Tokyo College of Music

Tokyo College of Music celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding in 2007. The oldest private music institute in Japan, TCM has been contributing significantly to the development of Western classical music at home. It created the very first symphonic orchestra in Japan which performed on Pacific Ocean steamers from 1912 to 1929. Over the years, Tokyo College of Music has taken great strides in strengthening its faculty and staff as well as expanding the facilities of the school. Now the college boasts a highly qualified and distinguished faculty of more than 440 with the entire student body, under the umbrella of Tokyo College of Music, of over 2000 students. This includes some 1,500 undergraduates, 130 postgraduates, 220 high school students, 80 kindergarteners, and 100 Music Preparatory School students. The College’s facilities include an 806-seat 100th anniversary Hall, B-studio with a baroque style pipe organ, J-studio, Synthesizer Lab, recording studio, Traditional Japanese Music House, Gamelan Performance Studio,labrary and practice rooms.

The Tokyo College of Music Symphony Orchestra has a long tradition and excellent reputation both nationally and internationally. Each year it holds concerts at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space and benefit concerts for UNICEF. Internationally it has performed in over 30 cities in Europe, the U.S.A. and China.

The Tokyo College of Music Chorus has been actively performing with professional orchestras both nationally and internationally. With the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, TCM Chorus has performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in d-minor, “Choral” every year since 1979. Other pieces performed under this collaboration include Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms (Symphonie de psaumes)(conductor: Junichi Hirokami), Mozart’s The Great Mass in c-minor (Große Messe in c-Moll) (conductor: Alexander Lazarev), and Verdi’s Messa da Requiem (conductor: Kenichiro Kobayashi). With the NHK Symphony Orchestra, they have performed Mendelssohn’s, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Ein Sommernachtstraum), (conductor: Jun Märkl) and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 c-minor. “Resurrection” (Auferstehung）(conductor: Markus Stenz). Its performance of Haydn’s Die Schöpfung under the baton of Junichi Hirokami had an honor to be chosen to be the second most memorable performance of all NHK Symphony Orchestra’s concerts during the year, 2005.

TCM Professor Emeritus and violist Toshiyuki Uzuka launched String Ensemble Endless in 1990, offering a great opportunity to perform in a string ensemble outside of school. Since then, Endless performs annually at various music venues in Tokyo such as Tsuda Hall, Suntory Hall (Blue Rose), Casals Hall, and Toppan Hall, garnering critical acclaim in each performance. Its repertoire spans from classical to contemporary with music by Mozart, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Respighi, Bloch, Yasushi Akutagawa, and Toru Takemitsu. The ensemble has recorded with Somei Sato on the CD Toward the Night, hitting the music charts in London.

Tokyo College of Music is an institute with a long tradition. For 100 years, the college has been playing a leading role in Western music education in Japan. Our commitment is to provide students with a distinguished education which enables them to contribute significantly both nationally and internationally throughout their musical lives. Allow me to take this opportunity to introduce our new president, concert pianist, Prof. Minoru Nojima.

Tokyo College of Music is an institute with a vibrant environment. Students are busy with their instrumental training, academic studies, and extensive performance experiences. To develop the students’ artistic potential fully, a liberal arts education is a vital for undergraduates. It shows them how diverse elements influence music. We strive to prepare them as individuals with a broad perspective. In this vigorous atmosphere, the students inspire and challenge each other to further their understanding of music and increase their joy and love for this wonderful art form.