[Graduation Songs] Choral pieces perfect for singing at elementary school graduation ceremonies: A collection of moving classics

Song of LifeTakeuchi Mariya

Choral accompaniment for “Song of Life” — Graduation Ceremony Performance 2023-03-17

“Inochi no Uta,” crafted by Mariya Takeuchi under the pen name Miyabi, is a renowned song often performed at graduation ceremonies.

Featured in the NHK morning drama series “Dandan,” it moved many viewers.

Its gentle piano accompaniment and lyrics that praise the preciousness of life deliver a powerful message that encourages children embarking on their new beginnings at graduation.

Takeuchi herself later recorded a self-cover, making it a song cherished by an even wider range of generations.

It would be hard to find a more fitting choice for a ceremony marking a new departure.

On the Day of DepartureSakushi: Kojima Noboru / Sakkyoku: Sakamoto Hiromi

[Chorus Song] On the Day of Departure / With Lyrics / Singing Practice / Graduation Song #chorus #classchorus #graduationsong #choruscontest

A staple song at graduation ceremonies that is often sung by graduates of elementary, junior high, and high schools.

Compared to songs like “Aogeba Tōtoshi,” its history is still relatively short, but its beautiful harmony and familiar lyrics have made it popular with many students.

The song was composed in 1991 by a junior high school principal and a music teacher in Chichibu City, and it gradually spread to schools beyond the one where it was created.

It has been included in music textbooks, and despite being a choral piece, its lyrics are not overly formal and its gentle melody has earned strong support from students.

Thanks to its soft atmosphere that makes it easy even for sixth graders to sing, it is also a popular graduation song among elementary school students.

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SAKI

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TOMORROWLyrics and Composition: Sugimoto Ryūichi

[Choral Song] Tomorrow (Mixed Chorus, Three-Part) [3-Singer Version]

This song, beloved as the ending theme of NHK’s nature documentary program “Ikimono Chikyū Kikō” (A Journey of Life on Earth), is one of Ryuichi Sugimoto’s signature works as both lyricist and composer.

Released as a single in May 1993, it is also included on the album “Tomorrow — NHK ‘Ikimono Chikyū Kikō’ Soundtrack.” Its lyrics, which sing of hope for tomorrow while drawing on the grandeur of nature—like birds soaring in the sky and stardust in the night—leave a lasting impression and gently encourage the listener.

With a calm tempo and expansive melody, it’s perfect for choral performance and is sung in various arrangements, including two-part and mixed three-part choruses.

It has long been cherished as a standard song for graduation and farewell ceremonies, and when voices come together, it warmly colors any moment of departure.

bondYamazaki Tomoko

Kizuna (Three-Part Mixed Chorus) with Lyrics

A choral piece perfect for graduation ceremonies that sings about the bonds of friendship formed during school life.

The song was written and composed by Tomoko Yamazaki, a lyricist-composer known for numerous choral works such as “Kawaranai Mono” and “Taisetsu na Mono.” You can make friends as early as kindergarten or nursery school, but the time spent together is still short, and it’s rare to form strong bonds at that stage.

Over six long years, however—sharing the same classroom, taking the same lessons, participating in the same events, and even eating the same meals—friends gradually become tied by a strong bond.

This song expresses gratitude for that bond and the desire to cherish it from here on out.

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Friend ~Time of Departure~yuzu

Yuzu “Friend ~The Time of Departure~”

A graduation song by Yuzu that was chosen as the set piece for the Junior High School Division of the 80th NHK All-Japan School Music Competition.

Although it is designated for junior high students, it was created with lyrics that are easy for elementary school students to understand and a melody that is easy to sing.

This song is filled to the brim with gratitude for friends who spent six years together.

There are sections where you sing out powerfully, and it’s recommended to pour in all the memories from those six years and your feelings for your friends as you perform.

The further the song progresses, the more it brings tears to your eyes.

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ultramarineSakkyoku: Oda Miki

Gunjou [Mixed Chorus, Four-Part Version]

This choral piece was created with the cooperation of students from Minamisoma City elementary and junior high schools in Fukushima Prefecture and their teacher, Miki Oda.

It expresses feelings for friends who have been scattered across the country and the hope of being able to reunite in their hometown.

The scenes of looking back on the many memories shared with friends and the desire to send their wishes far away are particularly striking.

The realization that the ordinary, unremarkable days they spent were the true source of happiness makes it a moving piece perfectly suited for graduation ceremonies.

It is a song that conveys the strength of the bonds forged in their hometown, extending beyond just friendships.

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the world of dreamssakushi: furō akiko / sakkyoku: hashimoto shōji

the world of dreams

Memories of treading on fallen leaves, an avenue bathed in the glow of the setting sun, the chirping of small birds, and the clear scene of a babbling brook.

Interweaving these tangible touches of nature, this song calls on friends to share their dreams together.

Born from an NHK music program in the 1970s and later arranged as a choral piece, it was composed by Yoshimichi Hashimoto, who, while deeply involved in creating educational materials at Kyoiku Geijutsu Sha, left behind many works that balance singability with evocative imagery.

Its gentle, swaying 6/8 rhythm naturally supports a sense of walking and the flow of scenery, and the structure—expanding from unison in the first half to full chorus in the latter—is a highlight.

It is a song that quietly encourages children to take a new step on the special day of graduation, as they look back on memories with their friends.