Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra will get together with singers from the Nikikai Opera Theatre for an unusual "collaboration live" program at Todai-ji (Great Eastern Temple) in Nara on October 14, 2006. The concert is part of a series of events and Buddhist ceremonies marking the eight hundredth anniversary of the death of Chogen, the monk who oversaw the restoration of Todai-ji, which had suffered great damage in the Gempei War of 1180-85. Originally completed in 752, Todai-ji, is among a number of historic monuments in the ancient capital city of Nara that were collectively designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1998.

 The temple will be the setting for the first live encounter between Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, whose unique sound has attracted devoted fans in Japan and abroad, and artists of the Nikikai Opera, a company beloved by classical music devotees. Under the theme "Tradition and Revolution" the concert seeks to present a new kind of classic/pop synthesis.

October 14 (Sat.), 2006 Concert starts at 19:00.
  Todai-ji, Temple, Great Buddha Hall (Daibutsuden)

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
Nikikai Opera Theater singers:
      Michiko Matsui (soprano)
      Tatsuya Higuchi (tenor)
      Ikuo Oshima (baritone)

Reserved seats: ¥6,300 (tax included)
Reserved standing room: ¥5,250 (tax included)

For more information, call +81-6-6881-7023 (Yomiuri Shimbun Osaka main office, Culture and Sports Projects Bureau)
or, on the Internet, see
      http://skapara-toudaiji.com/ (Japanese only)
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
      http://www.tokyoska.net/index.html (English & Japanese)