Hisa at the piano
/My grandmother, Hisa, was very accomplished at the piano. She did a lot of accompaniment for others. I found this story as written by her sister, my Aunt Eiko. I also found a copy of the program, autographed by the tenor, which is after the story. I’ve also included a picture of my grandmother and aunt at the bottom.
The Oakland Methodist Church Ladies Auxiliary had a yearly project to earn money for the church. One year, they conceived a grand idea to give a concert by inviting the Japanese tenor Mr. Fujiwara Yoshiye to present a recital.
An elaborate plan went into action. The Oakland Municipal Auditorium was rented for one night, tickets were printed, and the ladies of the auxiliary went to work. Combing through the list of names in the Japanese telephone book, the ladies knocked on the doors one by one, block by block, and sold hundreds of tickets at $1.00 each.
Hisa was asked to accompany this famous tenor on the piano, and she was given music sheets to familiarize herself with the selected numbers.
Arrangements had been made for her to meet Mr. Fujiwara at the auditorium on the afternoon before the day of the concert. I tagged along.
While waiting for Mr. Fujiwara's arrival, Hisa practiced on the grand piano. Then we waited, and waited. Finally, the custodian came and said that he was closing for the day. Mr. Fujiwara never showed up for rehearsal.
On the night of the concert, he arrived groomed in formal. When he peeked through the curtain and saw the size of the auditorium and the audience, he was dumfounded. He had presumed that the concert was to be held in a cozy little church.
In the waiting room, Hisa was upset and crying because she had to accompany the soloist without a rehearsal. Mr. Fujiwara was trying to sooth her saying over and over that everything was going to be all right - just follow me...
After some delay, finally the curtain went up. Mr. Fujiwara made his entrance, escorted Hisa to the piano, bowed, and the concert was on.
I don't know how Hisa made it through.
Later, after the program was finished, Mr. Fujiwara was full of contrite apologizes for not appearing for the rehearsal and complimented highly on her accompaniment.
The reviews were good, the church was happy, and the Fuji family had a quiet nervous breakdown at home.
Hisa (left) and Eiko Fujii, Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, 1930