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Meet the Musician:
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Reiko Ichise
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People often ask me if I started on the cello before picking up Gamba. I never had the opportunity to learn cello, but the piano was my first musical instrument. When I was four years old, I started playing the piano. I used to spend hours at the piano, playing along to songs I made up in my head. My first piano teacher was my mother. When I was ten years old, I decided to attend music school under the naive assumption that I could only study music and no other subjects, such as math and physics.
I was never an exemplary student. During my formative years, I developed a more eclectic musical taste and experienced some academic difficulties. I spent my teenage years mostly playing the keyboard in a Japanese indie techno band...
Then came a turning point moment in my life: seeing my musical hero, the great pianist Martha Argerich, performing in Tokyo! I had never heard such a powerful, almost growling sound from a piano before. I was speechless after this unforgettable performance. On the train ride home, I mindlessly flipped through concert flyers. One of the flyers featured a strange string instrument with seven strings and frets. The name of the instrument was viola da gamba. The lady with the gamba studied musicology at the music college where I was supposed to enroll. I asked my mother, who had taken me to the amazing Argerich concert, about the musicology course. My mother was rather dismissive and advised me to stay away from musicology and gamba.... The next day, I went to a music library to research the musicology course and listened to a recording of Nicolas Harnoncourt performing Bach's gamba sonata!.... Despite my parents' strong opposition, I enrolled in a four-year undergraduate musicology programme rather than a piano course. The course was perfect for quenching my curiosity! I read Theodor Adorno, attended a seminar on John Cage's music, and joined a Balinese gamelan orchestra, all while learning to play the gamba and Ryuteki (a Japanese ancient flute)... it was the ideal course for a confused soul...
By chance, I discovered the most beautiful instrument, (for me yes...) the viola da gamba, thanks to Martha Argerich. I quickly fell in love with the delicate, melancholy sound world of the viol. After graduating from music college in 1989, I continued to play gamba and gamelan while also working as a piano accompanist. This may appear perplexing, but I guess I was (and still am) too curious to limit myself to one musical genre. Nonetheless, in the end, in 1991, I decided to pursue gamba as my primary instrument and moved to London to study with Richard Boothby at the Royal College of Music.
My initial goal was to learn how to play the bass line in two years. However, I quickly realised that two years was not enough time to learn a foreign language and culture, let alone play the bass line. Thanks to a supportive professor like Richard and a group of supportive and kind friends and colleagues, I was able to stay in London and survive as a gamba player. I am extremely grateful for the many opportunities I have had to share and experience wonderful music with many people. In recent years, I've been teaching gamba at the RCM. Working with the next generation has been a rewarding and inspiring experience. I hope to continue my musical journey as a player and teacher. I am optimistic about the future.
Reiko Ichise
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