Inner Riches

Money does not make the musician; hard work, dedication, and persistence do. And other people will recognize that effort. You can see that in Tomoko’s early professional life.

Money was tight for Tomoko when she arrived in San Francisco as a young Conservatory piano student.  She lived with a widow, taking partial care of the widow lieu of rent. She taught piano to the children of Japanese families, sometimes going to their homes. When Tomoko was fearful that she would not have the money to continue at the Conservatory, she found out that a board member paid her tuition.

As a student, Tomoko tried for a San Francisco Foundation award that would help finance her studies. Tomoko remembers, “ That morning was rainy, and I had only one dollar, not even enough to take a taxi.” Instead, Tomoko took a bus, holding her umbrella to keep her nice outfit dry. She thought to herself: “I am going to make it.” When she got to the auditorium, a competitor arrived in a Cadillac, and someone held out an umbrella over her head. After Tomoko played the required selection, the judges liked her performance so much that they asked her to play another solo piece. The competition took all day, and Tomoko had to go home alone on the bus at 8pm, when there were few buses at that hour. Two days later she found out that she won.

Tomoko won several other awards, and has continued to make money through her piano teaching and performance over the years. But it has been her love of music and people that have been the main driving forces for her own dedication.  Tomoko truly has vast inner riches.

Music Makes Friends

Throughout her life, Tomoko has made friends because of music. “I enjoy other people’s lives and challenges,” says Tomoko. “Through music I meet so many people.”

In college in Tokyo, Tomoko had fun with the other music majors. “We pianists were all together and are still good friends. We would  study in the morning, and practice the rest of the day.” 

When Tomoko came to the the United States, she knew very few people, but music provided a way to make friends at the Conservatory of San Francisco. Tomoko would also be invited to her colleagues’ homes for the holidays.  She also remembers going with a couple of Conservatory girl friends to visit Pablo Casals at Arizona State University, where a library was being dedicated to him. Tomoko now sees parents chatting together at the Conservatory where she teaches. “You have a place to share, and can help each other,”  Tomoko recalls in her decades of experience there.

Tomoko’s students sometimes contact her years after they have grown up or moved. It was their continued friendship that led to the honorific concert in May 2013. Tomoko also remembers her own teachers, and remet an old professor in London, 40 years after studying with him.

Tomoko has also made friends with other professional musicians. For instance, Lili Kraus was a concert pianist and master class teacher. Tomoko met her twice in Japan, and Lili said to Tomoko: II have to learn from you about the piano.” They shared their love of music and became good friends.

Music also brought Tomoko and her husband together; they met at a Hungarian dance party!

More generally, Tomoko explains how music brings people together. “People can welcome music anytime. Music is powerful. I don’t have to say anything."

Spontaneous Performance

While people often think of piano performances in the same breath of recitals and concerts, there are many ways to experience such performances informally. Tomoko has enjoyed listening and performing piano music spontaneously over the years.

As a child, Tomoko watched her mother respond to music while working around the house, and she listened to her brother practice. As a piano teacher at the conservatory, Tomoko also remembers mothers waiting for their children, and listening to students practice.

Tomoko remembers listening to a noon concert in London noon. Brown bag concerts were held at that venue, regardless of the weather. “I went to Old St Mary Church, and heard a former assistant professor perform with Russians. I hadn’t seen him in 40 years when I introduced himself at the event.” Tomoko thought that the noon concert was a fantastic idea; “People were passing by, and listened in, just10 minutes away from their problems.

Tomoko has been known to play the piano at sites she has seen during her travels. When she visited a Medici house in Florence, she was permitted to play their heritage harpsichord. In the Chopin Museum she played the raindrop prelude. She has also played pianos after events are finished, enjoying playing just for herself.

And, of course, people enjoy piano performance and  other music at religious gatherings and traditional celebrations. “Music comes from people’s heritage; it is in the soul.” People carry music in their hearts, so it is great when piano performance can be appreciated at any time, in any venue, planned and spontaneously.

Performance and Recognition

On April 24, 2013, the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women developed and approved a resolution recognizing the contributions of Tomoko Hagiwara.

