILL TRY MY BEST!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!"

So much happiness and excitement... ::sigh:: So glad I came to Boston... ::tear::

Video Game Orchestra in Boston!

Video Game Orchestra, VGO is a rock band + orchestra collaboration originating in Boston with Shota Nakama, the producer, orchestrator, and guitarist for the group. I had heard of VGO and had seen some of their videos online and on YouTube. My previous band, Select Start had performed at similar venues in the past, but I had never met them before, so I decided to shoot Mr. Nakama an email saying hello and wondering if I could play with them sometime. I didn't really expect to hear back, since I had emailed Eminence Orchestra in the past with no reply, but to my super pleasant surprise, he emailed me back within 2 hours!! O.O The next day, he was going to be in the Harvard area and suggested that we meet somewhere to chat.
ヴィデオゲームオーケストラ、VGOはボストンで活動を中心としてるオケです。まほはYouTubeとかで拝見したことがあったけど、実際に見たことがなく非常に興味を持っていました。Select Start も演奏した MAGFest とかで名前を聞き、ボストンに引越すんだったら、メールを送ってみようかなって軽いノリでメールしました。Eminence にも一度メールを送って見たら返事がなかったのであまり期待しなかったけど、びっくり！2時間以内にVGOの生みの親、仲間将太さんから返事が来ました！早っ！∑(O_O；)Shock！！

At first, I was nervous to speak with him. There are not many Japanese people in Florida and so I was worried that my conversation skills would not be adequate! I didn't know if he spoke English well or not so I could not rely on that and kept worrying about whether or not we could have good conversation at all!
初めは緊張しました。フロリダ州ではほとんど日本人がいないので何となくしゃべるのが怖かったです。「変な日本語喋ったらどうしよう…」っとか 「会話が止まったらどうしょう…」っとか色々心配しながら会いました。(~-~;)ヾ(-_-;) ｵｲｵｲ...

But when I did meet him, he was not a scary person but a very peculiar individual. He seemed to have his own world around him at all times and even while talking to him, I wasn't sure whether or not he was bored or just in thought half of the time. But despite being 6 years older than me, I felt like I was conversing with a colleague. He has a very relaxed way about him that can be comfortable if one gets used to it lol.
でも会ったら別に怖い人ではなく、とてもマイペースな人でした。初めての印象は「変わってる人だなぁ…」っと思っちゃった。6年も歳上なのにまるで同い年と喋ってるみたいだったので。あと、退屈しているのかただ単にリラックスしているのか、とにかく良く分からなくってちょっと気分的に不安な一日でした。

The first time we spoke, he said some pretty rude things to me. The one that I remember the most clearly is when I told him that if he ever needs a flute player, I would love to play and he replied, "There are too many flute players, I never need flute players. Even if I had one, you can't hear it anyways."
結構失礼なこともズバッと言われたりしました。「もしフルートが必要でしたら教えてね！」っと言ったら彼はこう言いました 「フルートは要らないでしょう。いっぱいいるし… いても聞こえないし。」

―(T_T)→　サクッ

ムカ。（`皿′）

I was quite irked but then I thought, well, he is entitled to his opinions. I don't have to like him. Since then, I have never once thought that I wanted to play with VGO. I want to 1-up them! RAWR!
Thinking these thoughts, I simply smiled and continued our chat in a different direction.
でもまぁ… いいや… この人の思ってることなんて… っと思いもう一緒に演奏したいなんて思ったこと一度もないですw。「ヤローふざけるなよ」っと思いながらニコッリっと笑うまほでした。
( ・_・)⌒°=θ☆( >_<) パコ

 People = Flute Players

Despite some moments, talking to Shota was amusing! We chatted for about 4 hours over Japanese pasties, coffee, and ramen! I soon discovered that Boston has MANY cash only places! I never carry cash!!! lol Lesson learned. hehe
でも会話は結構楽しかったので4時間一緒にコーヒー飲んだりラーメンを食べました。Cash Only がこんなに多いなんて… さすがボストン！お金が足りなくなったのでちょっとおごってもらっちゃいました… エヘヘ… 会ったあと、もっとこの人のこと知りたいかも？っと思った！

Gainesville to Cambridge! A couple things are different... hehe

The move up to Cambridge was quite the adventure!
ボストンへの引越しはめっちゃ大変でした！＿|￣|○  もう引越しはいいです… しばらくやりたくないですねw

Postives: Cambridge/Boston is a lovely city~! I don't need a car! I love trains! Music is everywhere!
Negatives: Moving to a different state... packing... OMG! WHY IS BOSTON SO HUMID AND HOT!!?!? O.O
ボストンってこんなに暑いの？？日本の夏もそうだけど、ボストンも負けないぐらい暑い… アイスが食べたい… w

In Florida, even if it was icky outside, there is AC everywhere. You can't really go anywhere without it. But here... O.O I have a fan that blows warm air at me... my poor flute is not happy with the humidity.. >.< Waaaaaaaah!!

