By Cali Bagby
Two days after the tsunami struck Japan, one man was found floating nearly ten miles out at sea on the roof of his house.
When Susan Osborn saw the image of this tiny, bedraggled figure in an online article, it struck a chord with her, not just because it was a story of survival amidst death and destruction, but because she had come to call Japan her second home – a home now in peril.
“I knew many dear people there [in the epicenter of the tsunami] and it’s stunning how sturdy their spirits are – how strong they are to ride this through, to continue to ride this through,” said Osborn, who has worked as a professional singer throughout Japan.
Inspired by those people and the man out at sea she wrote a song called “Little Boat.”
That original composition, along with traditional Christmas songs and other holiday themed tunes will be performed at Susan Osborn’s Annual Christmas Concert at Lopez Island Center Church, Friday, Dec. 16. Osborn will sing and play the keyboard, guitar and violin, joined by Ritambhara Tyson on vocals and the cello and Carolyn Cruso voice, hammer dulcimer and flute.
Osborn has been performing on Orcas for 22 years and expanded her concerts to Lopez and San Juan in the last five years, joining forces with Tyson and Cruso to create an intimate acoustic celebration of the season.
During the last 21 years she frequently made the nine hour flight from Orcas to Japan in what she calls an insane commute, but performing music in a land now dear to her heart has been worth it.
She gained celebrity during her time there and was even mobbed by a class of school children after she performed at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Japan.
“I often felt like Forest Gump – wondering what I was doing there,” she said about her fame. “But I got to do what I love, which is singing.”
But every return trip’s jet lag cost her 10 days of recovery, so she retired from performing in Japan in Nov 2010 – four months later the tsunami following the 8.9-magnitude earthquake wreaked havoc on the country.
In some ways she feels like an honorary citizen of Japan, who must help to build a bridge from between two countries she has lived in. And the best way she knows how to do that is through music.
“It’s a great gift that artists can give to translate whats going on in the world into a creative experience,” she said.
Tickets: $15; Children 12 and Under $7.50.
For more info, visit www.susanosborn.com.
