The British Council and the City of Kawasaki have been collaborating with UK arts organisation Drake Music to deliver the "Kawasaki ♪ Drake Music Project". The programme aims increase music access for disabled people, so that everyone can enjoy music and exercise their creativity through music.
Over the last three years, musicians in Japan have worked with Drake Music musicians to develop methods for delivering inclusive music workshops in Japan. When the Covid-19 pandemic made it difficult for members of Drake Music to travel to Japan, we continued our activities online. In 2021, students from three special educational needs schools in Kawasaki City collaborated with the Japanese musicians participating in the project and working with Drake Music to create a new piece of music for the orchestra. The new music, "Kawasaki Suite" was given its world premiere by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra at the finale concert of the Festa Summer MUZA KAWASAKI 2021.
In this forum, we will look back on the processes and successes of the project so far and invite a panel of project partners to discuss how orchestras, halls, and musicians can connect with their local communities and expand opportunities for diverse people to participate in arts and culture activities.
Event outline
Date/Time: Thursday 3 March 2022, 17:30-19:00 (JST) / 8:30-10:00 (GMT)
Venue: Online (Zoom - link will be sent to registered email address prior to the event)
To join: Please fill in the online registration form in advance. The event is free, and Japanese-English simultaneous interpretation, Japanese sign language interpretation, Japanese live transcription will be provided.
Organiser: British Council, Kawasaki City
Cooperation: Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, MUZA Kawasaki Symphony Hall (Kawasaki - City Foundation for Cultural Promotion)
Enquiries: British Council uk-event@britishcouncil.or.jp
*If you require any access support, please contact us using the online registration form by 23:59 on Monday 28 February 2022.
Programme
- Introduction and message from the organisers
- Presentation
“Inclusive music making with disabled people – the Kawasaki ♪ Drake Music Project”
Nanami Akimoto (Projects Manager (Arts), British Council) - Presentation
“Working in partnership with orchestras and concert halls to widen music participation of disabled people – the role of Drake Music”
Carien Meijer (Chief Executive, Drake Music) - Panel discussion
“Improving access to music for disabled people and delivering inclusive music programmes”
Panellists
Yoshio Hamano (Lecturer, Tokyo College of Music / Pianist)
Misa Kirihara (Tokyo Symphony Orchestra)
Carien Meijer (Chief Executive, Drake Music)
Satoko Yamada (MUZA Kawasaki Symphony Hall)
Moderator
Takuo Ikeda (Music Journalist)
Zoom joining instructions
- The forum will be hosted on Zoom. Please ensure you have access to Zoom, and a stable internet connection.
- The Zoom link will be sent to the email address provided at the time of registration on or by 2 March 2022.
- Please refrain from making any visual or audio recordings of the event.
