Yoshie Nakayama shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Yoshie, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: When was the last time you felt true joy?
The last time I felt true joy was when I was on stage for a peace concert that I co-produced, “Global Choir For World Peace,” at the Osaka World Expo on August 9, 2025. The event was hosted by Songs for World Peace, a global initiative I co-founded in 2020.
The highlight of the concert was a hybrid performance with singers and a band on stage at the Expo venue, as well as live online singers from around the world performing via the online studio program, JackTrip, while they sung to the band on stage. We did not use any pre-recording, and it was most likely the very first live hybrid performance in the world.
There are countless joyful moments during the concert, but the heartwarming and joyful moment was when I saw my family–parents, siblings, aunt, and their families walked into the audience waving their hands at me.
2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. We received a video message from Mr. Matsui, the Mayor of Hiroshima City, to celebrate our performance of the Hiroshima Peace Song. The song is the official song for Hiroshima’s peace efforts, composed for the 1947 Peace Festival. The song is sung annually at the Peace Memorial Ceremony. The city of Hiroshima commissioned SWP in 2023 to cover the song in English to promote the song to the global audience, which I co-produced.
It was such an honor to host such a unique and global concert at a global event, the Osaka World Expo 2025.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I was born and raised in Tokyo, singing in student choir clubs, a cappella bands, playing euphonium in symphonic ensemble at schools, ska band, and trombone with amateur big bands. These were all serious hobby as a result of how I grew up. My mom used to be an at home music teacher, my two big brothers; one of them listens to Western music, and the other one listens to J-pop. We also had a few American families as our family friends, which was inside the campus of a college where we resided due to my dad’s work at the institution.
This environment eventually led me to study at Berklee College of Music. I majored in Contemporary Writing and Production to learn how to write and produce the Acappella music since I was comfortable performing, but had little experience in writing or recording production.
It has been a true honor to humbly serve as the Assistant Chair of the Contemporary Writing and Production department at Berklee College of Music. I also teach Vocal Writing where students learn how to write and produce the vocal ensemble and Acappella music, this is my dream course, the reason why I decided to study at Berklee. It has been truly inspiring to work with our talented students.
Aside from Berklee, I co-founded a global initiative, Songs for World Peace with fellow Contemporary Writing and Production major alumni to promote peace through the power of music. Since our launch in 2020, we have released peace songs annually on September 21st — the United Nations International Day of Peace, totaling 110+ songs so far. We collaborated with peace artists from around the world, and many other organizations such as Berklee College of Music, Hiroshima City, the Mayors for Peace, Musicians Without Borders, UN Women San Francisco Chapter, for peace-promoting music productions and events.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
An event that changed the way I see the world happened in September 2020. This is when we launched Songs for World Peace, by collecting 65 songs about world peace written and performed by artists around the world in their native language, from their perspectives on world peace.
My ideal peace songs was… holding hands together, smiling to each other to build a better place… type. But then, each one of the 65 songs had a very different point of view; some of our artists are still amidst war and conflicts to this day. I also realized that the End of War Memorial Day for Japan is the Independence Day for Korea and India, etc.
This is something I had never thought about; nobody in Japan taught me about August 15th other than being the “End of war memorial day.” It was shocking.
I grew up listening to my father’s childhood memories from Hiroshima in post WWII times. My impression of war was something in the past, in history textbooks. In fact, for way too many people in the world, it is their daily life. I hope we can achieve peace in the world.
When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
Music helped me overcome hard times.
As someone who spent their teenage years listening to radio shows and CDs, I made mix tapes for my teenage situations: getting bullied, heartbreaks, to practice my favorite artist’s new songs for karaoke, etc. I would listen to them in a “Walkman” or portable CD player as I commute to school, and sing along in my humble bedroom. It helped me overcome the emotions I was going through.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
I enjoy my life in Boston since we are such a diverse community from hundreds of different cultures, and your standard is not everyone’s standard. When I entered Berklee, every day was full of cultural surprises, and it took me a while to get used to how things operate here. I still learn new things every now and then.
I value diversity so much because we can respect differences in each other and it makes our lives and career colorful and full of good surprises. The world is beautiful because we are all different. I hope this is respected in every corner of the world.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
One of my mentors once said, “Always give your best, no matter how big or small the gig is, because you’ll never know if this gig leads to something big in the future.”
When I heard this, it was like a confirmation that I am doing alright. I always give my best in everything since I feel such a strong responsibility. In Japan, we have an idiom, “The Sun is watching you.” Meaning, even when you are by yourself, someone is watching you, and you should always behave your best to others and to yourself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.yoshie-music.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yoshie_nkym/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoshiemusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/YoshieNakayama
- Other: https://www.songsforworldpeace.org
Image Credits
Photo by Alexsandr & Eileen Pandjaitan
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