Community News

     During the height of the Cold War, as the sun continually rose and set along the white peaked mountains, the vast green plains and the blue waters of Kumamoto, Japan, a gift was unknowingly being prepared for the people of Oswego.

     In 1960, SUNY Oswego music professor Dr. Mihoko Tsutsumi, was born in Kumamoto and throughout her life has been preparing to bring a legacy of music to the Oswego community.

     Tsutsumi attributes her love of music to both her parents.

     “Both my parents loved art and music and my mother is an amateur singer and they passed the love of these things onto me,” she said. “My father was also aware that everyone, even women, needed a skill to make a living and he encouraged me to study music.”

     Tsutsumi’s musical career began when she was 5 years old after her family moved to Osaka, Japan.  She began playing piano and has studied, performed, and taught music ever since.  Her first concert performance included Jean Louis Gobbaets’ “Galop” when she was 6 years old.

     As a child, she attended Yuri Gakuin School, a private girl’s Catholic school.  She later graduated from Horikawa Music High School in Kyoto.

     When she was 14 years old, Tsutsumi began her long-standing singing career.

     “My piano teacher discouraged me from applying to be a piano major and at that point I decided to study voice,” Tsutsumi said. “I was shy performing in front of crowds, but am glad I pursued singing because I enjoy it and singing eventually led me to conducting which I really love.”

     After graduating from Horikawa Music High School, Tsutsumi attended Osaka College of Music where she studied under Shoichiro Tahara and received her Bachelor of Arts in Voice Performance.  Since that time, she has continued her study of music by earning a Master of Music from Columbus State University in Georgia, and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting and a Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education/Choral Conducting from Florida State University where she studied under Dr. Andre Thomas, who inspired her and taught her the attraction of conducting.

     In addition to studying music, Tsutsumi also studied English at McGill University in Montreal.

     “I love language and wanted to learn English,” she said.  “In Japan, it is mandatory for students to learn English grammar, but they do not learn how to speak English.  I was traveling a lot and wanted to communicate with people that I met and understand their cultures.  In most countries, people speak English, and I knew if I wanted to communicate when I traveled, I would need to learn to speak English.”

     Tsutsumi has traveled throughout the world for her own personal pleasure and to perform as a vocal soloist.  She has visited over 30 countries including all of the Western European countries: Greece, Turkey, Egypt, India, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, China, North Korea and South Korea.

     Tsutsumi has lived in the United States for 13 years.  She came to the United States because she had friends in Georgia and wanted to study at Columbus State University.  She wasn’t planning on staying in this country, but now enjoys living here even though she misses Japan.  She feels a “chemistry” with America.

     “I really like the friendliness and the openness of the people in the United States,” she stated.  “I feel that I can be more open and be myself in this country.”  

     Tsutsumi also stresses the importance to her career of working with talented musicians in the United States and how that helped her pursue her dream of conducting.

     “I am blessed to have met great teachers here.  They have helped me progress to where I am today,” she said.  “I am very lucky to have worked with the musicians at Columbus State University and Florida State University.  They have inspired me and encouraged me to become a conductor and there are many opportunities to conduct in this country.”

     At the present time, Tsutsumi is the only Japanese, female, choral conductor who has a doctoral degree in choral conducting working at a college and/or university in the United States.

     After completing her Doctoral Degree at FSU, she taught at the University of Florida and conducted the Florida Men’s Glee Club and the Florida Women’s Chorale.

Tsutsumi moved to Oswego during the summer of 2013 to begin her tenure at SUNY Oswego.  She is currently the Director of Choral Activities and conducts the State Singers, the College Choir and Festival Chorus.  She also teaches courses in aural skills and applied voice.

     Tsutsumi shared her thoughts on teaching at SUNY Oswego and living in Oswego.

     “I find it very easy to get know the people in Oswego and on campus due to the small, intimate atmosphere of both,” she said. “I also feel that the people at SUNY Oswego really care about the professors as people and that is very helpful.”

     Tsutsumi also noted that she did not expect the natural beauty in Central New York that she has come to know.  She indicated that the landscape reminds her of some areas of Japan with farm country and lush trees.

     One of Tsutsumi’s main responsibilities is conducting the college/community chorus known as Festival Chorus.  The chorus has been in existence for over 40 years and performs SATB, classical music pieces.  The chorus often sings at Waterman Theatre on the SUNY Oswego campus, but also performs in area churches to make their music more accessible to the Oswego community.

     “In Festival Chorus, I like the singer’s passion about making music, their dedication, and their love of singing,” Tsutsumi said. “The expectations of the singers in the chorus are very high and I want to meet those expectations.”

     On April 28, the chorus performed Mendelssohn’s Psalm 42 and selected works by Rachmaninoff, Gjeilo, and Hogan at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

     Julie Pretzat-Merchant, Associate Dean, School of Communication, Media, and the Arts, and the former conductor of Festival Chorus attended the concert.

     “I was impressed by the variety of musical literature selected for the concert,” Pretzat-Merchant said. “The choir sang Mendelssohn’s Psalm 42 with energy and musicality.  The challenge of this extended work was nicely balanced with selections by Rachmaninoff, Gjeilo, and Hogan.  The choir sang all the selections with a firm sense of rhythmic pulse, energy, enthusiasm, clear tone, and stylistic appropriateness.”

     On Tsutsumi, in particular, Pretzat-Merchant highlighted her musical talents.

     “She is an excellent musician who has immediately made a difference in the quality and tone created by all the choirs that she conducts and has pushed them to higher musical level,” she said. “The choirs are in the hands of an expert.”

     Tsutsumi plans on living and working in Oswego for years to come.  This will lead to almost endless possibilities for the musical arts in Oswego.