World choral festival as a place for mutual understanding

It is a great honor for the Japan Choral Association to host the 7th World Symposium on Choral Music in Kyoto, 2005, in collaboration with the International Federation for Choral Music. The Japan Choral Association developed its plan with the concept of providing a venue where choral singers and fans everywhere can hear a wide variety of choral music from around the world, including Asia, to deepen their mutual understanding of different races and cultures, using this opportunity of a World Symposium held in Asia for the first time, in Kyoto, a city steeped in history and tradition. We hope that while choral conductors and choir members from around the world participate in the Symposium, sing and listen to many types of choral music from diverse cultures, the understanding gained through this experience will prove highly significant in view of efforts toward global peace. We look forward to Kyoto in the summer of 2005 being filled with the voices of people who love choral music.

Nobuyoshi Yoshimura President, Japan Choral Association Chairman, Executive Committee, 7th World Symposium on Choral Music

The First Symposium in Asia

The International Federation for Choral Music, IFCM, organizes every three years a one-week event in cooperation with a national choral organization or a committee in a host country. The purpose of a world symposium is to promote artistic excellence, cooperation and exchange worldwide by bringing together the finest choirs and choral leaders for performances, seminars, workshops and concerts The 7th World Symposium in Kyoto, Japan will be the first in this region of Asia (although IFCM recognizes a very large region called Asia-South Pacific) and Sydney must be counted into the South Pacific region when a WS happened there in 1996. Each World Symposium should have its own character: I do hope that we will hear good choral music from Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and many more nations in the region. But I also hope to be totally surprised by the choral sound of a nation I never heard from before. I understand from visits to some of the countries in this region that we Europeans have much to expect and learn from the choral community in the ASP region! I know from my own experience that now and then I have to reevaluate art and artistic expressions. I do think that Kyoto, this old imperial city, will bring us something new and unexpected that will make my choral world change a bit. Welcome to WS7 in Kyoto!

Eskil Hemberg President, International Federation for Choral Music

"Eskil Hemberg passed away on June 26, 2004. We wish to express our most sincere sympathy to you all."