Nanae Mimura is hailed as one of the most exciting marimba virtuosos of her generation, receiving tremendous praise for both her technical mastery and depth of expression. Winner of the 1999 Concert Artists Guild Competition, she is also the recipient of the prestigious Percussive Arts Society Competition Solo Marimba Prize, the Settimane Musicale di Lugano Solo Competition Prize, and the Japan Percussion Society Award.
She has performed numerous concerts in the USA, Japan, Central America, South America, Europe, and Asia since her debut in 1999. Sony Classical Japan released her debut CD recording, “Marimba Spiritual” in 2000, followed by an extensive Sony “Image” Tour of Japan. Recently, her second CD recording, “Universe” has been released in 2002. She has been featured on radio, television, and in the media throughout Japan. She finished her Master degree in Marimba at The Boston Conservatory in the spring of 2000. Currently, she is a part time faculty at Berklee College of Music in Boston, while she performs concerts in all over the world.
A Way to a Meaningful Performance
People who I admire move me in many ways through their great abilities to communicate. They could be movie stars, authors, musicians, or just close friends around me. After wondering how they affected me, I realized they all have something in common. They all know who they really are, and they all have a deep understanding of what they are trying to convey, each through a unique talent. This probably means that they have already established their identities in their own ways. As a musician, I strive to make my audience feel good about my performance. I do not think it is wrong for me to say that all musicians wish to move audiences with their music. In order to do this, it is most important to really know yourself.
It is essential for you to find out and know what you are good at and what kind of music brings out your best. I teach undergraduate students at the Berklee College of Music. Most of them do not know their abilities as musicians yet. Of course, part of my job is to help them with their technical weakness. It is very important to pay attention to your weakness and overcome that, because you want to give a “high quality performance.” However, that is not the only thing I spend time on. I put a lot of emphasis on helping them find their strong qualities and how to amplify them. I do this so they know and accept their unique qualities, which will lead them to achieve a “meaningful performance.” I believe that meaningful performances (or concerts in which you actually communicate your feelings and thoughts to your audience through music) happen only when you make full use of your best qualities as a musician.
In any setting, when a person wants to communicate with others, one needs to have “confidence” and “persuasive power.” For example, if I want to persuade someone about something about which I have little understanding, I would try to use someone else’s words or surface knowledge that I obtained from a book. Even if I were able to make sense with words, those words might not have enough power to affect anyone. In order to have successful communication, I need to have a deeprooted knowledge. The same thing applies to musical performances. They come from having a deeprooted knowledge of your instrument, as well as carefully chosen repertoire that best reflects your qualities. In addition, much care should be put into phrasing, as well as mallet choice and stroke. You must have a clear vision of what it is that you would like to convey to your audience.
Remember, you need to have a good understanding about yourself. It is when you are confident of your intention that your originality and identity will be established. With that, your music will become more meaningful and you will be able to give a performance that has power to affect your audience. This is why I strongly believe that having an original identity is one of the most important elements of being an artist.
Originally posted as part of Yamaha’s “Tips From the Pros” campaign
