We had the good fortune of connecting with Yoshie Nakayama and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yoshie, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?

Growing up in a Christian family in Tokyo, singing at the church every Sunday and having fun with my mother’s music classes that she held at home, made me interested in music more than anything. After ten years of experiences from choir groups and brass band groups until the graduation from Kunitachi College of Music with a degree in music, my first job was non-music related administration work at an organization. In 2012, during the 11th year at the organization, I happily decided to pursue my career in the music industry via the second college study at Berklee College of Music with the help of their scholarship. During the three years of study, I had the pleasure of performing trombone and voice on over 400 recordings and concerts for my peers and mentors. What brought me more joy and happiness was getting my work performed. To this day, writing music and getting them performed by artists such as Alejandro Sanz, Joyce Moreno, Women of the World (Acappella world champion), Victory Boyd (Roc Nation artist), and Infinity Song (Roc Nation artist) is very rewarding. These are the moments when I can’t be happier for my old self, making the decision back in 2012. I also find pleasure at collaborating with my peers in the industry. We thrive together and we should support each other. My latest work as a Co-Founder of Songs for World Peace has educated myself a lot. Songs for World Peace is a global initiative by musicians from all over the world to promote peace through the power of music. On Sep 21, 2020, we successfully released songs from 60+ countries that were followed by press coverage internationally and some offers from other organizations to collaborate. 
We are supported by the UN Women San Francisco chapter, Musicians Without Borders, Berklee College of Music, Together productions and art27. Our goal is to release songs from every country in the world by Sep 21, 2021. Currently, we are looking for artists from the countries that we haven’t found yet. 

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Everything I have done and I will be doing makes me who I am and helps my creations become unique. The Japanese background made me detail-oriented, responsible for my words, and a good listener. The study of music education made me mindful about perspectives of different beliefs and circumstances. The study at Berklee College of Music made me strong in music productions using today’s technology. Living in the U.S. made me aware of my nationality and Japanese traditions. I also try to do my best in every work I do. I treat others the way I want them to treat me. It can be challenging from time to time, but I believe these are very important aspects for people to count on anyone as a professional who they could rely on. 

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I take my friends to: In-N-Out Burger – No one shouldn’t leave LA without trying In-N-Out. Am I right? Santa Monica Beach – They have shopping streets, the beach, restaurants and bars! I especially love the esplanade. Urban Light at LACMA – Free photo spot! Hollywood Walk of Fame and Chinese Theater – The stars and all the street performers. Such an exciting street. Griffith Observatory – The beautiful view of the Hollywood sign and the city. 

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My shoutout goes to my mentor, Yumiko Matsuoka, a composer, singer, and professor at Berklee College of Music. Yumiko is the alto singer of the acappella quintet, VOX ONE that I look up to ever since 2000. She remembered me from attending one of her workshops in Tokyo when I reached out to her on a FaceBook message (I didn’t even have her email address) to ask for some advice on my career change in 2012. She is the one who suggested that I go to Berklee when I was simply thinking of changing my career into the music industry. She said, “Make the decision that you will not regret ten years later.” This advice lives in my heart ever since. I will never forget how happy I was to be able to finally attend her Ear Training class at Berklee back in January 2014.

Website: https://www.yoshie-music.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yoshie_nkym/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoshiemusic/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/yoshie_nkym
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YoshieMusic/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/YoshieNakayama
Other: Songs for World Peace https://www.songsforworldpeace.org

Image Credits
Trombone photo by Barrett Bramstedt http://www.barrettbramstedt.com/about.html

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