Image: © Simon Jay Price
UK Study Tour for Orchestra and Concert Hall Managers
In early 2013, the British Council took a group of 10 orchestra, theatre and concert hall managers from across Japan on a UK study tour, organised in partnership with the BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO). The programme, planned to coincide with the BBC SO's Diverse Orchestras Week: Japan, allowed the delegates to participate in a number of the BBC SO’s diverse and innovative education programmes, as well as meeting representatives from the London Symphony Orchestra, the Southbank Centre and various other major UK orchestras and concert halls. The meetings provided delegates with valuable insight into the strategies and practices of cultural organisations in the UK, and an opportunity to exchange ideas on how cultural organisations in Japan might connect with their local communities, or deliver educational programmes in the future.
As a follow-up to the UK study tour, the British Council organised a forum The Role of Orchestras and Concert Halls in the Local Community – the future of music education programmes, in March 2013. This was an opportunity for the delegates of the UK study tour to present and share what they had seen and experienced, with other key players in the music sector in Japan. The forum coincided with the London Symphony Orchestra’s (LSO) programme in Japan, allowing Eleanor Gussman, the LSO’s director of educational programmes, and workshop director Rachel Leach to join the discussions and introduce the LSO’s approach to educational programmes, giving further insight into the diversity of approaches that UK organisations are taking in their education programmes.
Over 150 people from the music sector attended the forum and engaged in lively discussions about the educational programmes that orchestras and concert halls provide, new possibilities, and connecting with local communities.
UK Study Programme Overview
Dates: Friday 25 January – Monday 4 February 2013
Visits: BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Philharmonia Orchestra, Barbican, Southbank Centre and others
Organisers: British Council, BBC Symphony Orchestra
Supporter: Affinis Arts Foundation
Forum: The Role of Orchestras and Concert Halls in the Local Community – the future of music education programmes
Date: Tuesday 5 March 2013, 18:30-21:30
Venue: Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall
Organiser: British Council
Co-organiser: Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall (Kawasaki City Cultural Foundation)
UK Study Programme Participants
(alphabetical order by surname)
Aki Hasegawa (Suntory Hall)
Yukiko Ito (Kanagawa Kenritsu Ongakudo Hall)
Takuma Kakitsuka (Japan Century Symphony Orchestra)
Misa Kirihara (New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra)
Sadao Kisanuki (Niigata City Performing Arts Centre "RYUTOPIA")
Atsushi Koide (Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra)
Akiko Maeda (Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra)
Yukihiro Masumitsu (Japan Philharmonic Orchestra)
Kumiko Ozaki (Affinis Cultural Foundation)
Takuma Tsuyuki (Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall)