Tokyo Geidai Symphony Orchestra

Japan

The history of Geidai University goes back to two special schools: the Tokyo School of Fine Arts and the Tokyo Music School, each of which was founded in 1887 before coming together in 1949 to create the National University of Fine Arts and Music, which in turn took on the name Tokyo Geidai as part of a national restructuring of Japan’s universities in 2004.

Each year 250 students are admitted to the university’s music faculty, 70 of whom take courses for orchestral instruments. After completing their first year they join one of the student orchestras, ensuring that, at any one time, 250 students are represented in these ensembles.

After a rigorous process of competitive auditions 90 musicians were selected for this year’s Tokyo Geidai Symphony Orchestra tour to Germany.