Social Contribution Activities UBE Classical Concert

Since 2008, UBE has been inviting the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra to Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, where the Company was founded, to hold a concert of classical music with a full orchestra. The goal is to contribute to the development of local culture through music based on UBE’s founding principle of harmonious coexistence.

17th UBE Classical Concert

Outline of the Concert in 2024 (from a news release (Japanese only))

On October 13, 2024, we held the 17th UBE Classical Concert^*1 at the Watanabe Memorial Hall in Ube, Yamaguchi. Since 2008, we have been hosting this event as part of efforts to embody our founding spirit of “mutual coexistence and prosperity,” with the objective of contributing to the development of local culture through music. To this end, we invited the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra to perform in Ube, Yamaguchi, the place of our founding, while donating all admission ticket proceeds^*2 to local music-related organizations.

In line with the catchphrase “With citizens, with music,” this project is aimed at promoting music culture among the next generation and, therefore, is particularly focused on educating young people. As we did for the previous performance, we invited elementary and junior high school students from the cities of Ube, Sanyoonoda, and Miya to attend the concert free of charge. As a result, 240 such students attended the concert.

The 17th Concert featured Mr. Takeshi Oi as its conductor, who performs with famous orchestras across Japan and engages in a variety of activities aimed at helping the general public become familiar with classical music. Also featured was flutist Ayako Takagi. As a solo flutist, she has played with orchestras in Europe as well as in Japan and is widely known for her outstanding musical capabilities that transcend genres. As this was our first time inviting a solo flutist, pieces selected for the concert included “Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major” by W. A. Mozart and others that had never been chosen for prior concerts. However, exposure to these pieces led the audience to feel a fresh and fascinating atmosphere throughout the performance. Radetzky March—a famous piece composed by Johann Strauss I—was performed as an encore, with the listeners clapping their hands along with its rhythm and enjoying a sense of unity between themselves and the orchestra. Thus, a positive atmosphere was present throughout the event, suggesting that Mr. Oi’s passionate approach toward communicating the joy of music to a wide audience has proven successful. We also received a number of positive comments from attendees via questionnaires, with one stating that “My children and I very much enjoyed the concert. They were excited by the pieces they knew, but were also quite interested in the pieces they’d never heard before.”

On the day before the concert, we also held a friendship concert featuring a string quartet at Yamaguchi University Hospital. This mini-concert was performed at a smaller venue than usual due to ongoing repair work within the university’s premises. However, this enabled patients, their families, hospital staff and other attendees to enjoy a live music performance in a more intimate setting. A music clinic sponsored by the Watanabe Memorial Culture Association was also held that day at a junior high school in Ube, which was attended by 48 members of the school’s brass band. This was the first time we had held an in-person music clinic in the past five years, and the professional musicians from the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra gave the students friendly guidance.

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Concert Outline

Date and Time	October 13 (Sunday) 13:10 Venue Opens 14:00 Concert Begins 15:45 Concert Ends
Performers	Conductor: Takeshi Ooi Soloist (Flute): Ayako Takagi Orchestra: the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra
Pieces	Suppé / Leichte Kavallerie Overture Mozart / Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major, K. 314 Intermission Johann Strauss II / Comic Opera “Die Fledermaus” Overture Johann Strauss II / Viennese Spirit Waltz, Op. 235 Mozart / Divertimento in D Major, K. 136 Rossini / William Tell Overture

• *1In 2022, the “UBE Group Charity Concert” was renamed the “UBE Classical Concert.”
• *2As we did in the previous year, our 2024 plan calls for donating instruments to junior high schools in Ube City. Looking ahead, we intend to implement a 10-year instrument donation plan based on the needs of school brass bands.

UBE Classical Concert

To improve the music culture of local communities and help nurture the next generation, we have invited the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra to perform at the Watanabe Memorial Hall in Ube, Yamaguchi every year since 2008.

Also, since 2022, in line with the basic concept “Together with Residents, Together with Music,” we have been making sweeping renewals to the content offered through this project, with a focus on children’s education and the promotion of music culture among the next generation.

Our hope is that through this performance we are able to spark an interest, however small, in classical music among the young people who will become leaders for the next generation, and to this end we waive all fees for the 400 elementary and junior high school students from the cities of Ube, Sanyoonoda and Mine that we invite to attend each year.

In addition, proceeds from ticket sales are donated to improve local music culture, and we maintain an ongoing program under which we donate instruments to support the activities of junior high school brass bands.

Furthermore, we plan to hold this year’s friendship concert at Yamaguchi University Hospital. Friendship concerts are performed every year before or after the main concert.

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History of UBE Classical Concert

Music clinic and mini-concerts

• On the day before the UBE Classical Concert, instructors from the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra are invited to conduct a music clinic in which they instruct brass band students on their instruments. They also give a mini concert by themselves and a joint concert with junior high school students. These events are held in classrooms and gymnasiums at junior high schools in Ube City. They are organized by the Watanabe Memorial Culture Association with the cooperation of UBE Corporation. In 2020 and 2021, the music clinics were changed to a remote* format to prevent transmission of COVID-19. Face-to-face instruction allows the instructors to check the sound and condition of the instruments while remote instruction has the advantage of being able to tailor the instruction to each individual’s challenges. UBE is cooperating fully in the organization of these events associated with the UBE Classical Concert, including the use of its human capital.

  • *One-on-one lessons using the online conferencing tool Zoom

  Comments from students

  • I am glad that I was able to play beautifully in the joint performance after the clinic because I learned better how to produce sound and how to play musically. (Horn, 2nd year junior high school student)
  • I had never been able to produce high notes, but after being taught, I was able to do it for the first time. I am very satisfied. (Trumpet, 1st year junior high school student)

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The 10th UBE Classical Concert — Commemorative Concert

The conductor of the 2017 concert, the 10th anniversary concert, was Sachio Fujioka, who wielded the baton for the second time in four years. The soloist was Ayako Uehara, a talented pianist who won the first prize in the piano section of the 12th International Tchaikovsky Competition. She performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64. At the beginning of the concert, Mr. Fujioka, the conductor, provided musical commentary and introduced Ms. Uehara. Ms. Hiromi Shoji of Libertas Ube, Ltd. served as sign language interpreter. Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 was the most requested piece on the previous year’s visitor questionnaire. This piece was also in the news when figure skater Mao Asada used it in her free program at the Sochi Olympics.

This masterpiece is known as a difficult piano piece, but Ms. Uehara played it with overwhelming technical mastery and an intense touch as if she were possessed by something. With the dazzling beauty of the high notes and a thrilling and earnest battle with the orchestra, it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime performance.

On this occasion, Ms. Uehara gave an encore, which is unusual for a soloist. The encore piece was Tchaikovsky’s Méditation. It was an entrancing solo piano performance.

After a 20-minute intermission, the second half was Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. Mr. Fujioka said, “I am happy to perform the No. 5 for the first time with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. The Japan Philharmonic’s dynamic sound makes it the best orchestra in Japan for Russian music.” Just as he had said, the performance was dynamic, full of grandeur and intonation. Regarding the fourth movement in particular, Mr. Fujioka declared, “I hope the performance will be something out of the ordinary, as if the devil himself were in the music,” and true to his word, the piece came to a grand conclusion with an unearthly sound.

The encore was the second movement Waltz from Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings. The enchanting rhythm was intoxicating, as if it had cast a spell on the audience.

To commemorate the 10th concert, two premium events were held on the same day before the main performance: (1) an orchestra talk and instrument hands-on experience, and (2) a dress rehearsal observation.

1. The orchestra talk and instrument hands-on experience was attended by 35 people. Japan Philharmonic Executive Director and viola player Yuji Goto gave an interesting explanation of the orchestra’s composition and how the instruments work. The hands-on experience with musical instruments was a lot of fun, as some participants were able to experience the delight of playing a violin for the first time.
2. For the dress rehearsal observation, 100 lottery winners and 30 children with disabilities from Ube General Special Needs School and other special-needs schools (including their guardians and accompanying adults) were invited to observe the final rehearsal before the performance. Once again, for the benefit of the hearing-impaired, five seats with a sensory sound system were prepared for use during the dress rehearsal and the main performance with the cooperation of Pioneer Corporation and Libertas Ube, Ltd.

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Friendship concerts were held at Yamaguchi University Hospital and Ube-kohsan Central Hospital on the day before the main performance. Previously, the friendship concerts featured a string quartet (two violins, viola, and cello), but for the first time, the audience enjoyed a woodwind quintet (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn). In addition, the Tanpopo Concert was also held at the Ube-kohsan Central Hospital in order to allow the general public as well as patients to attend. The concert was fully attended, drawing 130 people. On the same day, a community concert was held at Higashikiwa Junior High School as part of a project of the Watanabe Memorial Culture Association (whose representative director at the time was Michio Takeshita). The concert featured eight members of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and junior high school students from Ube City (Higashikiwa Jr. High, Nishikiwa Jr. High, and Konan Jr. High).

The first part, a music clinic, was attended by 118 brass band club members from three junior high schools in the city. Divided into trumpet, trombone, horn, tuba, clarinet, flute, and percussion classes, the students were warmly instructed on their individual instruments by members of the Japan Philharmonic.

The second part was a mini-concert open to the public. The Japan Philharmonic Orchestra gave a brass quintet performance as well as a joint performance with junior high school students. The piece for the joint performance had previously been The High School Cadets, but this was the first time it was changed to Ghibli Songs. The 330 audience members applauded loudly.