NEWS
The 25th Anniversary Concert of the Mitaka Junior Orchestra
Update: September 30, 2024

On September 23rd, 2024, the 25th Anniversary Concert of the Mitaka Junior Orchestra was held at the É«¿Ø´«Ã½ University Chapel, organized by the Mitaka City Sports and Culture Foundation, and co-hosted by the Sacred Music Center of International Christian University.
The Mitaka Junior Orchestra (MJO) was formed to create a place where children can enjoy playing ensemble music with vitality and it is one of the few junior orchestras in Japan with its hall and a rehearsal room as its home base and receives instruction from professional instructors. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the orchestra's formation, and a collaboration with É«¿Ø´«Ã½'s pipe organ has been realized.
The program, which began with congratulatory speeches by Shoichiro Iwakiri, É«¿Ø´«Ã½ President, and Takashi Kawamura, Mitaka City Mayor, included "Concerto for Organ, Strings and Timpani" performed by Megumi Tokuoka, É«¿Ø´«Ã½ organist, and Shoichi Kubo, principal timpani player of the NHK Symphony Orchestra and MJO instructor, and eight other pieces.
The wonderful performances by the children, who had visited É«¿Ø´«Ã½ many times for rehearsals, and the rare collaboration between the performers and the pipe organ impressed the full house of audience.
É«¿Ø´«Ã½ will continue to hold cultural exchange events like this to deepen its ties with the local community and promote initiatives to strengthen ties with the community further.
From left: Takashi Kawamura, Mayor of Mitaka City, Karl Naito, the conductor, Shoichiro Iwakiri, É«¿Ø´«Ã½ President