Kyudai News No27 page 4/28

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Kyudai News No27

Top Story Especially for this edition, weOve photographedyou conducting the Kyushu UniversityPhilharmonic Orchestra (known as OKyudai-PhilOfor short). How was your first experience ofconducting?I did the best that I could in my own way, so as not todisrespect the students in Kyudai-Phil, who had gatheredspecifically for this occasion. I realized how difficultconducting is and it gave me a renewed sense of theprofundity of music. It was a truly precious experience and Iwould like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the membersof Kyudai-Phil.The catalyst for this was a question from themedia about the ideal image of a universitypresident, to which you replied that they should belike the conductor of an orchestra.Whenever I listen to Kyudai-Phil performing at entranceceremonies or degree ceremonies, I’m always impressed bythe fact that musicians who play a variety of differentmusical instruments come together as one to performsublime music. When I was considering the mostappropriate style of leadership after I became president, Irealized that this was it. I’m not the type who’s a dominantleader; I’m better suited to building consensus. KyushuUniversity brings together people with diverse personalities,so I decided to foster harmony among them and use thisharmony as a source of strength for us as a core university.That’s what inspired me to aim to be like the conductor ofan orchestra.From the time of your appointment, youOve saidthat you Oprobably wonOt be a very presidentialpresident.O ItOs true that, even in your days asDirector of Kyushu University Hospital, you wereknown as a calm person, rather than beingsomeone who expects his people to follow withoutquestion. Is this due to your wealth of experiencein dealing with numerous patients as apsychotherapist?I’ve learned a lot from my patients, such as the importanceof listening carefully to what others are saying to you. Iwant each person to be true to themselves and make themost of their own personality. As long as they don’t stray3