Japanese Musicians Here Reflect On Their Homeland's Devastation
VALPARAISO, Ind. (CBS) -- A group of world-class musicians who barely escaped the devastation in Japan is performing in Chicagoland this weekend.
Some of the members talked with CBS 2's Pamela Jones about their passion for music – and the pain of those they left behind in their homeland.
They're members of Bach Collegium Japan, touted as one of the best baroque ensemble and chamber choirs in the world. Saturday night, Valaparaiso University is hosting the group as part of a five-city U.S. tour.
Many of the 53 members escaped the tragedy in Japan just after the earthquake hit.
Naoko Imai plays organ for the group. She was in Sendai when, she says, three minutes of earth shaking beneath her seemed like an eternity.
"I was so scared," she said. "That night, I was in the car. I spent all night in my own car."
She says her cell phone battery died. Her only source of information about what was going on came from the GPS monitor in her car, where she learned about 300 people who disappeared almost immediately.
Colleague Hidemi Suzuki was in Tokyo at the time and remembers watching the devastation unfold on television.
"Everyday, we see newspapers, the number of dead increases. It's very hard," he said.
Suzuki plays cello. He and his brother, conductor Maestro Masaaki Suzuki, feel fortunate to be able to share the Bach Mass in B-Minor.
"The music must be very, very good," Suzuki said, "As musicians, we always seek perfection."
Suzuki says the mass itself creates a kind of sanity amid the emotional chaos many of the members are experiencing right now.
Christopher M. Cock, director of the Bach Institute at Valparaiso University, says the mass is a unique way for the artists to express their anguish, pride and resolve.
"There perhaps is no greater work in the literature that suggests our shared humanity than this piece," he says. "So I think that for a group of musicians that this would be the work that they perform at this time means more to them than probably anything they could express."
The artists say it's extremely difficult to push back thoughts of home and focus on the moment and the music before them, but it's part of their training. It's also an effort to convey their love for their family and friends in Japan.
"It gives us a lot of energy and encouragement. So I think this music is very helpful for us," Masaaki Suzuki said.
Saturday's performance begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Chapel at Valparaiso University. The group's next stop is Carnegie Hall. For more information about Bach Collegium Japan, click here.
