Sophomore’s mother balances family life with piano career

It’s not always easy being the son of a well-known, talented musician, but there are also rich rewards that other children would never have.

That has been the experience of sophomore Ethan Cotta, whose mother, well-known pianist Tamami Honma, has worked to balance the heavy demands of her own professional career with the raising of her four children. 

Cotta remembers one time several years ago when the family lived in London and he saw her sacrifices first hand. As the din of 1998 London traffic raged outside a studio, softer than it was during the day but still audible at 1 a.m, Honma was playing “Mazurka in B Flat Major” for her upcoming Chopin album. Honma felt exhausted but recognized how important such opportunities are for her career.

Honma’s passion for music started at the age of 3 when her own mother introduced her to the violin. Her mother was a piano teacher, so a year after learning the violin, Honma took up the piano as well.

Honma said she fell in love with the instrument right away, dropping the violin to focus solely on piano. Her mother was impressed with her dedication, especially for the effort she put into competitions. 

Honma moved from Japan to Utah at age 6 and began to realize that she wanted to pursue music as a career. She quickly moved through the classical realm, attending the Manhattan School of Music in New York. She later received her masters at the Royal College of Music in London and made the decision to stay and teach there for the next 10 years.  

However, teaching did not suit Honma as well as she hoped. Her son, Ethan, had just been born, and her responsibility as a mother conflicted with the rigorous schedule of a college professor. Additionally, Honma felt that London was not the most friendly place to raise a family. 

“I thought, ‘This is not where I want my kids to grow up,’” Honma said. “They have a high rate of teen pregnancy and a drinking culture. People thought a fun thing to do on Fridays was getting so drunk they threw up.”

Honma soon moved back to America, where she busied herself with both her career and the task of raising her children. However, just like before, her professional life conflicted with her responsibilities as a mother, and the frequent trips to Europe for concerts drastically reduced her time with family. 

With hopes of closing the distance between music and family, Honma began to localize her job, teaching at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. 

“I started building stuff around here, so I could be more family centered,” Honma said. “You’ll see from my records that my concerts have been more and more centralized around the Bay Area.”

Because of her newfound proximity to her family, Honma could integrate music into her household of four children: Ethan, Samuel, Amy, and Matthew. Ethan, the oldest, and his three siblings each play a different string instrument, but all have some experience with the piano. 

“I was sometimes asked to fill in for percussionists, and there were times when I had to bring Ethan along,” Honma said. “I would say, ‘Hey Ethan, want to play the bass drum?’ and bring him out to these types of performances.”

Cotta took the opportunities to learn and improve, rapidly honing his skills. During the weekend of Oct. 10, Cotta performed Shostakovich’s “Violin Concerto No. 1” with the Saratoga Symphony. This event, organized by Honma, has further exposed Cotta to the professional world of music.

Cotta’s mother has always influenced his music career. Not only did his mother get him to play the violin at a young age, but she also personally oversees his training.

“She often goes over violin with me, and she is my piano teacher too,” Cotta said. “She kind of forced me to play the violin, but I like it.”

Honma said her children and family have always been her motivation to reach this point in her life. She hopes to instill the same work ethic and values within her children as they grow up, she said.

“My hope for the kids is that Ethan stays with the violin,” Honma said. “The others are already starting to take up other string instruments. I’m hoping that I can introduce him and his siblings to more different kinds of music.”