Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra

The Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra (兵庫県立芸術文化センター管弦楽団, Hyōgo-kenritsu Geijutsu Bunka Sentā Kangengakudan) is a professional orchestra in the city of Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Founded concurrently with the Hyogo Performing Arts Center in 2005, the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra (HPAC Orchestra) is under the leaership of Yutaka Sado.

Performances

The orchestra gives roughly 120 performances per season, many of which are at the Hyogo Performing Arts Center. These include the Subscription Series (three performances per week of one program), Masterworks Concerts (one performance per week), Children's and Family Concerts, Recital Series (featuring select members of the orchestra), School "Waku waku" concerts (performed with narrator, these concerts demonstrate each instrument individually and feature at least one large programmatic work) and Chamber Music.

In addition to this, the orchestra participates in an annual performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony featuring a 10,000 person choir (sponsored by Suntory and held at Osaka-jō Hall)^[1] and makes at least one annual appearance on TV Asahi's weekly television program "[Untitled Concert]" (Japanese: 題名のない音楽会).

Members

The orchestra employees a fixed number of core members (selected through auditions held around the world^[2]) in addition to "associate" and "affiliate" members.

"Training" Element

Although it is first and foremost a professionally performing orchestra, the HPAC Orchestra was founded with the aim of having a training element as well. It is only similar to other training orchestras (such as the New World Symphony Orchestra) in that there is a limited contract length (three years) and age limit (35 at time of signing the contract).

External links

• Asahi TV's "Untitled Concert"
• Suntory's "1万人の第九"
• Video of the 2008 Suntory "1万人の第九"

References