About ten minutes before we were to attend the welcoming ceremony at Hirono junior high school in Uji, the administration asked if we would sing for them! It took us approximately eight minutes to vote on a song. I am not sure if we ever got to practice. However, as the only music teacher in the group, I can honestly say that I think we sounded good. More important, the Hirono music teacher conducted the band in a well-done medley of American Swing music. She then conducted an excellent choral program. I am sure that their skill exceeded ours.
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Later, we attended assigned classes. My favorite part of the day was a visitation to the eighth grade choral rehearsal. I was impressed by the skill of the choral director and the attentiveness of the students. I was also pleased to be asked to model choral music that was familiar to me. I found that you really can teach/conduct music even when the students speak a different language. In other words, yes, music does feel like a universal language.
I believe that many of our group were impressed by the candidness of the administration and staff during our end of the day question and answer period. I also think it was a little hard for us to leave the school at the end of the day.