Friends are important, as Tomoko well knows. She has made
good musical friends, and continues to keep in touch with them throughout her
life.
A case in point? Tomoko still connects with her high school
friends, including at reunions that they hold to this day. “We were all in the
same situation,” Tomoko recalls. “It was after the war, and materials were not
available. We all made do.”
Tomoko didn’t know anyone in San Francisco when she arrived
to study at the Conservatory, but she soon made friends through her classes. She
was invited to their homes to celebrate holidays, and even flew one time with a
couple of her classmates to Arizona State University to see Pablo Casals in
person. “My friend was particularly inspired by him,”Tomoko notes. “We even met
him at the airport, and shared a meal with him.”
Tomoko herself idolized Lili Kraus, an internationally
famous pianist. In 1962 Tomoko and Lili were both practicing at the San
Francisco Conservatory of Music, and started a professional conversation that
bloomed into a long-time friendship.
Several of Tomoko’s friends began as performance partners.
For instance, Tomoko met violinist Ernestine Chihuaria in 1968 through the
Peninsula Symphony. Ernestine needed an accompanist at the last minute, and
Tomoko performed with her at the DeYoung Museum. They continued to perform together
as a duet for thirty years, and Tomoko kept in touch with Ernestine until she
passed in 2014.
Tomoko also became a friend to many of her students and
their families. George Duke, who become a jazz musician, was an early student
of hers. She was very impressed with his dedication and his kindness. She
performed Brahms and Prokofiev with him, and continued to keep in touch with
him.
Tomoko’s friendships were certainly reflected in a recent
recital that she arranged, and in which she performed with her current and
former students. The audience was filled with her friends, who love her
artistry – and her personality. It’s music to her heart.
