Great Conductor

　　It was three days before the concert (APAC BAND FESTIVAL) that an American conductor arrived in Osaka from Hawaii. His name is Mr. John Bridges. He is the Director of Bands at Honolulu's famous private school (Punahou School), having a reputation of being a man of great skill.
　　He was going to conduct the band (APAC BAND) composed of 90 students of the international schools who came from Osaka and Kobe in Japan, Beijing and Shanghai in China, and Manila in Philippines. Although each student had some band experience in music class or extra curriculum, including a few with only 18 months' career, they were of different nationalities, had various native tongues, and met Mr. Bridges for the first time.
　　Since the members of the band had been given the score for the concert one and half months before, they practiced by themselves. They were worried whether the concert would be successful in this way.
　　My daughter participated in this band. Her first impression of Mr. Bridges was that he was tall and his eyes were sharp. She said, "If I get out of tune, I will be kicked out!" But soon he began to show his remarkable teaching skill.
　　"He has a big ear. He pointed out who got out of tune," said my daughter, so the rehearsal stopped every 5 seconds. The members gradually concentrated on their own part.
　　The rehearsal continued totally 12 hours in two days. He gave lessons to the students, saying "Look at this stick," "Even if something happens, you have to immediately recover," and "Something happens in a concert."
　　Mr. Bridges had played horn in the American (the Chattanooga) symphony orchestra and sung as tenor in (the San Antonio) Symphony Mastersingers. He also led his John Bridges Brass Quintet for many years. He has taught bands in secondary schools, and has served as guest clinician, conductor, and judge for band contests across the United States for 41 years. He has devoted his life to music education.
　　I went to the concert. Its most exciting part was "West Side Story" arranged by Naohiro Iwai, on which he conducted 90 members into perfect harmony and created dynamic rhythm.
　　I was impressed by his gentle smile and words, "Music is universal language."
　　As for great master of music I remember Mr.Takashi Asahina, Japanese famous conductor, who died last December. Mr. Bridges also deserves the title of maestro, for he teaches the importance of harmony in human society to young people over the world through music education.The bio of John Bridges