Performances at the Vatican and in Germany Provide a Chance to Display the Results of Their Study Efforts
Group members hard at work practicing at the Otsu Handicapped Center for their upcoming European concert tour.
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The Choral Music Group (office located in Otsu City, 80 members, Mitsuyo Araki, group representative), which is made up of chorus group directors from Shiga Prefecture, will have its first European concert tour in March. The group plans to perform at a mass in Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The members of the group are in high spirits, hoping to exhibit the results of their practice and studies in Europe, the birthplace of choral music.
The group was formed twelve years ago, holding monthly meetings with the goal of improving the level of choral music. The meetings are attended by directors of choral groups and choral music lovers, and top level musicians are invited as instructors so that the members can learn performance theory, etc. The group's first concert tour in Europe has been planned as a culmination of their study efforts. Forty-four members, forty-one of which are women, will depart on March 22, and will hold performances at the Vatican and in Germany. In Germany, the group will perform German folk and religious songs as well as classical Japanese songs in Otsu's sister city of Wurzburg. At the Vatican, the group will be performing songs for mass services, a specialty of the group. |
