Aug/10/2009
“The Young People’s Chorus of New York City” concluded their first Japan tour
Their energetic performance with clear voices in brilliant harmony drew enthusiastic applause at every concert in eighteen cities throughout Japan.
“Singing directly speaks to the hearts of people， creates heart-to-heart ties among people and leads people toward a peaceful world. …” This is the founder’s belief and an everlasting philosophical underpinning of the Min-On Concert Association. Based on this founding principle， Min-On has brought many internationally renowned choirs to Japan， making efforts in exchanges with youth and children’s choruses from around the world. Min-On invited this time “The Young People’s Chorus of New York City，” because their spirit and actions—fostering cross-cultural understanding among children and creating innocent voices of hope around the world toward the peaceful coexistence of all humanity—perfectly resonant with the founding principle of the Min-On Concert Association. The YPC became the seventeenth youthful choral ambassador group engaged as part of Min-On’s cultural exchange.
Forty-one selected members of the YPC led by Francisco J. Núñez， a young eminent artistic director and its founder， arrived in Japan on July 13， and their first Japan tour initiated in Miyagi Prefecture on July 15 in high spirits. Traveling around eighteen cities， where every performance drew a full house with enthusiastic applause， they concluded the entire tour in Kumamoto Prefecture on August 8 with a total success. All audiences enjoyed their beautiful and sensational performaces， including the Japan premiere of a song “Hope” written and composed by world-renowned jazz pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi， “Warabe Uta” (traditional Japanese lyrics) with music by well-known Japanese choral music composer Ko Matsushita， and a song “Tegami，” written by a popular Japanese singer-songwriter Angela Aki， etc. Their clear voices in brilliant harmony deeply touched the hearts of all audiences and created the bridges of hope and friendship.
Comments by Yuji Sakamoto (recording director):
“Among their songs， I was most impressed by the rendition of ‘Hope’ (lyrics by Shuntaro Tanigawa， music by Toshiko Akiyoshi). In the context of the many active and upbeat pieces in the YPC program， this song was tranquil and subdued. From the moment this song—which has Hiroshima for its theme—began， I felt as if the prayers of Japan and the United States had been summed up in an instant. American children singing a song in Japanese on the theme of the atomic bomb strikes me as an epochal event.”
“Singing directly speaks to the hearts of people， creates heart-to-heart ties among people and leads people toward a peaceful world. …” This is the founder’s belief and an everlasting philosophical underpinning of the Min-On Concert Association. Based on this founding principle， Min-On has brought many internationally renowned choirs to Japan， making efforts in exchanges with youth and children’s choruses from around the world. Min-On invited this time “The Young People’s Chorus of New York City，” because their spirit and actions—fostering cross-cultural understanding among children and creating innocent voices of hope around the world toward the peaceful coexistence of all humanity—perfectly resonant with the founding principle of the Min-On Concert Association. The YPC became the seventeenth youthful choral ambassador group engaged as part of Min-On’s cultural exchange.
Forty-one selected members of the YPC led by Francisco J. Núñez， a young eminent artistic director and its founder， arrived in Japan on July 13， and their first Japan tour initiated in Miyagi Prefecture on July 15 in high spirits. Traveling around eighteen cities， where every performance drew a full house with enthusiastic applause， they concluded the entire tour in Kumamoto Prefecture on August 8 with a total success. All audiences enjoyed their beautiful and sensational performaces， including the Japan premiere of a song “Hope” written and composed by world-renowned jazz pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi， “Warabe Uta” (traditional Japanese lyrics) with music by well-known Japanese choral music composer Ko Matsushita， and a song “Tegami，” written by a popular Japanese singer-songwriter Angela Aki， etc. Their clear voices in brilliant harmony deeply touched the hearts of all audiences and created the bridges of hope and friendship.
Comments by Yuji Sakamoto (recording director):
“Among their songs， I was most impressed by the rendition of ‘Hope’ (lyrics by Shuntaro Tanigawa， music by Toshiko Akiyoshi). In the context of the many active and upbeat pieces in the YPC program， this song was tranquil and subdued. From the moment this song—which has Hiroshima for its theme—began， I felt as if the prayers of Japan and the United States had been summed up in an instant. American children singing a song in Japanese on the theme of the atomic bomb strikes me as an epochal event.”
