M for M is a community to donate sound booths to hospitals for the patients and healthcare professionals. The Ms are “medicine” and “music.” M for M will organize musical concerts called “Memorial Spera” in order to raise money for donating sound booths to hospitals on behalf of the cellist Yamamoto Kanchi, who was hospitalized for more than 300 days due to leukemia. The M for M community will pursue this contribution to society.
Memorial Spera is from Trio Spera, a piano trio of Yuri Horiuchi (Vn.), Aki Mochizuki (Pf.), and Kanchi Yamamoto (Vc.). Trio Spera was named by Pianist Shigeo Neriki, who gave chamber music lessons to the piano trio.
M for M will be supported by people of the two Ms “medicine” and “music,” and those who love music and understand its social significance.
Logo concept
Music with Life
The heart is with f-holes. The heart represents medical care and Cellist Kanchi’s tenderness and graciousness. This logo shows that playing music and loving music will support and advance healthcare and medicine.
Keito Watanabe
Cellist Kanchi Yamamoto started practicing the cello at the age of three in the music lessons of the Suzuki Method. He entered Gakushuin Primary School in 2007 and also started the Saturday class of the Music School for Children affiliated with the Toho Gakuen School of Music in 2010. Kanchi entered Toho Gakuen Music High School in 2016 and Toho Gakuen University on a scholarship in 2019.
Kanchi won 1st prize in the elementary school category in the 13th Izuminomori Junior Cello Contest in Osaka in 2013 and 1st prize in the junior high school category in the same contest (the 16th) in 2016. He won 1st prize in the 73rd Student Music Concours of Japan in the Tokyo Contest and in the nationwide contest as well.
Kanchi won the 42nd Kirishima International Music Festival Kagoshima award and its Music Director’s award as a member of Trio Spera in 2021. Kanchi studied cello with Yoshihiko Terada, Hideki Kitamoto, and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi. He studied piano with Ryoji Ariyoshi. He studied chamber music with Kazuhide Isomura, Nobuko Yamazaki, Kazuomi Fujii, and Shigeo Neriki. Kanchi won the Cello Ensemble Saito three times. He received the first dan level of Aikido called Kobudo and he was chosen as a member of Honda The Power of Teen.
⇒the Suzuki Method
https://suzukiassociation.org/about/suzuki-method/
⇒Gakushuin Primary School
https://www.gakushuin.ac.jp/prim/
⇒Toho Gakuen School of Music
https://www.tohomusic.ac.jp/english/index.html
Contact email：akio4151@yahoo.co.jp
Soundproof Rooms
By installing soundproof rooms within hospitals, inpatients can rediscover their voices and experience music with their whole being. We are also deeply aware of the immense physical and emotional strain placed on healthcare professionals who work long hours in medical settings. It is our sincere hope that providing a dedicated space where they can release stress will help sustain their well-being, ultimately creating a positive impact on the patients in their care.
Enhancing medical environments through the efforts of those who cherish music also elevates the value of music itself. As more people come to believe in the “power of music,” new possibilities naturally unfold for performing artists.
Soundproof Room Completed at
Chiba University Hospital
In September 2025, a soundproof room was completed at Chiba University Hospital, where Kanchi received care for one year. Since opening in October, both patients and medical staff (after their shifts) have made use of the space—some practicing instruments such as the violin, horn, clarinet, and flute, while others simply come to enjoy music through speakers. Looking ahead, we also anticipate that the room will be used for remote work and online learning.
On March 3, 2026, a commemorative concert was held at Garnet Hall in Chiba University Hospital to celebrate the installation of the soundproof room, “A World with Sound” (Oto no aru Sekai). Located within the inpatient ward, this space serves as an important source of comfort and support for patients undergoing treatment.
During the concert, Yukari Oka and Toko Tago—Kanchi’s classmates—performed alongside their seniors, Kyoko Saburi and Anri Tsukiji, as a string quartet. Their program featured seven pieces, including “Over the Rainbow,” a favorite film theme of Kanchi’s.
Following the quartet performance, Kanchi’s friend, cellist Hitomi Niikura, presented two solo works, including selections from the Unaccompanied Cello Suites.
“I want to spend time in ‘A World with Sound,’ where I can play instruments even in a hospital ward where loud sounds are usually restricted.”
The music performed by these artists—who shared in Kanchi’s wish—resonated throughout the hall, bringing his vision vividly to life.
We have reached this milestone thanks to the support of people both in Japan and around the world who share and believe in the mission and philosophy of M for M. We will continue our efforts until soundproof rooms—designed for “mental rehabilitation”—become a standard feature in hospitals worldwide, particularly in facilities where patients undergo long-term treatment.
We humbly ask for your continued support.