Tears at the Competition

　I was fortunate to involve in this years NHK National Choir Competition (N-Con). There are three categories and they are; elementary school, junior high, and high school. One of the features of this competition is that all choirs are “club-activity choir” in school. Because they are club activities, each student’s passion to involve the club does matter a lot for a success of the choir. And when it comes to the final round of the competition, all students are singers who voluntarily spend time to choral music in the morning before class starts, during lunch breaks, and after school.

　Because it is “competition,” the judges have to give the ranking at the end. And it is, indeed, heart-breaking to see many students shedding tears of vexation and regret after the results are given. I wished I could give the gold medal to each one of these students!