<<Back Page Next Page>> Concert for Tokyoite: After-Hours’ Classics ‘Music Oasis’ ■ Sep 2 (Thu), Oct 4 (Mon), Nov 4 (Thu), and Dec 20 (Mon) ■ Lobby Gallery ■ 18:00 - (for about 40 minutes) ■ Admission: Free Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, one of Japan’s leading orchestras, presents a pleasure of classical ensembles in the glassy space of the Forum. Please drop in on your way back from work and enjoy the luxurious and relaxing time with the classical music in the early evening. Contact: Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra TEL: 03-3822-0727 http://www.tmso.or.jp Sponsored by: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Personal Welfare Foundation In cooperation with: Tokyo International Forum Free Open Rehearsal by Japan Philharmonic Orchestra ■ Sep 1 (Wed) from 19:00 at ■ Hall B7 ■ Admission: Free With kind cooperation of Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, a well-known orchestra in ‘Maestro Saloon’, Tokyo International Forum invites 300 people to a free open rehearsal of JPO. Application can be made from Aug 05 (Thu) on a first come first served basis! * No preschoolers. ・ Conductor: Junichi Hirokami ・ Program (subject to change): G. Mahler, Symphony No. 8 ‘Symphony of A Thousand’ ・ Application: All the booking should be made on Tokyo International Forum’s Website. http://www.t-i-forum.co.jp/function/news/data/040715.html For more detail, contact: Public Relations Group, Tokyo International Forum TEL: 03-5221-9035 Email: forumpr@t-i-forum.co.jp Cooperation: Japan Philharmonic Orchestra Echoes of the beating Japanese drums in the Courtyard: Pre-event of ‘Buon-no-Tsuchinari’ Presented by TAO Hot performance in a hot day On Sunday May 30, in the early summer sunshine, ‘TAO,’ a passionate Japanese Wadaiko drummers’ group, came to the Tokyo International Forum courtyard from their native Kyushu. Nobody knew how the beating of the drums would sound in the courtyard as this was the first drum performance ever held there. A new discovery was that the walls of the Glass Hall worked as echo boards and helped create the grandiose sounds of the soul-stirring drums. Such sounds would not have been possible in a concert hall. Despite the fact that the event had not been advertised, the performance attracted a large audience when the beating of the drums started. More than 200 people enjoyed the performance under sunshine filtering down through the trees. This outdoor event was organized as a demonstration for the group’s coming event ‘Buon-no-Tsuchinari (dancing beat from the ground),’ which will be held from Aug 20 (Fri) to 22 (Sun) in Hall D7. In a sense, the event is a formal declaration of a major debut for TAO. It is to let people know that the group is now ready to expand their sphere of activity from their local Kyushu to the entire country. TAO, which has been based in Kuju-cho, Oita since 1995, was founded in 1993, aiming to make Japanese drum performance ‘a world-level entertainment’. By 2000, more than a million people had enjoyed the drum performances. With more than 200 concerts performed each year, the group has already become so popular that they appeared in NHK television’s 50th Annual New Years Eve Festival in 1999. Yet, the group regards the performance at the Tokyo International Forum as the ‘official major debut.’ Why? Official Debut at the Forum Ikuo Fujitaka, the General Producer of TAO since its foundation, explains the reason. “We have responded to many requests for events and concerts from Tokyo. So far, ‘Buon-no-tsuchinari’ is the first production that we think is a true TAO’s original. For the last ten years, we have been dreaming of making an official debut with an original production at the Tokyo International Forum. However, for a group based in Kyushu, there are barriers to a self-funded event in Tokyo. Thanks to the many people who have helped us, our dream has finally come true.” The bamboo forest appeared in Hall D7 Their performance in Tokyo takes place while TAO does a month-long performance at the Edinburgh Festival in Britain. “When the performance at the Forum was decided, the performance in Edinburgh had already been fixed. To be honest, we thought we could wait until next year to come to Tokyo. However, we believe that the quality of our performance would not be reduced by dividing our group into two. Besides, fifteen Asian artists, who we have had a friendship with, have come forward to join the event. The collaboration with these Asian artists has been an important part of TAO’s activity. In the end, we decided to do both. We thought doing both would be a great opportunity to demonstrate our drumming.” “For the performance at the Tokyo International Forum, we are doubly thrilled. At the Forum, we can create a space surrounded with the bamboo trees here, just like we always have in Kuju. The bamboo forests will converge on the stage and in the auditorium and create a unified space. ‘We hope that the audience we meet in Hall D7 becomes the first group of people to support TAO’s activity in Tokyo.”