Moving was absolutely awful! I thought my arms were going to fall off... At one point, my muscles started constricting and I knew I had to stop for awhile. I had orchestral placement auditions the next day and the thought of not practicing + my arms and fingers hurting were bound to make a rough audition (as it was... ::sigh::). 

BUT! We somehow made it! After staying at a Bed and Breakfast for a week and then moving and orientation the following week, at last!! Moving = complete! 

STAGE CLEAR! +5,000 EXP and +5 strength! Hehe 

レベルアップ！経験値 + 5,000 Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ

At the end of orientation week, my new school had a cruise around Boston Harbor! 

Harvard Square! 

Longy School of Music! Looks like a school of Witchcraft and Wizardry... hehe ^^

Boston = BEAUTIFUL! 

っとまぁ… こんな感じでしたw 頑張ります！

Hello~!

♪ Hello~! ヾ(＾∇＾) 
皆さん、こんにちは～！

So... this is my first time owning a blog! O.O Hello internet world! I hope life is exciting! \(^o^)/
I moved up to Cambridge from Florida late August 2012 to work on my ♪ Masters in Music Performance! So far, the journey has been nothing short of incredible! I have been able to meet many fantastic performers, teachers, students, and friends! Boston = <3 音楽最高！

When I was younger, I have always had a strong fondness for video games and anime. Perhaps it was my grandparents I should thank for that lol. My grandfather used to record all of my shows in Japan and ship them to me in Florida! It's probably also why I have not lost my Japanese and for that, I thank them eternally!! Anime was also something that my brother and I bonded with. We liked the same shows and rewatched episodes over and over again. At some point, we both started paying more attention to the music... so many beautiful melodies are created for animes and games! Fun, happy tunes to bittersweet, almost heart wrenching phrases... we were starting to buy the OSTs and figuring out the notes by ear!

やっぱり幼い頃からずっとアニメやゲームが大好きだったので、自然にそのBGMにめっちゃ惹かれました。ただのBGMとかじゃなくって本当に素敵なメロディーがいっぱい聞けるので、憧れました。自分もいつかこうゆう曲をやりたいっと思っちゃった！

As an elementary school student, I remember wanting to learn to play the violin because Kaiou, Michiru, my favorite character from セーラームーン (Sailor Moon), was a violinist! Also! The 外部太陽系三戦士 (the sailor soldiers from the 3 outer planets) had the COOLEST THEME SONG!! All violin, but so exciting! I vowed to pick up violin in orchestra in middle school!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGx88OYQM0Q

But then... I was sent to band camp... Apparently, I was fit to be a flute player. My band director let me skip beginning band and started me in Intermediate Band in 6th grade. Goodbye violin ambitions~... ;_;
But then... Chrono Cross ( クロノ・クロス) came out! After hearing the opening music and watching the opening CG... I was in love. I thought to myself, "I MUST PLAY THE THEME NOW!!" And then from there on, my flute love was born! Naturally, after that, I started getting into band music and classical flute solos, but my love for game and anime OSTs also grew exponentially!

Select Start
Graphic by Kanako Sueyoshi aka Kiki

I went to the University of Florida for my undergrad and had the opportunity to play in a video game cover group called Select Start! My friend from high school was the violinist in this group and when the flute player could not make shows, she asked me to cover his parts. I met many wonderful people through Select Start and performed at events I probably wouldn't think to play at. Conventions were always a blast! But what made the experience so much more was the passion and excitement you could feel at these venues. Hundreds of people excited to hear, see, and experience this world of anime and games!

Select Start performing as the guest for Video Games Live at Hardrock Live, Orlando

It occurred to me here how narrow the world of music can seem on the inside. Music is music, and beautiful music is enjoyable by anyone. It doesn't matter if we play Tchaikovsky Symphony 4 or the theme from .hack//SIGN... if there's good music, let's play it! And there is so much beautiful music today!

.... and here I am today, a first year Masters student in Music Performance with Marco Granados at the Longy School of Music! Let's have some fun! ^_^

Select Start Recording Session