The Japan Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO), based in Tokyo, has been promoting various music programs for communities such as education and welfare activities. JPO has synthesized its community projects and named them "the forest of music."

 The summer holiday concert series for parents and children is one of the most important programs of "the forest of music", and it has been conducted every summer now for 30 years.
 In Japan, students have summer holidays from the end of July to the end of August. The JPO holds more than ten concerts in the concert halls of Tokyo and in communities surrounding the city.
The JPO has hosted the series to aid children's cultural emotion through orchestra sounds. Mr. Minoru Tanabe, Executive director of the JPO said, "When the JPO began its concert series 30 years ago, we were concerned that children would get tired of listening to classical music. But, we were very surprised to see children eagerly listening to Beethoven's fifth symphony for half an hour! I believe that the JPO needs, more than anything, to perform wonderful classical music for children."

 A holiday concert has been planned based on various ideas given by the staff of the JPO, and it is composed of three parts. The 1st part is performances of a standard repertoire. The second part has a particular music theme and is marked by a speaking hostess. In this part, the works performed are mainly standard ones in the classical and romantic periods, but sometimes modern works in the 20th century that are related to the theme have also been performed. In the 3rd part, the JPO's music is accompanied by children's singing, such as that used for famous Japanese folk and nursery rhyme songs. The JPO has produced the concerts basically like this, and it has been trying to take in modern trends every year.

 This year, the JPO celebrated the 30th anniversary of its summer holiday concerts and held pre-concert events. A workshop for making music, sightseeing in the concert hall, or a talk with the artists was held before every concert. Children and parents enjoyed every event.

 The JPO also held a talk session between artists and children after the concert. More than 100 children and their parents gathered together with the artists. The children asked the artists various questions, such as "How can I learn to play an instrument well?" and " How can we become a conductor?" More plans for summer concerts will certainly enable children to feel closer to classical music and the artists that play it.

 Ms. Junko Yamagishi, a staff member of the JPO's summer concert, said that more than 1.1 million children and parents have listened to the concerts. Some people who listened to the concerts many years ago when they were children now bring their children to the concerts. And some people who were deeply impressed by the concerts studied music hard and became orchestra players themselves. This concert series connects the generations and ages. Ms. Yamagishi also talked about the content of the series: "Children draw and make stories in their mind, listening to rich sounds made by 90 orchestra players. They get something very important for their life through this musical experience. The JPO has held this concert series to show the beauty and power of classical music to children, who have open minds and can learn to appreciate the art form. The JPO continues this year to present children with the wings of art with which they can soar to ethereal heights as they partake in the rich sounds of the orchestra."

 Many promising young and established Japanese artists have appeared at the JPO's summer holiday concerts. This year, Ken Takaseki and Tatsuya Shimono appeared as conductors, and Noriko Ogawa appeared as a pianist.

Ken Takaseki, Tatsuya Shimono, and Noriko Ogawa are the artists originally selected for inclusion at this site.