Opening Messages
Summer in JAPAN Co-founder: Sumire Hirotsuru
Opening Speech Summer in JAPAN 2025
Hi everyone, thank you so much for coming to the 13th Summer in JAPAN in Oita. I am very happy to see the faces of all the students this year and I am very excited to see what you’re going to learn during the seminar.
Today I’d like to ask you to make friends! In this room, there are so many students aged from 6 to 18 with different backgrounds from different cities with different interests. I would like you to talk to as many students as you can, and communicate with each other. Ask their interests, ask where they are from, ask why they are participating in SIJ. Because each of you is a part of the team Summer in JAPAN and I would like you to connect with each other!
During my college days at Harvard I made so many friends because it was fun to hang out at lunches, tackle assignments, and enjoy dorm events. At that time, I was only thinking about making friends just because it was fun. But now that I look back, I am glad I talked to so many people because now they are everywhere in the world pursuing different careers and they help me in various occasions, such as when I am traveling to cities that I’ve never visited before, when I need advice on unfamiliar topics like politics, or when I want to collaborate with them on a creative project.
So now, we are opening SIJ, and please make many friends and enjoy SIJ – because this community will help you in many ways in the future.
Good luck!
Sumire Hirotsuru is a professional violinist based in Tokyo/New York. She has appeared in notable venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Leipzig Gewandhaus and a recent album she joined as a member of The Knights has been nominated to the Grammys 2022. In Japan, she has performed as a soloist with Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra, and more. As a graduate of Harvard College and The Juilliard School, she enjoys her career on media and education as well – by writing four Amazon best-seller books, serving as a weekly TV commentator on the Morning Show, and teaching as Select Associate Professor at Akita International University and Guest Lecturer at Seikei University. She is a co-founder of a summer education program Summer in JAPAN (since 2013) and recently released her debut CD “Mendelssohn Violin Concerto + Bach Chaconne.” and a tango album “Psicoporteño” recorded in Buenos Aires with Típica Messiez. She loves sleeping and watching cute Pomeranian videos.