The Oxford University Orchestra will make its debut in Japan later this month.
The OUO is the flagship orchestra of the oldest university in the English-speaking world and is part of the Oxford University Music Society, whose roots date back to 1872. Arguably the world's oldest student orchestra, the orchestra will hold two charity concerts in Japan, in Yokohama on March 21 and in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, on March 24.
The orchestra's Japan tour has materialized thanks to the efforts of Shun Hioki, a former violinist of the OUO.
"Diversity is the word that best describes the OUO," said Hioki, who studied law at Oxford University from 2016 to 2018. "Students come to the university from about 140 countries and territories in the world, and the orchestra members include those majoring in physics, law and other subjects. Such diversity produces harmony, which leads to true globalization. This way of thinking never occurred to me when I lived only in Japan."
The concerts will be joint performances by 30 OUO members and selected members of the Orchestra MOTIF, a student orchestra started by Hioki in 2012.
"It's one of the goals of this project to deepen exchanges between the members of both orchestras," Hioki said. "Music can harmonize the feelings of people in various groups."
Orchestra MOTIF's members include students from Hioki's alma mater, Keio University, as well as from Tokyo University of the Arts, Toho Gakuen College Music Department and other colleges, plus former student members. The orchestra has given charity concerts in Myanmar, and some of the members have taught strings to children in Soma.
American conductor Cayenna Ponchione, a postdoctoral researcher at Oxford, will be on the podium for the forthcoming OUO concerts. The programs on both days will feature "Jupiter" from Holst's "The Planets," and Beethoven's Romance No. 2 with Hioki as the soloist.
"Kintsukuroi" (Golden Repairs) by Oxford student Grace-Evangeline Mason, which will be played on March 21, was inspired by Japan. The March 24 concert is part of a music festival for children in Soma, and the OUO will be joined by the children's orchestra and chorus in the city in a performance of Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1.
"The OUO is a technically accomplished orchestra," Hioki said. "The members include those who have won in music competitions or even appeared in the BBC Promenade Concerts."
The March 21 concert will take place from 3 p.m. at Fujiwara Hiroshi Hall at Keio University in Yokohama, while the March 24 concert will be held from 1 p.m. at Soma Shimin Kaikan city hall in Soma.
Both concerts have free admission but require reservations in advance. Email motif.office@gmail.com for inquiries and reservations.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
