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Meet Utako Tanigawa of Georgia Musicale Group

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Utako Tanigawa.

Utako Tanigawa, born in Osaka, Japan, started playing the piano at the age of three; however, she gave up playing when she was thirteen years old. In Japan, she owned a private prep-school and a restaurant. After coming to the United States when she was thirty-two year old, she earned several additional degrees in Mathematics, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Management Science and Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Computer Information Systems.

Dr. Tanigawa has been engaged in executive positions in global corporations including WalMart and American Express for more than three decades. She has also served as a lecturer at multiple universities including Stanford, Boston, Chicago, and Colorado University. She is passionate about helping the next generation of people develop into leaders, especially women and minorities. She was a mentor and advisor to several dozens of talented people, facilitating their advancement.

Several years ago, she was diagnosed with Stage III cancer and underwent extensive medical treatment. This incident changed her life dramatically. Until that time she had devoted her life to the management of people and work but suddenly she had time to think about what was really important to her. She realized how much she loved music and how much music was helping her recovery physically and emotionally. She has again become serious about music and has participated in several International Amateur Piano Competitions including the Van Cliburn, Chopin in Warsaw, Poland; and St. Petersburg, Russia. She was fortunate to earn several awards and advance to the finalist round.

Although her body was severely damaged, music provided a tangible lifeline to give her hope and purpose. Today music continues to play a key soothing and healing role as her recovery continues. Utako decided to share this dramatic experience with others who may have had similar struggles in their lives. She is driven to share her love of music with others. She started a small music gathering group in 2014 with a handful of people and then founded the non-profit organization, Georgia Musicale Group (GMG) in 2016. He Van Cliburn, Chopin in Warsaw, Poland; and St. Petersburg, Russia. She was fortunate to earn several awards and advance to the finalist round.

Since returning to her music, her life has changed dramatically and her physical and emotional recovery has been helped. She wants to share her experiences with others who may have had similar struggles in their lives. She is driven to share her love of music with others.

When Utako moved to Atlanta about four years ago from Arkansas, she didn’t know anyone in the area. She asked several music stores for information about piano teachers and joined the North Fulton Music Teachers Association. Starting with a handful of people gathering to share their love of music, she founded the non-profit organization, Georgia Musicale Group (GMG) in 2016.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The struggles we encounter are the amount of work it requires to organize concerts and other events while dealing with many daily administrative tasks. We have only a handful of core members working almost full time as volunteers.

This situation creates unfairness because those hard workers sacrifice their personal lives and even do not have time to practice, which was the original reason they joined GMG. As is often the case with other non-profit organizations, the people who work the hardest also donate more money and time.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Georgia Musicale Group – what should we know?
The mission of the Georgia Musicale Group is to increase appreciation of classical and other music through listening and performing opportunities. We are kindred spirits who support and encourage each other. There are many music education programs but most of them are focusing to young children. GMG has unique features. Our members are from seven years old to eighty-nine years old, and many of them are over fifty years old.

GMG attracts many music lovers. Members come from different backgrounds such as scientists, medical doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc. They may have played an instrument when they were young and after many decades would like to start again. They may be music teachers who are too busy teaching with no time to practice. They may be professional artists who want to have music friends to play together. They may love attending concerts but can’t afford the cost of tickets. In the last two years, more than 100 people have played in GMG concerts and musicals.

Our performers play mostly classical music but we also offer jazz, modern, folk, and international music selections. Our members perform solo, duet, duo and chamber music selections featuring piano, violin, cello, clarinet, bassoon, flute as well as vocal pieces.

Many of our members have had a desire to play for years, but they didn’t have an opportunity to do so or they were too nervous to play in front of people. In our effort to support and encourage each other, we meet three times a month for practice sessions (we call these “musicales”). These gatherings offer members the opportunity to “try out” new pieces, experiment with different tempi, play pieces “from memory” or while reading the music, rehearse upcoming concert repertoire, etc. all for appreciative audiences in relaxed and informal atmospheres.

By the end of 2018, we will have offered twenty concerts at various venues such as small recital halls, churches, museums, fine arts centers and nursing homes. We will be performing a free concert at Spivey Hall on Saturday, September 8, 2018, from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Next year, we are planning a free concert at Carnegie Hall. We are expanding our activities in Japan, Russia, and Poland in next few years. Our website, www.mygmg.org has more detail information.

We receive wonderful comments from performers and audiences. Many of members expressed that GMG changed their lives. Numerous audiences say that they’ve never experienced such enjoyable concerts.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Abbie Hattauer, Secretary of GMG and an opera singer from New York, and Julie Woodall, Treasurer of GMG and a pianist/teacher, helped Utako tremendously to establish the GMG organization and today, As of today, they work so hard to make our organization better.

Liesl Kii, who is one of our leaders, introduced us to Callanwolde Fine Arts Center for one of our venues and supported us in many ways. Very unfortunately, she has an incurable illness but we do our best to be with her today. GMG is not a music playing group, we are building culture and community.

Pricing:

  • GMG individual membership is $20/year and family membership is $30/year.
  • Concerts and musicals are free for the audience while we ask performers to pay a $15 concert fee to cover operational expenses.

Contact Info:

Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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