36th International Junior Original Concert preview in The Daily Yomiuri on 16th November 2007

Young talent on stage at Tokyo showcase

Stephen Taylor / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer

There may be a chance to spot the next Hiromi Uehara on Nov. 23, when Bunkamura Orchard Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo, plays host to the 36th International Junior Original Concert.

Uehara performed at the concert in 1993 and has gone on to command an international audience. In September she played with Chick Corea at Blue Note Tokyo and will return to the world-famous jazz club for two concerts at the end of this month.

The young musicians range in age from 9-year-old Yuichi Yoshimoto, from Hokkaido, who will play a suite titled Insect Battle, to 16-year-old Erika Kawamura of Tokyo, whose composition is called Early Spring.

They will be joined by seven other young Japanese musicians from Chiba, Fukuoka, Hyogo, Osaka, Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures as well as four overseas participants from Yamaha music schools in Canada, Indonesia, Mexico and Taiwan.

All the students attend the music classes in their free time, outside of their regular elementary and middle school curriculums.

Unlike other musical events for young people, the event will showcase original compositions by the participants and will also feature an interesting form of audience participation.

Members of the audience who can write music will be invited to pen one musical phrase and drop their suggestion into a collection box.

After the ninth performer has finished, one of the phrases will be picked out and given to one of the 13 performers, who will proceed to use it as the basis of an impromptu composition.

The 36th International Junior Original Concert takes place at Bunkamura Orchard Hall, a 7-minute walk from JR Shibuya Station, on Nov. 23, from 3 p.m. Tickets are priced at 3,000 yen and 4,000 yen. Call (03) 5773-0820 or visit www.yamaha-mf.or.jp for more information.

Ticket giveaway

Yamaha Music Foundation is offering Daily Yomiuri readers five pairs of tickets to the 36th International Junior Original Concert at Bunkamura Orchard Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo, on Nov. 23, starting at 3 p.m. To apply, e-mail dy-arts@yomiuri.com or send a postcard with your name, address, telephone number, age and comments about the Weekend pages to: The Daily Yomiuri, International Junior Original Concert ticket giveaway, 1-7-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, 100-8055. The first five readers to respond will win the tickets.
(Nov. 16, 2007)