Departures of note

Yuka Bando was a Japanese classical horn player who served as principal horn of the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra. She was admired for a warm, full-bodied tone that filled concert halls and for her command of one of the orchestra's most demanding instruments. Bando had been receiving treatment for illness before her death on 18 October 2026, which the orchestra announced the following day. Her final social media post, from September 2026, reflected her enthusiasm for performing alongside fellow musicians. She was engaged to the cellist Rei Tsujimoto, who remembered her as a warm, considerate and ever-positive person whose playing was always wonderful to hear.