Elektra Women's Choir
Diane Loomer, C.M. & Morna Edmundson
C0-conductors

present, from Tokyo, Japan,

Brilliant Harmony
Mr. Ko Matsushita, conductor

as part of Tapestry International Celebration of Women's Choirs

Thursday, February 26, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Spotlight: Brilliant Harmony, from Tokyo, Japan
Ryerson United Church_2195 W 45th Ave.,
Vancouver, BC $26 Adults | $20 Seniors/Students
Ticketmaster.ca 604.280.3311

Brilliant Harmony will be featured on Thursday February 26 (7:30 pm) in concert at Ryerson United Church (2195 W 45th Ave, Vancouver). They will also perform a solo set on Feb 28 and Mar 1, and sing in the combined finale of the festival on Mar 1. Full festival details may be found at elektra.ca or by calling the Elektra office 604.739.1255.

Brilliant Harmony is a women's choir based in Saitama Prefecture (Tokyo), and was formed in 1988 by artistic director, Ko Matsushita. In pursuit of new possibilities of women's choral music and profounder musical expressions, the choir has been engaged in a wide variety of activities such as holding annual concerts, recording CD's and participating in international competitions.

In 2002, the choir was awarded the Gold and NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) prizes in the Private Division at the JCA National Choral Competition. This was followed by winning the Second Prize in Female Voice Category, First Prize of Free Program Category and Public Prize at Florilege Vocal de Tours in France in 2003. In the following year, the choir was awarded the Grand Prize at the 36th annual Tolosa Choral Contest in Spain, along with First Prize in the Polyphony Category and Folklore Category. In 2005 Brilliant Harmony was the first women's choir from Asia awarded the European Grand Prix Award. This prestigious award recognized the first place wins in each of six major European competitions.

The February 26 performance of Brilliant Harmony is part of the official 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Canada, celebrating eighty years of partnership across the Pacific. This is Brilliant Harmony's first visit to North America.

Mr. Ko Matsushita, conductor
Ko Matsushita was born and raised in Tokyo and graduated at the top of his class from the Kunitachi College of Music (Department of Composition), where he won the Arima Award upon graduation. He received his Master in Kodály Music Pedagogy from the Kodály Institute in Kecskemet, Hungary, and has studied under Yuzuru Shimaoka, Koichi Uzaki, Thomas Meyer-Fiebig, Mohay Miklo's for composing, Remenyi Janos, Erdei Péter for chorus conducting, Masamitsu Takahashi for orchestral conducting, and Somoriai Paula for singing.

He energetically composes and arranges chorus pieces for national audiences in Japan. Many of these works have been performed throughout Europe and Asia. He has also studied folk music, resulting in works that have been inspired by this folkloric element.

"Children's Songs of Ki-no-Kuni" was composed based on “warabeuta” - an old children's song from Wakayama prefecture - and was featured on broadcasts by the television program World Modern Music in the former Yugoslavian Republic (present day Serbia and Montenegro). This work has also been performed in Estonia and by the Magyar Radio Children's Choir.

Mr. Matsushita has a keen interest in the discovery and performance of foreign works. He conducted the world premieres of two major works by the Hungarian composer, Gyorgy Orban; Missa Nona (2000), and Missa No. 11 (2002).

He has written commissioned works for the Singapore Youth Choir and has been the guest conductor of the Formosa Singers in performance at the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan.

He is a jury Member of the Japan Choral Association, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Association) School Choir competition, and the Composing Chorus Works Competition of Tokyo Cultural Hall. He is the author of a music textbook published by Kyoiku Publishing. Additionally, he is an Executive Board Member of the Japan Choral Association and vice-president of the Tokyo Choral Association, a member of the Japan Choral Directors Association, The Japanese Society for the Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers, The Japan Kodály Society and the International Kodály Society. Mr. Matsushita is also a representative of the Workshop of the Choral Expression.

As a life work, he is studying a method for creating effective harmony based on his theme “A chorus practice that fosters ears.” He teaches and lectures at choral workshops and seminars throughout Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore. This Mr Matsushita's first visit to North America.

Tapestry International Celebration of Women's Choirs (Feb 28 - Mar 1)
Hosted by the renowned Elektra Women's Choir of Vancouver (Diane Loomer, C.M. & Morna Edmundson, co-conductors), this celebration brings choirs from Washington state, Vancouver Island, and Japan to perform for each other and to sing together. Participating choirs include Elektra Women's Choir (Vancouver), Balkan Babes (Vancouver Island), The University Women's Choir of WWU (Bellingham, WA), and Brilliant Harmony from Tokyo, Japan.

Full details of the festival may be found at Elektra.ca