ITOCHU’s support for “TMSO × ITOCHU Class Concert 2017” and “Boku-to-Watashi-to-Orchestra (You, I and the Orchestra): Let’s Unite Together by the Rings of Music♪” in Fukushima through the “ITOCHU Children’s Dreams Fund” support for disaster-affected areas

January 6, 2017

ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Masahiro Okafuji, President & CEO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it would collaborate with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra (headquartered in Taito-ku, Tokyo; Seiichi Kondo, President; hereinafter “TMSO”) in holding “TMSO × ITOCHU Class Concert 2017” and “Boku-to-Watashi-to-Orchestra (You, I and the Orchestra): Let’s Unite Together by the Rings of Music♪” through the “ITOCHU Children’s Dreams Fund” support for disaster-affected areas.

The class concert has been held since 2014 to encourage children in Tohoku through music as part of the “ITOCHU Children’s Dreams Fund” for supporting the dreams of children in disaster-affected areas. For this third event, a string quartet from TMSO will visit elementary and junior high schools operating in provisional buildings in evacuation areas within 30 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station to hold classroom-style concerts. The TMSO members will give performances and talks and play together with the chorus of the local children, as well as offer hands-on violin experience sessions.

In addition, this year ITOCHU will also collaborate in holding the orchestra performance “Boku-to-Watashi-to-Orchestra (You, I and the Orchestra): Let’s Unite Together by the Rings of Music♪” to be held in February with the participation of around 3,600 elementary and junior high school students in Iwaki. Nine students from Katsurao Elementary School, which is to be visited for the class concert, will be invited to the performance. We hope that the upcoming sixth concert will provide the children, who behave cheerfully despite their anxiety, with the opportunity to have an emotional experience with their friends through a joint session of around 1,800 elementary school students singing together along with the orchestra while enjoying the world of music performed by the orchestra.

ITOCHU will continue to provide support for the reconstruction of the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake in the future. It will work through the ITOCHU Children’s Dreams Fund and conduct many other activities based on its approach to the development of future generations as specified in its basic activity guidelines on social contribution.

Outline of class concert to be held

TMSO × ITOCHU Class Concert 2017

Schedule and schools to be visited Monday, January 16, 2017
Tomioka Municipal Tomioka Daiichi and Daini Elementary School (provisional school building in Miharu), Namie Municipal Namie Junior High School (provisional school building in Nihonmatsu)
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Katsurao Municipal Katsurao Elementary School (provisional school building in Miharu), Kawauchi Municipal Kawauchi Elementary School (Kawauchi)
Performance String quartet by TMSO members
Violin: ENDO Kanako and YAMATO Kana
Viola: HAYASHI Yasuo, Violoncello: SHIMIZU Shiori
Content Chamber music concert/ pieces by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Dvořák and Rentaro Taki Experience musical instruments/ hands-on violin experience sessions
Joint session with chorus/ “Believe” by Ryuichi Sugimoto, “Mirai no Hikari he” (“To the Light of the Future”), an original song written by Namie Junior High School students and composed by school teachers
Sponsor Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
Collaborator ITOCHU Corporation
Cooperation SEA WAVE FM Iwaki

Boku-to-Watashi-to-Orchestra (You, I and the Orchestra): Let’s Unite Together by the Rings of Music♪

Schedule Wednesday, February 22, 2017;
10:30 a.m. concert for elementary school students
2:30 p.m. concert for junior high school students
Venue Main Hall of Alios Iwaki Performing Center
Target audience Elementary and junior high school students in Iwaki (schools that wish to participate in the concert within the city; scheduled for about 3,600 elementary and junior high school students); admission free
Programs To be announced
Invitation schedule for Katsurao Elementary School students (planned)
10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.: Enjoy the orchestra concert
After the concert: Enjoy meeting and interacting with the orchestra members
After the exchange: Enjoy seeing the inside of the Alios Iwaki Performing Center and backstage area
Sponsors Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, SEA WAVE FM Iwaki, NPO Society for Delivering Music to Children in Iwaki
Co-sponsor Alios Iwaki Performing Center
Collaborators ITOCHU Corporation and Hamadouri Kotsu
Cooperation Junior Chamber International Iwaki
Supporter Iwaki City Board of Education

TMSO × ITOCHU - Reconstruction assistance projects to date

15th joint concert

Date: Saturday, July 27, 2013, Tokyo Bunka Kaikan
Fourteen junior and senior high school students from areas in Fukushima Prefecture that suffered extensive damage in the Great East Japan Earthquake were invited to Tokyo. The children took part in section rehearsals and ensemble rehearsals together with children from Tokyo, in accordance with the instruction program of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. The lessons were held for two months and culminated in a joint recital with TMSO in the Main Hall of Tokyo Bunka Kaikan.

TMSO × ITOCHU Class Concert 2015

Dates: Tuesday, January 27 and Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Schools visited: Naraha Municipal Naraha Kita Elementary School/Minami Elementary School, Naraha Municipal Naraha Junior High School (January 27),
Hirono Municipal Hirono Elementary School, Hirono Junior High School (January 28)
Performance: String quartet with members of TMSO

TMSO × ITOCHU Class Concert 2016

Dates: Wednesday, January 20 and Thursday, January 21, 2016
Schools visited: Fukushima Prefectural Iwaki Special Needs Education School and Kawauchi Municipal Kawauchi Junior High School (January 20), Fukushima Prefectural Taira Special Needs Education School and Hirono Municipal Hirono Junior High School (January 21)
Performance: String quartet formed by TMSO members

TMSO × ITOCHU Class Concert 2015

TMSO × ITOCHU Class Concert 2016

Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra

Founded by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in 1965 as part of a cultural promotion project to mark the Tokyo Olympic Games. In 2015, TMSO’s 50th anniversary year, Kazushi Ono assumed the position of Music Director. In addition to its subscription concerts, the orchestra is involved in a variety of activities such as school concerts and outreach programs. As the Music Ambassador of Capital Tokyo, TMSO received much acclaim when it toured Europe in November of last year to commemorate its 50th anniversary (five countries, six cities). Abbreviated name: TMSO
TMSO’s official website: http://www.tmso.or.jp/

Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra

Accomplishments of ITOCHU Children’s Dreams Fund to date

March 2013
Donated funds to Takata Higashi Junior High School in Rikuzentakata City to cover expenses for sports uniforms and tournament participation fees for all youth baseball teams in Rikuzentakata City.
October 2013, May and September 2014, May and September 2015 and June and October 2016
Organized the ITOCHU Children’s Dream Cup boys’ baseball tournament in Rikuzentakata City (seven tournaments). It is planned to continue to organize this tournament in the future.
March 2014
Donated funds to Iwate Prefectural Yamada High School boat club to cover the cost of lifeboats and donated sports uniforms and other items to Sendai Municipal Nakano Elementary School for the Nakano Volleyball Junior Sports Club and the boys’ baseball team.
August 2014, August 2015 and July 2016
Organized the ITOCHU Children’s Dreams English Summer Camp in Rikuzentakata (three camps). It is planned to continue to organize this camp in the future.
February 2016
Organized ITOCHU Children’s Dream Snowboarding Class in Fukushima. The class will continue to be held.
November 2016
Invited the Kamaishi Seawaves RFC Junior team from Kamaishi, Iwate, to Tokyo and organized ITOCHU Children’s Dreams Rugby Scrum, the escort children for official games and a test match with a Tokyo rugby school.