FUKUSHIMA--Composer Ryuichi Sakamoto's orchestra of 100 young musicians affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster is coming to Tokyo to perform next year.
FUKUSHIMA--Composer Ryuichi Sakamoto's orchestra of 100 young musicians affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster is coming to Tokyo to perform next year.
The Tohoku Youth Orchestra he founded will stage the concert on March 26, days after the fifth anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
He attended his first rehearsal here on Dec. 23.
“I want to recognize the joy of sharing emotions stirred by music,” said the Oscar-winning musician, who played piano along with the orchestra performing his compositions, including "The Last Emperor," at the session.
Sakamoto, 63, started the project as a means to provide moral support for children still in the process of recovering from the disaster.
Children living in Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima prefectures at the time of the earthquake were chosen to join the project via a public call for participation.
The orchestra’s members range from fourth-grade pupils to fourth-year university students.
One player is Rie Saito, a flutist and first-year university student in Tokyo originally from the coastal town of Shichigahama, Miyagi Prefecture, which was inundated by the March 11, 2011 tsunami.
“I want the audience to remember the disaster,” said Saito.
The concert will be held at the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall.