Shima Kobayashi interview

01:34 - Shima is originally from Japan, now living in the UK

01:40 - Was inspired to take up the chromatic harmonica after seeing a concert when she was aged 12

02:17 - First instrument was electric organ where learnt to read music initially

03:39 - Played keyboard / piano from age six

04:14 - They don’t have music grades in Japan

04:53 - The chromatic player Shima first saw perform at age 12 became her teacher

05:27 - Early chromatic lessons were taught with a classical approach

07:01 - Shima’s teacher, Joe Sakimoto, had lots of pupils, and performed in a yearly concert with them

08:06 - Shima’s teacher also taught via the postal service (no internet then!)

08:48 - The student’s were all chromatic players and the teacher still teaches in Japan

10:51 - Belonged to two groups in late teens, one rock music and one classical chamber music

11:52 - Went to the US for 18 months and won a local harmonica competition while there

12:27 - Won the Hohner World Harmonica Championship in 1995, held in Japan, with Hohner circulating the location between countries at that time

12:56 - Winning piece from Shima was the Spivakovsky harmonica concerto

14:07 - In 1993 won the Japanese harmonica competition and reasons for entering competitions

15:30 - Shima studied with the great Tommy Reilly, and entered World Championship was partly to get the chance to study with him

16:10 - First met Tommy Reilly when studied with him for a week in 1994

17:27 - What Tommy Reilly was like as a teacher

18:25 - Shima had a lesson with Tommy twice a week, with the other days devoted to preparation and review

19:46 - A condition of the grant Shima was given was to document the repertoire of Tommy Reilly

20:24 - Tommy was eager to pass on the music he had and Shima had to learn quickly

21:23 - The year Shima spent with Tommy Reilly was from September 1996 to August 1997

21:37 - Tommy wasn’t teaching anybody else during this time

22:10 - After coming back from the US Shima decided she wanted to be a professional harmonica player and people advised to study music at university

22:48 - Joe Sakimoto said studying music at university wasn’t necessarily the best thing to do, and Shima didn’t want to follow that path

24:06 - When Shima studied with Tommy it was at the end of his career (around age 77) and he wasn’t performing at that stage

24:38 - Tommy Reilly died in the year 2000

25:07 - Tommy Reilly had a large recording collection that he would use to demonstrate points to Shima

25:33 - Shima has all the lessons recorded, which she would like to make available online

25:59 - Tommy Reilly loved to make playlists of recordings and would give them to Shima

27:20 - Shima went back to Japan and released her first album in 2000, Golden Girl (the title track is a Tommy Reilly song)

29:30 - Max Saunders sonata for harmonica was composed by Tommy Reilly’s son’s composition teacher

30:56 - Second album from Shima was called Chromatic!

31:05 - The Golden Girl album focused on original harmonica pieces and the second album was from a wider repertoire, including pieces written for Shima

32:28 - Songs by Japanese composers, including Mitsunaga Koichiro, on the Chromatic! Album

33:13 - Furusato song is loved in Japan, equivalent to the song Danny Boy

34:28 - Moved to the UK in 2004 and studied a degree in Social Sciences with Psychology and one in Music Education and does some teaching in schools (mainly piano with some harmonica students)

36:31 - Did a lot of travelling teaching in Japan and learnt the value that music brings to people and communities

37:57 - Disappeared from the harmonica scene for a few years when arriving in the UK, but is back now and eager to do some teaching of harmonica

38:58 - Took a break from playing and got back to it in 2015, and has performed at two Harmonica UK festivals

39:50 - Played Genevieve with the Misbourne Symphony Orchestra

40:39 - Played in Japan in 2023 on a version of Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince

41:31 - Played a concert in Tokyo in 2024 with pianist Midiro, as part of the Super Duo

42:50 - Plans to travel back to Japan to perform in more concerts

43:12 - Played in a trio with two other female Japanese chromatic players and Shima likes to perform in harmonica ensemble

44:06 - Shima is a fan of the King’s Quartet harmonica ensemble, with Rocky Lok (interviewed on the podcast on episode 79)

44:34 - Need more harmonica ensembles

44:51 - Did a concert with a harp player

45:52 - Took part in the Third Orchestra at the Barbican Centre in London in 2021 and the chromatic as a new ‘old sounding’ instrument

47:02 - Videos on Shima’s YouTube channel of practising a piece and showing the progression as she does so

47:54 - Ten minute question

50:01 - Chromatic of choice was Hohner Silver Concerto but found it too heavy. So now using a Georg Pollestad chromatic from Norway

51:15 - Collected the Pollestad chromatic in person from Norway

51:38 - The Pollestad took a little getting used to but ok now and likes that it is lighter than the Silver Concerto

52:09 - Did a concert in Norway in May 2024, using the Pollestad, which included Sigmund Groven (who also uses a Pollestad chromatic)

52:52 - Pollestad is a 12 hole. Shima only plays 12 hole chromatics

53:08 - Embouchre is both puckering and tongue blocking according to the desired sound and phrasing, and uses corner switching

54:12 - Amplification and mics uses the PA and leaves all that to the sound engineer

54:47 - Plays with mic on stand (doesn’t hold it in hands)

55:19 - The vibrato that Shima uses is dictated by the piece being played

56:03 - Future plans includes an orchestra appearance in March 2025 and local gigs