The commission noted her illustrious career as a celebrated pianist in war-ravaged Japan, who was awarded a music scholarship for the University of Tokyo, that nation’s top university. They mentioned her debut at the San Francisco Symphony, and was acclaimed at the Long-Thibaud international piano competition in Paris and the Queen Elizabeth International Piano Competition in Brussels. They confirmed that she has created over 50 piano performances, 13 CD recordings, and mentored over 400 gifted piano students. They concluded that she 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.
 
In her acceptance speech, Tomoko said that she was honored to receive this distinguished award and to be among ladies and gentleman of such an accomplishment. She noted, “After graduating from the University of Tokyo Music Department, I came to the United States as a foreign exchange student. If I had stayed in Japan, especially at that time, there would have been less than zero opportunities for any woman in the arts. So I had to get out.” She concluded, “This award is a big milestone for me. Again thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.”

On May 26th at the Conservatory of Music, Tomoko will be performing with her current Conservatory students as well as students from 30 or 40 years ago – and her daughter. These performances reflect a fascinating variety of backgrounds and careers: from middle schoolers to near-retiree, from a boxer to a physicist. Everyone is invited.

In Appreciation of Tomoko Hagiwara

Officially, I spent a total of 20 years as a student of Tomoko Hagiwara: ten years in the Preparatory Division at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and ten more years in the Adult Extension Division. I still consider myself a student of hers, but more about that later. As one might expect with someone who spent so many years with a teacher, I was profoundly influenced by her. But to describe in words just what that influence was, and the depht of its profundity, is difficult.

Tomoko is not a mere teacher; she is mentor, mother, and guide. With her deep understanding of music and insightful gift of wisdom, she has an uncanny ability to tailor repertoire to each student to bring out the best in everyone while providing the breadth and depth of a complete musical education. Her passion for teaching and nurturing talent drives her to dedicate more to her students than any other teacher I've known. Continually giving and demanding of herself, she also demands the highest standards from her students. If one might be chastised for falling short, meeting a challenge is rewarded with soaring enthusiasm. And Tomoko always challenges, seeming to know better than ourselves what we were capable of, and expecting -- and getting -- the "impossible." I eventually learned there is no such word here!

Tomoko is a force of nature, her seemingly endless energy and indomitable spirit moving all of us to follow and embrace her example. Just as I have never known another teacher so dedicated to her students, I have never known another group of students so dedicated to a teacher. She builds a community among her students, and we are her extended family. Performing for and with this group is like a homecoming. Among this family you will find new school-age students to wizened adults (but not so wise that we don't still have much to learn from Tomoko) returning from all over the world with their families.

And she remembers everything! She remembers what each student played when, and for which occasion. And, of course, it goes without saying that she remembers how every piece of music starts, its opus number, and even several bits in the middle (I can't even remember what I played a month ago). She remembers people's families and history, even long after they've graduated from the Preparatory Division, and she shares our lives.

Indeed, Tomoko is to this day an integral part of my life. I hear her voice giving me advice when I'm in a difficult situation. I hear her cheering me on when I need encouragement. I hear her challenging me to have courage when I feel like giving up on something. More than just the gift of music, Tomoko has taught me about what it is to have the highest standards as a person: integrity, respect, honesty, and accountability, not just for others, but also for myself.

I feel extremely fortunate to be a lifelong student and  friend of Tomoko Hagiwara. I know I will never stop learning from her, and I will never stop admiring her.

Linda Poligono

The International Language of Music

Tomoko Hagiwara was born in Japan, lives in the U. S., and has traveled widely in Europe. So she knows the international nature of music. “When I came to the U.S., I couldn’t speak English. The piano helped me communicate. The piano speaks the international language of music, and the keyboard acts as the translator.”

 

As a teacher in the conservatory, Tomoko has worked with many students from other countries. She herself was the first Asian teacher there, and notes how both the staff and student population now is much more diverse. The love of music is visibly shared by people around the world who gather together to learn how to express that love.

In particular, Tomoko recalls one Indonesian mother who had five children who were all conservatory students. Tomoko noticed that the woman stayed at the conservatory, and asked, “Why do you come to the conservatory?” The woman answered, “Because I LOVE the beautiful music.” She also commented, “Everyone carries a violin case, unlike in public school.” Music is the norm, not the exception at the conservatory.

Tomoko concludes, “In any language feeling is the same.” She expresses that feeling in her performances, and encourages her students to start with their hearts, even before they use their fingers, when they learn a piece of music.