Quite a few young people today pursue music, either as a hobby or as a future career. How did they first become involved with music? For some, the introduction was through the piano lessons they took as children; for others, it was playing a wind instrument in the school band. Some may have heard a stirring piece of music performed on television and decided they wanted to compose something themselves. These or any number of similar experiences may have opened the door to their involvement with music.

But what gives them the motivation to continue? What I think of first in this connection is the importance of one’s direct experience with music’s emotional power. Above all, it is that emotional response to music, or the memory of it, that motivates one to stick with it despite the often grueling routine of daily practice or the frustration of struggling with some piece, passage, or technique that one just can’t get right.

As one continues with music, experiencing different varieties and levels of emotional response, one may begin to feel a yearning to move others as an artist, and this, I imagine, is what inspires many people to devote their lives to music. In time, this idea crystallizes into a more concrete dream, be it that of performing as a soloist, of playing in an orchestra, of touring the world as a top-tier artist, or of teaching music to children. These are the dreams that propel young musicians onward. The four years of study at music college correspond to the period in young musicians’ lives when their passion for music reaches a peak of intensity, clarity, and specificity.

I believe that a music college’s mission is to impart the knowledge and skills for which its students thirst, provide opportunities for their application in the form of free musical expression, and constructively critique the outcomes, in order to develop each student’s potential without inhibiting his or her individuality. But another key aspect of that mission is fostering the spirit of collaboration, which is integral to the study of music. Music is created through various kinds of collaboration—among performers, between performers and composers, and also between performers and their audience. The collaborative spirit students learn through their music studies and the communication skills that support such collaboration are just as important as the purely musical side of their education.

Moving others with one’s music is not an easy thing to do. To do it, an artist needs deep learning and sensitivity, of course, but also countless hours of practice, repeated performance opportunities (recitals), and above all a strong desire to express something to others—for it is that desire that supplies the raw power by which music is able to move its listeners. It is my hope that, through the study of music, individual students at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music will develop both the musical abilities and the personal qualities they will need to make their own dreams come true.