Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Childrens Music Project


So here is a brief glimpse of one of the new projects I am working on! Below is the brief summary  of the kids music project that I am currently involved with. Please dont hesitate to contact me if you would like to be involved in any way!

                                                                           

December 2012                           Hope through the Arts

Just like a birthday will not be completed without the song, sometimes music is crucially needed
for different occasions and disaster relief is no exception. Can 復興 (Revival) come to Ishinomaki
without music and singing praises that revive our soul and lift our spirit? As the Great Eastern
Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster relief moves from the physical to the emotional care we
seek to fully complete the restoration of community. The opportunity for music to be a key part of the restoration is now.

We are planning to have a Celebrating the Arts Music Festival on July 6th, 2013. The purpose is to continue and advance with the "Hope" that we have been proclaiming through past relief work and to have a time to believe and rejoice over the future of Ishinomaki.

The very thing that make this music festival unique is that it ties into a 12 week children's music
program held at various schools and locations throughout Ishinomaki. Each performing artist that
participates in the Festival on July 6, 2013 will choose one to three songs to sing/play with the
children at the festival. Musically trained Children Music staff and volunteers will then rehearse the songs that artist chose with the children for 12 weeks prior to the festival. The performing artist will either check how the rehearsal is going by either coming in and direct a rehearsal or by listening to recording of the rehearsal. By having involvement from the performer throughout the rehearsal process will give the music a high quality not other-wised easily acheived.

This music festival will be held in Ishinomaki but will be advertised from Minami Sanriku to Sendai
and surrounding areas. We will be working with not only professional musicians but also the local
community to bring together this opportunity.

This program is being set up as a pilot program with hopes it will spread to other cities affected
by the disaster in the future. Furthermore, the program will set up where the children will have
more teacher/helper per students. This will gives us an opportunity to have more time to build
relationships, not just musically, but through casual or serious areas dealing with their lives.

We are in desperate need for your support. To fully accomplish this mission we need Christ's body working together, everybody as one body, it's the body that the gate of hell cannot prevail. Whether support be prayer, offering of time/resource, volunteering it is for one cause to bringing His will and His heaven on earth.


An example schedule of a week (subject to change):
4-5 pm 6-7 pm 7-8 pm
classical workshop gospel choir workshop classical choir workshop
Monday-
Higamatsushima ministry afterschool program -Ikera Tateishi pastor
Tuesday-
Ishinomaki: Kamizoku base(children from Be-One & GMT connections),
Wednesday-
Watanoha middle school
Thursday-
Minato middle school
Friday-
Ogatsu middle school


Ways to Help:
We need volunteer support;
-Music Teachers
-set up of the festival and during the festival
-assisting with following up with students and their families

We need financial support for the following:
-transportation/board for teachers during the 12 week work shops and for students on the day of the
festival
-music- printing for the 12 week after school program
-rental space-San Juan Park in Ishinomaki
-Stage
-Sound System

Approximate Budget for the actual festival(does not include 12 week program involving the
workshops) :¥300,000
Current Partnering Organizations: Mission to the World, Grace Mission Tohoku, Ishinomaki
Christian Center, Tsukuda Loves Tohoku, Brave Action, Japan Presbyterian Mission, Samaritan’s
Purse Japan.

Contact information:
Artistic Director: Ryo Amano 090-6117-8304 ryo@communityarts.jp
Field Director: Virginia Lavallee 080-4440-5007 virginia@communityarts.jp


Please use the following bank account for financial support.
For giving from a bank atm:
コミュニティーアーツ東京
ゆうちょ銀行店名 〇五八
店号 058
口座番号 0060778
For giving from a post office atm:
コミュニティーアーツ東京
ゆうちょ銀行
記号 10560
番号 607781
For American tax deduction please go to the following linkhttps://
donations.mtw.org/donate/
type in-
“Japan Children’s Project #96018

Merry Christmas!!

 Christmas has been a fun season here in Ishinomaki! I have been able to participate in many different Christmas events with various organizations here. It has been an awesome opportunity to share about the birth of Christ. Some local people that I have developed close relationships with over the last year say its the first time they have understood the story of the birth of Christ.

December 15- The telling of the Christmas Story through the Advent candles. This was done during the time of our regular saturday event. It was a great time of fellowship and sharing!

Ladies Christmas Tea- This event was held at a cafe that was as former house that Samaritans Purse and GMT helped fix up. Homeowners came and several shared testimonies. I was able to play some christmas songs on my violin.
December 23- Christmas Service with other Christian groups. I got the opportunity to be on the Worship team and assist with other logistics. It is always a fun and challenging experience to sing in another language.
It was great to see many different people come and be apart of the service and  fellowship!

Christmas Eve caroling at temporary housing! Many of us who were in town got together and went Christmas caroling around the Ishinomaki By-Pass Temporary housing! It was great fun and the folks at the temporary housing enjoyed it too.


Thanks for praying over the past year for the work here in Northeast Japan.
Please pray with me as I continue to work on developing this coming summers schedule and the childrens music project with various organizations.