Predicting How the Set Pieces Will End in the 2023 All Japan Band Competition!!

Last year’s All Japan Band Competition brought a lot of great performances despite the impact from the pandemic. Some of the recordings of the set pieces for next year’s competition were already released, so in this article, I’m going to give all of you my personal impressions of these pieces.

■ Set Piece I
March “Kirameki no Asa (Shimmering Morning)” (Winner of the 32nd Asahi Composition Award for Wind Orchestra)
Composed by Keigo Makino

About the Composer

Composer Keigo Makino won the 32nd Asahi Composition Award for Wind Orchestra at the age of 17, making him the youngest recipient of the award. He is a senior at Sapporo Tsukisamu High School in Hokkaido, and is a tuba player and the leader of the brass band club. He has already shown his talent by winning the Encouragement Prize at the 30th TIAA All Japan Composers Competition and the Excellence Prize for the fanfare at the opening ceremony of the 2023 National High School Sports Festival.

I tried to predict how this piece was going to sound like

The title “Kirameki no Asa (Shimmering Morning)”, reflected in the sparkling pond at the park on his way to school and the brass band members’ summer’s long effort. This march expresses memories that every brass band member has experienced, such as the excitement of hearing the standard piece for brass band “Takarajima (Treasure Island)” for the first time. I took a brief pause to imagine that the composer’s kōhais were going to play this piece enthusiastically at the competition, and I became so emotional! After listening to the first minute of the piece, the first thing that stood out to me was that the melody starts on the second beat. It is quite uncharacteristic for a march to begin after the first rest with an “unttanta-tatta”. The beautiful melody that follows after the fanfare also sounds like sparkles.

■ Set Piece II
“Polonaise and Aria -For Wind Orchestra-”
Composed by Hideki Miyashita

About the Composer

“Polonaise and Aria -For Wind Orchestra-” was composed by Hideki Miyashita, who is known as the composer of “Yell March”, a popular piece for brass bands and was a set piece in 2021. Miyashita is the director of the brass band club of Toyano Junior High School in Niigata City. He conducted his “Yell March” at the 2021 All Japan Band Competition where the school for the first time qualified for the West Kanto Competition.

I tried to predict how this piece was going to sound like

‘Polonaise’ in the title means ‘Polish’ in French. Its main characteristic is its 3/4 time signature that is based on the rhythm found in Polish folk dances.

Also, since the dance ends with a goodbye on the third beat, the rhythm also has a rest on the third beat. I am looking forward to seeing how this distinctive rhythm will be used throughout the piece. ‘Aria’ in the title refers to a piece found in opera music that was written for a solo voice with an orchestra in the background. This word is often used to describe a piece with a lyrical melody.
Listening to the first minute of the piece, it seems that the key will determine how the band will play their interpretation of the Polonaise rhythm. The way to play this piece will likely vary from school to school, and the unfamiliar rhythm seems to be quite difficult to play. However, I personally would love to play this piece the most.

■ Set Piece Ⅲ
Retro (Commissioned Work by the All Japan Band Association)
Composed by Masamichi Amano

About the Composer

Masamichi Amano is the composer of the pieces Cinema Cimmerique, Tenrai Mubo, Symphonic Selections from “GR”, and other famous pieces that you will always hear when you go to these competitions. I myself am from Kashiwa City, Japan, so I remember being very surprised when I heard Cinema Cimmerique performed by Kashiwa Municipal High School. It was a very cool experience (albeit a very long time ago). Amano worked extensively as an arranger for the anime OST’s on Neon Genesis Evangelion and Attack on Titan, as well as composing for various video games. His music is characterized for having strong and beautiful melodies.

Incidentally, Evangelion Wind Symphony concerts conducted by Masamichi Amano himself will be held in March and April 2023, so if you are interested, I definitely recommend that you go see them live in concert!

SOUND NAVI Event Information

I tried to predict how this piece was going to sound like

‘Retro’ is a word that comes to mind when you see an old-fashioned candy store or an old TV set. Recently, “Heisei Retro” is a trending word, but ‘ retro’ is sometimes a word to describe nostalgic things from the past.
After listening to the first minute of this piece, I felt that this piece had a lot of character and stood out among the pieces in this year’s competition. In a good way, this piece does not sound like it was meant for a wind band competition. It seems to be divided into several movements, so the mood seems to change drastically from one movement to the next. I am curious to hear the rest.

■ Set Piece IV
March “Dream of Pegasus”
Composed by Toru Minakuchi

About the Composer

Toru Minakuchi is a trumpet player from Hokkaido and is active as an arranger as well as a performer.
When I hear Minakuchi’s name, I think of the fantastic “Warabeuta” suite and “Zui-Zui-Zukkorobashi” for brass septet and percussion. He has also arranged many other ensembles such as Debussy’s “The Toy-Box” and Byrd’s “Fantasia”, which I am sure many of you have played before.

I tried to predict how this piece was going to sound like

Pegasus is a mythical horse with wings (apparently a unicorn is a mythical horse with a horn). I don’t know if it has anything to do with this piece yet, but in the world of dream interpretations, dreams featuring Pegasus are said to have meanings of freedom, success, and aspirations. I wonder if that has anything to do with this piece or not… The first minute of this piece is slower and more relaxed than the first minute of Set Piece I. It seems to be quite difficult to play because the beginning of the melody is sometimes on the offbeat, which could cause the breakdown of the overall rhythm that is moving on the downbeat. I am looking forward to seeing how each school will decide whether they will play this piece in a march style or in a classical style.

Wait a minute! What about Set Piece V?

As a way to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the All Japan Band Association, Set Piece V was originally added to discover and showcase young Japanese composers. Many masterpieces written by Japanese composers were performed in this competition, and nowadays, the number of schools performing pieces composed by Japanese composers has dramatically increased compared to competitions from the past. Set Piece V is no longer part of the competition because the goal of finding new talent had now been accomplished. Of course, the competition will continue to be open to the public for Sets I through IV.

Set Pieces I-IV, First minute only

To briefly explain, these are the four pieces that were selected for the 2023 competition.
Since only the first minute of each piece has been released to the public, I have taken the liberty to think about what the pieces will be like in my imagination, but please note that it is quite possible that the full-length pieces will be completely different from what I expected in this article! The concert where you can listen to set pieces in full is going to be held next month, and the CDs and DVDs are scheduled to be shipped subsequently from the end of January. Until then, you can try to guess what the music is going to be like.

There are many items that will be indispensable for practice during the next upcoming competition season! We have prepared a comprehensive page for useful items for brass band practice, so please go take a look!