Song of Hope

2011 was a disastrous year for Japan: on March 11 the northeast of the country suffered a violent earthquake, which triggered a huge tsunami and caused massive damage to people and the environment. The ensuing problems with the nuclear reactor at Fukushima only increased the misery: a black day in the country's history... One almost inevitable consequence of such dramatic circumstances is the particular damage suffered by the cultural arts. And so it was in Japan: various high school wind orchestras in the effected areas lost their practice rooms and/or instruments. It will take a long time before the damage suffered is repaired - and it will take great effort to overcome the psychological effects, too. Focusing on the latter, Yutada Nishida (director of The Bandwagon radio program) asked a few composers for a simple work that could be played by many orchestras. It just so happened that the Osakan Philharmonic Winds (with whom Jan Van der Roost had conducted a concert exclusively of his own works on September 25th) had had a similar idea. This concert saw the baptism of Song of Hope. This piece immediately struck a chord with musicians and audience alike: it begins bleakly in the low register and evolves to a more open, optimistic close. There really is hope for better times!