Nice to meet you, I'm Chie. About me.

Today, I suddenly decided to start posting on note, a platform where I only had an account until now.

Hello, I'm Chie.
I am a soprano singer.
I sing in opera performances and concerts.

Information on my latest performancesI will post links to articles here.

I have a decent amount of experience in both my career and musical activities; while I was a young maiden when I started, I am now a proper middle-aged woman.

That said, I like myself better now that I've aged, and I have no regrets about the past, nor do I wish to return to it.
I want to do my best to live a beautiful, healthy, and happy life as a middle-aged woman in my own way.

◆ After entering society, I first became a company employee, and then I went to university twice.

When I was of age, I couldn't reach an agreement with my parents regarding my career path, so I jumped out saying, "I'll do what I like myself!" but as soon as I did, I got injured, became scared, and meekly found a job.
I was drawn in by a senior colleague I met there and graduated from a correspondence university. My senior remained at the university as an assistant, and I had a teaching internship decided at an American university, so I resigned, worked part-time at a home appliance and machinery manual production company, and then moved to the U.S.

After traveling around the world in the opposite direction from when I left and returning home, I was picked up by a senior colleague's workplace (M-crosoft) from high school, where I experienced freelance translation, writing, and testing.

After that, I changed jobs to a foreign-affiliated software vendor, and after a few years of doing everything I wanted to do as a company employee (other than retiring at the mandatory age), I resigned and went through a private music college, graduate school, and an opera training institute, and now I only do music.

◆ I had been thinking about going to graduate school at some point.
However, I couldn't narrow down the field.
I was torn between business administration, which is directly linked to work, or intercultural communication, and I think I could have gone to either of these without resigning, but

Huh? Wait, maybe
I can just go for what I love??

I suddenly thought of that

I had been taking music and dance lessons since I was a teenager.
Although I quit once I got married and started working, it seems that spending time in America, even if only temporarily, changed my brain to "do what you love even while working."

Since I was at an IT vendor, I had the funds and the work to manage, so I just went for it.

◆ It would have been nice if the music college was a national one, but... yes, really, various things...
One year, encouraged by my mentor, I tried taking an entrance exam for a certain private music college, and to my surprise, I passed. I got a taste for it, and thinking it was a waste of time to keep taking exams, I resigned the following year to take the exam, and I've been drifting along ever since.

I let go of my job because I thought I could do it from home, but I quickly lost my high-paying job due to the entrance exams orz
(Well, there aren't really people who want to outsource work to a former boss, are there...)

For over 20 years since then, I've been living by dipping into my savings and receiving support from my family.

If you try, you can make it work.

I spent 6 years attending a private music college and graduate school.
I attended an opera training institute in parallel with graduate school.
At an opera group in Saitama that I auditioned for as a rehearsal for the graduate school entrance exam, a performer dropped out for the following year's performance, and taking their place was my first professional stage.

It's been over 20 years since I resigned and became a music student, so I've become somewhat seasoned and mature, but I'm still singing.

Admittedly, lately I've been having health issues due to my advancing age, so I'm living by prioritizing being healthy and enjoying my days happily and energetically rather than pushing myself.

I think I have been involved with music in some form for a long time, but lately, as the restrictions from that pandemic coincided with a milestone age, I feel like my body is starting to break down, and honestly, I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this.

All I can say is that I will fulfill my responsibilities for the performances I have now (though sometimes I say 'I can't do it anymore!' and then end up feeling surprisingly energetic again💦).

Therefore, rather than saying 'if there is an opportunity someday,' it is my greatest joy right now to have you come to the opportunities that are right in front of me.

For the past 20 years, I've had performances almost every week, and with my pianist friends, we played almost every day during our student years, and even after graduation, it was normal to play every week.
I have been given opportunities to perform dozens of times in a single salon, and over 200 times each in concert halls and via streaming (I've never counted accurately, but it might be over 1,000 times in total).

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, things have calmed down quite a bit,
and I am continuing with the thought of cherishing better opportunities with better colleagues for a long time.

Although I chose this medium to share the things I've learned and life hacks I've encountered in my daily life,

opportunities held in theaters,
and opportunities to stream online,

I will share them little by little,
so please join me for those as well (^^)

I will continue to sing,
but unfortunately, the body has its limits and life has its lifespan,
so my performing life from here on will definitely be shorter than it has been,
and life will continue even after I stop singing.

Music can of course be enjoyed from the audience seats, so I want to carry other joys besides music as well,
that is my current mindset,
and since I tend to get obsessed once I find something interesting, I want to find companions and make this a place to output and share.

With that said, nice to meet you!
This was Chie (Chie Arai) (^^)

You can read articles in the same category from this magazine.✨

Thank you for reading until the end. I hope this article provides some kind of hint for you.✨💖

It would be a great encouragement if you could like, comment, or follow. I look forward to your continued support.✨