Saturday, March 4: COLORS: Contemporary Vocal Works of Japan
7pm Lecture, 7:30pm Concert
Sunday, March 5: Current Sounds Japan III
4:30pm Lecture, 5pm Concert
Music From Japan Festival 2023 New York Program
For its Festival 2023 New York, the 48th Season, and Eighth Artist Residency, Music From Japan (MFJ) was delighted to present two concerts at Scandinavia House’s Volvo Hall in Manhattan – one curated by Akane Matsudaira and another showcasing the work of three commissioned composers. On Saturday, March 4, “COLORS: Contemporary Vocal Works of Japan” featured seven stimulating vocal pieces, preceded by a lecture, titled “Vocal Works of Japan – from a singer’s perspective”, from Ms. Matsudaira (a prominent music critic and soprano in her own right). On Sunday, March 5, “Current Sounds Japan III” introduced Yoshihiro Kanno, Madoka Mori, and Akira Ito, three dynamic Japanese composers working today. Each of these artists contributed two pieces – one from their body of work and the other newly commissioned by MFJ for this occasion. Professor Yuji Numano spoke before the concert on “Recent Trends in Japanese Contemporary Music”. As usual, MFJ’s concert programs were supplemented by educational forums with the featured composers and curators, alongside New York-based composers, scholars, critics and musicians.
