It is a pleasure to announce that the Japan Chamber Music Foundation will hold the 5th Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and Festa in May 2005. Since 1993, the Foundation has triennially organized the Competition and Festa in Osaka, with the aim of shining the spotlight on musicians committed to chamber music, which, we believe, contains the essence of all musical principles.

 The 5th Osaka International Chamber Music Competition comprises a 1st Section (String Quartet) and a 2nd Section (Woodwind Ensemble of three to five instruments).The 2nd Section is subdivided into six genres ,i.e., Woodwind Quintet, Woodwind Trio, Trio for Flute, Violoncello and Piano, Piano Quintet, Flute Quartet and Saxophone Quartet. Thereby we expect the 2nd Section will be a large-scale competition in the field of the Woodwinds. We sincerely hope that, through the performance of the required repertoire, participants in the Competition who are within the age-limit (16-35 years) will have a chance to learn the latest way of performing the repertoire of their instrument, as well as the evaluating first hand the level of other young musicians from around the world.

 In contrast, the "Osaka International Chamber Music Festa" is a competition that imposes no age-limit on the participants and does not specify any repertoire; the participants may use any musical instrument they wish. Accordingly, in addition to western classical music, participants can perform various types of traditional or ethnic music from any region of the world. Compared to a large number of other competitions, this competition is evaluated through a unique system under which 100 representatives of the audience judges the performances accounts for the international reputation of the Festa. Participants of the Festa, therefore, can determine to what extent their performing styles or works are valued by their audience; this recognition, we believe, will be useful for them to establish their performing styles.

 "One outstanding feature of the Competition and Festa concerns the financial assistance provided by the Organizer. The participants from outside Japan will be offered a round-trip air ticket and accommodation. Other details regarding this event are available on the newly launched Website at the following
URL: http://www.jcmf.or.jp/competition (in English and Japanese)

 Lastly, it is our sincere hope that the Competition and Festa will offer to all participants a golden opportunity to compete with their rivals from around the world, and to improve their capacity as musicians. Please remember the closing date for sending applications is November 1, 2004.
Contact (Secretariat) email: zaidan@jcmf.or.jp

The above article is reproduced by courtesy of the Japan Chamber Music Foundation.