The artist catalogue for the Regional Creation Support Programme is updated once every few years. For me, the process is also an opportunity to reflect on the direction I would like to pursue as a performer.Over the past few years, I have been fortunate to have opportunities to perform works for harmonica and orchestra. I used to feel overwhelmed by orchestral music. Perhaps this was only natural, but there were so many sounds that I did not know which ones to listen to, and I felt almost dizzy trying to take them all in.
Because of this, I was more drawn to chamber music and unaccompanied works—music in which I could clearly follow individual lines of sound. Bach’s solo works, of course, as well as the intimate piano sounds of Mompou, and Tallis.
In much the same way, at that time I would sometimes draw during breaks from practising, but I always worked in pencil and never added colour. I think I felt uneasy about defining something by choosing and applying colour to the drawing.
As time has passed, I have realised that, somewhere along the way, I have come to enjoy orchestral music. I rarely find the kind of quiet, focused time that feels right for drawing, but last year, when I drew some autumn leaves that were exceptionally beautiful, I found myself nervously adding colour to them.