By Emma Kawamura
LWM2026 3rd – 5th July 2026, Liverpool WaVeS was delighted to host “Fuji Brass”, a high school wind ensemble from Kitami Fuji High School, Japan.
These extremely talented 16- to 18-year-olds travelled all the way from Kitami, Hokkaido, Japan to perform in Liverpool – a distance of over 5000 miles – and performed incredible versions of songs from Queen, The Beatles, and others.
With it being the first time that any of the students had left Japan, they decided to make a brief stop in Windsor, watching the changing of the guard in the castle grounds and visiting St George’s Chapel, exclaiming that it was all “just like Harry Potter!”
On the first performance day in Liverpool, the band played to over 200 local school children at the iconic Concert Room in St George’s Hall and impressed the whole LWM team (who had only previously heard them on YouTube!) with a powerful performance which showcased the high skill level of each band member.
The band had a tough schedule in Liverpool, but demonstrated how dedicated they are to their performances through conscientiously practicing, and enthusiastically volunteering to combine with Oregon-born marching band “The Beat Goes On” and Liverpool-based “Showstoppers” to form an international band. With just one run through as a group, the teenagers showcased their talent, adaptability, and confidence through readying themselves to perform in this new group for the whole city.
Across the three days of the festival, Fuji Brass also performed in the LWM performance area, in front of the upside down house in LiverpoolOne. Upon hearing the band, people from around the city center gathered to see them play – (it has been confirmed that 7,000 people + visiting the area each day)! With songs such as “Don’t Stop Me Now”, “Imagine”, and some Japanese band numbers, the crowd joined in singing, clapping, and dancing. The Kitami Fuji High School music teacher commented, “we don’t get this much audience participation in Japan!”
With the international band, they performed songs including “Gonna Fly Now” (Theme tune to the film Rocky), “In The Mood” (a bit of Glen Miller big band, and “Penny Arcade” (Roy Orbison hit), the band were joined by Rosie, the drummer from Blaise High School, Bristol, for a performance of “American Patrol”, the first time that Rosie has ever played with such a band.
During the performance the international band was joned by guest vocalist 14-year-old Liverpool-based Millie Jean for “My Guy” and “Ma Ma Mia” with a full group encore of “Sweet Caroline”,
Despite jet lag and language barriers, a seamless performance was pulled off between all band members from the UK, US, and Japan.
The Fuji Brass team were commendable in their support of other performers, following “The Beat Goes On” around the city, dancing and cheering.
On the last day, a social was held for all performers, where the teenagers mixed with the older band members from “The Beat Goes On” and could relax before their trip back to London via Stratford-upon-Avon. LWM are honoured that Fuji Brass came and performed at LWM2026 in Liverpool.
LWM hope that Fuji Brass can come back in a few years time, so more students can experience being part of such a tour in the future!
You can view Fufi Brass performances and social media here.
youtube.com/channel/UCCugPG6w-BjZeLPeyfkXJqg https://www.instagram.com/fujibrass/