As you know if you were able to join us, yesterday's special free concert of music by Very Young Composers from Japan and New York was a very big hit!
The concert, held at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, culminated a weeklong residency by nine 10–14-year-olds visiting us from Fukushima, Japan — site of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011. The residency and concert were part of the TOMODACHI Very Young Composers Fukushima–New York Program.
Philharmonic musicians and Teaching Artists performed the works, which were composed on the universal theme of Rebirth, referencing the melody known in Japan as "chuocho" (butterfly) and in the United States as "Lightly Row."
The Very Young Composers got to meet Philharmonic Radio Host and Board Member Alec Baldwin and President Matthew VanBesien, seen in this photo:
The concert was covered by Agence France-Presse (picked up by Yahoo! News), The Independent (UK), Kyodo News, and FujiTV.
Here's an interview with two Very Young Composers by Fred Katayama, a Reuters anchor and a board member of the U.S.-Japan Council, followed by an interview Katayama did with two parents:
Top: Very Young Composers from Japan and New York with New York Philharmonic musicians and Teaching Artists, plus Vice President, Education, Theodore Wiprud (far right) and Very Young Composers founder Jon Deak (to Wiprud's right) (Photos: Michael DiVito)
