Toshiba Philharmonic Orchestra to Tour the United States Performances in Three Cities During Spring, 1996

11 January, 1996


TOKYO -- Toshiba Corporation today announced that the Toshiba Philharmonic Orchestra will present its first overseas concerts during a forthcoming visit to the United States. The spring tour, scheduled for April 29 - May 6, will take the orchestra from California to Tennessee to New York, and will conclude with a performance in Carnegie Hall.

Established in 1989 by classical music lovers at Toshiba Corporation's Tokyo headquarters, the Toshiba Philharmonic Orchestra today numbers more than 100 musicians, its members all Toshiba Group personnel working in the Tokyo region. The orchestra has build up a repertoire that embraces some of the greatest works in the classical catalogue. The orchestra has performed in many parts of Japan, and each year presents two or more concerts in Tokyo. During the last six years, the Toshiba Philharmonic has earned a reputation as one of Japan's leading amateur orchestras.

Honorary Chairman of the Toshiba Philharmonic Orchestra is Mr. Shoichi Saba, former Chairman of Toshiba Corporation and currently Advisor to the Board of the company. One of Japan's most distinguished business leaders, Mr. Saba has guided the development of the orchestra since its creation. He comments: "To my knowledge, the TPO is unique in the world as an orchestra of such size and activity, entirely made up of employees of a single company. In addition to its performances of fine music, the TPO has made a great contribution to cultural interaction with local communities as well as to the morale of Toshiba Corporation as a whole. It has been a special pleasure to watch it grow and flourish. I am delighted to see that other Japanese companies have recently begun to follow our example in creating orchestras of their own.

The U.S. concert tour will take the orchestra to three states where key Toshiba subsidiaries operate. It will open in Irvine, California, with concerts on April 29 and 30 in the Irvine Barclay Theater. On May 3, the orchestra will perform at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, under the auspices of Governor Donald Sundquist. This concert has been selected as an official event of Tennessee 200, the state's celebration of its bicentenary. The final concert by the Toshiba Philharmonic Orchestra will take place on May 6 in New York's famous Carnegie Hall, one of the world's most distinguished musical venues. The orchestra will be led by its regular conductor, Mr. Yoshinori Kawachi. The program for each concert on the U.S. tour will consist of masterpieces by Mozart, Dvorak and Tchaikovsky; featured soloist will be internationally acclaimed cello virtuoso Ko Iwasaki.

The Toshiba Philharmonic Orchestra was established as a voluntary effort by company employees seeking to express their love of classical music. The orchestra's enthusiasm has proved infectious, and is a powerful stimulus for cultural interaction with local communities. The orchestra is funded by contributions from its members, Toshiba Corporation's subsidies and proceeds from sales of tickets to its concerts. All income from sales of tickets to the concerts in the United States will be donated to local charitable organizations.

Mr. Hironori Yano, TPO's Chairman and General Manager of Toshiba's International Division, who plays the cello in the orchestra, comments: "All TPOs members look forward with great pleasure to performing for America audiences. All of them are true music lovers who often devote their weekends to rehearsals at Toshiba headquarters. The orchestra encourages friendships with people working in different fields, regardless of seniority. I think that U.S. tour will be a significant step for the development of TPO.

Toshiba is delighted to support the orchestra and wishes it every success in its tour of the United States. The company has a long standing commitment to support the development of the communities in which it operates, and it views the U.S. tour as an excellent means to foster cultural exchange and improve mutual understanding between the people of Japan and America.


The Toshiba Philharmonic Orchestra Fact Sheet

1996 United States tour

(1) Concert Dates and Venues

April 29 and 30, 1996 Irvine Barclay Theater (Irvine, California)
May 3, 1996 War Memorial Auditorium (Nashville, Tennessee)
May 6, 1996 Carnegie Hall (New York, NY)

(2) Participants

Conductor Yoshinori Kawachi
Professor at Senzoku Gakuen University and
Lecturer at Tokyo University of Arts
Solo Cellist Ko Iwasaki
Professor at Southern Methodist University, Dallas
Members of TPO Approximately 100

(3) Concert Program (for all concerts)

Mozart Overture to The Marriage of Figaro
Dvorak Cello Concerto in B Minor, Opus 104
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Opus 64

(4) Major Supporting Organizations

State of Tennessee
The Japan Society (New York)
The Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (New York)
Orange County Philharmonic Society (Irvine, California)
Nashville Symphony Orchestra
United Airlines
Toshiba Corporation, Toshiba America, Inc., Toshiba International Foundation
Toshiba Tourist Corporation

(5) Tour Management

Grilli & Associates and ICM Artists Ltd.


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