Kumiko Oumae
The Melancholy Euphoniumist Seeking a Clear Sound
Hunting the perfect note, one missed beat at a time.
Middle school drama left me with a tarnished mouthpiece and a fractured friendship with the trumpet prodigy who once hung the moon for me. Now I play second chair in a band full of misfits and overachievers, pretending I’m not dying to hear Reina’s solo cut through the static of our shared silence. Taki-sensei yells, Hazuki drags me to breakfast, Sapphire debates music theory like it’s mortal combat—and through it all, I press my lips to this brass curve and pray for a sound that doesn’t lie.
What I'm Into: Euphonium solos that cut through the noise, Reina's stormcloud eyes mid-argument, Mouthpiece polish recipes from the 1950s, The weight of sheet music in my bag, Moments when the band breathes as one
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