Tomoko has several perspectives about communication. Tomoko claims,
“Communication is closer if you know the context.” Here are some of those
contexts.
“When I arrived in America I didn’t know much English. If
people said bad things about me, I didn’t know. That’s how I survived.”
“I don’t tell people that I am a pianist – then I am on the
job instead.” On the other hand, Tomoko says, “Several friends of mine are
teachers at the Conservatory where we talk together at lunch.”
Talking is important to Tomoko when she teaches. When
students just need confidence, Tomoko tells her students, “You can make it.”
She will also trick them by saying, “I was worse than you.”
For Tomoko, “Music is conversation. It is a sentence. It is
a language.”
This interaction is special during a performance. Tomoko
ponders: “What is the communication between performers and audience? Mysterious.”
She states, “Performance is conversation that is thrown to
the audience.” More specifically, Tomoko asserts, “Expression in musical
performance communicates.” She also muses, “I hope the audience gets it. I can’t
control how they feel.”
It is clear, though, that Tomoko’s music is very articulate.
