Depending on the kindness of strangers

Tomoko left Japan to study piano at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM). She had few connections or money, so there were many challenges. Fortunately, along the way, Tomoko was able to get support from kind people. She recalls…

“The Conservatory was closed on Sundays so I went to Lone Mountain College and got permission from the music department to practice there on Sundays.  Some friends from Lone Mountain told me about a church on Octavia Street where the Japanese community gathered. One of the girls I met at the church was a fashion designer, and before she left San Francisco to return to Japan, she told me about Mrs. Bine’s house where she was staying and housesitting. She said, ‘Why don’t you meet her?’ That’s I how I ended up staying with Mrs. Bine.”

Mrs. Alma Bine was a Jewish widow of a doctor. They had three children who graduated from Stanford. Mrs Bine’s cousin was Mischa Elman, a famous violist. The family lived in the wealthy part of San Francisco called Sea Cliff. The Japanese consulate lived three blocks away; Tomoko notes: “ I taught his two children brought by the nanny.”

Tomoko continues, “Mrs. Bine let me stay with her in the house; I just had to give her breakfast every day. She had a piano, and loved to listen to me play.  I enjoyed the space; the house was huge with beautiful views of Pacific Ocean. Several neighbors and Mrs. Bine’s granddaughter and their friends took lessons from me there. One neighbor in particular was very kind: Mrs. Wildberg; before I left for an international competition in Paris, she gave me French money.”

Tomoko lived in Mrs. Bine’s home for three years, and had several good memories during this time, which she lists:

- I won a San Francisco Symphony competition.

-I decided to stay in the US and applied for my green card.

-I received a teaching position at SFCM after graduating.

- My 27^th birthday party:  I invited my close friends to Mrs. Bine’s house and garden, and the neighbors and relatives came. I had no idea what a birthday party in America was like; I never had a birthday party before this one.

Tomoko has that same giving nature, and has helped many people attain their musical dreams too.

The Blue Velvet Album

As can be imagined, Tomoko has hundreds of musical memories, some of which she stores in a small blue velvet photo album. Here is a sampling of those photo memories.

Tomoko is wearing a long organza white dress as she is seated playing a grand piano. A tall flower bouquet stands in the background of the stage where she is performing. This Tokyo concert took place soon after Tomoko graduated from the University of Tokyo as a music major. There were very few opportunities at that time for a young woman to have a concert performance. 

Tomoko is bundled in a heavy pale coat as she checks her airplane itinerary. She is leaving family and friends to go to the United States. She was able to work with the UCLA opera theater to get this opportunity. 

Tomoko is dressed in a pale flowered kimono, playing a board game at a peer’s home. It’s the Christmas break for the Conservatory of San Francisco where her friend and Tomoko attend.

Tomoko is being interviewed on KQED television by UCLA professor Herbert Jan Popper. She is talking about her musical background and dreams in the U.S. Later in the show she performs Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody A minor #11 on the studio piano.

Tomoko is talking with renown cellist Pablo Casals at Arizona State University, where a library is being dedicated to him. He was in his 90s at the time, and was still performing. Tomoko went with a couple of Conservatory girl friends to visit Arizona, and see him. 

Tomoko’s daughter Beata is a toddler, sitting at her mother’s piano at home. While Beata became a professional ice skater, she enjoys playing the piano, and performed at a concert honoring her mother’s piano teaching.

Tomoko and her violinist friend Ernestine Riedel Chihuaria  are accepting bouquets at the end of one of their concerts. Tomoko met Ernestine 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 for 30 years.

Tomoko is holding a resolution from the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women, who recognized her cultural contributions to the San Francisco area.  On either side are her students, who are smiling at Tomoko’s honor. In their honoring speech, the commission concluded that Tomoko made it her life’s work to share the joy and serenity that music offers its listeners, include to homeless individuals in a Project Homeless Connect event.

Gifts of Music

Music – and friends of music -- brought Tomoko  to the United States – and kept her there.

About the time that Tomoko graduated from the Tokyo University for Fine Arts and Music, she played a noteworthy recital.  UCLA  Opera Theater Director Jan Popper was impressed with Tomoko’s performance, and figured out a way for her to join a group of Japanese singers traveling to California.

Once she arrived, Tomoko applied and auditioned  successfully for the Conservatory of San  Francisco.  She worked hard; even a B+ could mean the end of her student visa. But hard work and academic excellence were not enough;  tuition was a struggle. At one point, Tomoko felt as if she were in the middle of the ocean. She had come so far, but was afraid she would need to return to Japan. So she was so excited and relieved when she was informed that one of the Conservatory’s board members, James Schwabacher, would pay her tuition. At the time, Tomoko didn’t know who he was. In addition, a widow let Tomoko reside at her house for two years.

After graduating from the Conservatory,  Tomoko started teaching, largely for Japanese families in their homes, growing her clientele through positive recommendations based on her teaching. She also worked with the Japanese Consulate.  Tomoko then became the first east Asian teacher at the Conservatory, where she continues to instruct and mentor. Over the years, Tomoko has more than  given back to her community through her expertise and dedication. We have all benefited from her musical gifts.