NEC Navigates JAPAN'S CLASSICAL MUSIC ARTISTS

The Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa of Ishikawa Prefecture and its conductor, Michiyoshi Inoue, will perform a Hiroyuki Iwaki Memorial Concert in Toyama on August 31 and Kanazawa on September 2. Natsuko Yoshimoto, the first winner of the music award named for Hiroyuki Iwaki, will perform solo violin in the concert.

Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa is Japan's first professional, permanently established chamber orchestra. It was founded in 1988 through the efforts of the late conductor, Hiroyuki Iwaki, who served as its music director from then until his death in 2006. His activities in that position included overseeing the introduction of a composer-in-residence system, a guest orchestra system for subscription concerts and the commissioning of musical works to Japanese composers, as well as conducting the ensemble on overseas tours and in CD recordings.

The Iwaki Award was established in 2007 to recognize worthy musicians, in accordance with the last wishes of Mr Iwaki. In April, 13 candidates applying for the prize were judged by a panel consisting of pianist Kaori Kimura (widow of Hiroyuki Iwaki), Shinichiro Ikebe (composer and artistic director of Western music at the Ishikawa Ongakudo) and Michiyoshi Inoue (conductor and music director of Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa). They chose Natsuko Yoshimoto, who was born in 1976 and studied under Yehudi Menuhin. At the age of 14 Ms. Yoshimoto took second place in the junior division of the International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition. Since then she has performed in various European countries. At present she is based in Australia.

Hiroyuki Iwaki

Natsuko Yoshimoto