The Swedish Youth Choir (SYC) and its conductor, Maria Goundorina, arrived in Tokyo, Japan, in the morning of 2 April 2024. Although they had just been on an overnight flight, the choir had a rehearsal that evening during which they interacted through choral singing with the Japan Choral Association's Youth Special Choir. On the following day, 3 April, a joint concert was held at the Saitama Arts Theatre Concert Hall. Each choir performed their own exceptional repertoire, and the concert ended with a joint performance. As anticipated, both choirs charmed the audience which included the Swedish Ambassador, Pereric Högberg, and the President of the Japan Choral Association (JCA), Saeko Hasegawa.
On 4 April, a mini-concert was held with the Saitama Sakae High School Chorus Club in the city of Saitama. The following day, the Swedish Youth Choir experienced aspects of Japanese culture at the high school and went sightseeing in Kawagoe, the "Little Edo" area.
On 6 April, the Swedish Youth Choir traveled to Meguro River in Tokyo, one of the famous cherry blossom viewing spots, where they sang an ABBA medley as this day marked the 50th anniversary of ABBA's victory at Waterloo. This excursion was followed by a workshop at the Toho College of Music - Kawagoe Campus on 7 April. Maria Goundorina gave a workshop for teachers/choral conductors and coached junior and senior high school choirs (mixed, female voices, and male voices). This experience provided a special opportunity for the local school choirs and the Swedish Youth Choir to exchange via choral music.
On 8 April, representatives of the Swedish Youth Choir and members of an executive committee attended a lunch reception at the residence of the Swedish Ambassador. Then, in the early morning of 9 April, the Swedish Youth Choir departed from "Kenkatsu," where they had been staying, and left for home from the Haneda Airport.
For this particular tour, most of the events were held in Saitama. When the Swedish Youth Choir has the chance to come to Japan again, a nationwide tour would be our dream. Before that, the JCA Youth Choir may go to Sweden!
Reported by Yoshi Egawa, IFCM Vice-President, Japan
Concert at Saitama Arts Theater Concert Hall, Furusato, Japan, on April 3, 2024 — Music: Teiichi Okano — Lyrics: Tatsuyuki Takano, arr. Takatomi Nobunaga — The first verse was sung by JCA Youth Special Choir led by Taku Sato, the second verse by Swedish Youth Choir led by Kaoru Tani, and and the third verse together led by Maria Goundrina. Choirs: Swedish Youth Choir & Japan Choral Association Youth Special Choir — Conductors: Taku Sato, Kaoru Tani (Japan), Maria Goundrina (Sweden) — Date: 3 April 2024. This sheet music (score) can be downloaded free of charge from the following URL: https://jcanet.or.jp/Public/furusato.htm
Under the direction of Maria Goundorina, Swedish Youth Choir and Japan Choral Association Youth Special Choir singing together at the Saitama Arts Theater concert hall on 3 April 2024.
Official magazine of the International Federation for Choral Music, the International Choral Magazine is published quarterly in the four official languages of IFCM: English, French, German and Spanish. It is distributed in more than 80 countries on the five continents and is the official voice of choral music around the world.
Read moreOur focus at the moment is to unite the choral calendars of international choral organisations. Meanwhile please consult the calendar of choral events published by the European Choral Association - Europa Cantat here.
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