JAPON – JAPAN : Kyoto

Vocal Ensemble Gaudium

conducted by Yusuke Ishihara

Vocal Ensemble

Symphony Choir

Community Choirs

For more information : http://gaugau.info

To listen : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v94d2ctwTu

” Yusuke Ishihara conducts 6 choir ensembles, but all rehearsals have been suspended. He has created a “Separated Internet Choir”; and the first rehearsal will be held on 31 May. First, Mr. Ishihara will stage the rehearsal via the ZOOM Application. Choristers will not be able to sing in unison, but they will be able to share intensity, dynamism and interpretation. After the rehearsal, participants will record their singing, send it to him, and their voices will be synthesised in order to complete a work. They will perform Mendelssohn’s Abschied vom Walde.

Mr. Ishihara conducts the following 6 choirs:

A. Ensemble Gaudium organised by M. Ishihara (15 choristers) ;

B. A large symphonic choir (200 choristers): https://ksugleeob5.wixsite.com/ksugleeob;

C. A men’s choir (30 singers)

D. A choir in collaboration with the Japan Century Symphony Orchestra: professional orchestra (40 choristers) ;

E. Women’s Ensemble (8 choristers) ;

F. Mixed ensemble (10 choristers);

Ensembles A, B, D, F and G have stopped rehearsing since the beginning of March. At that time, the Japanese Government announced the closure of schools. Groups C and E have been interrupted since the end of March, as COVID-19 patients have appeared in the neighbouring prefecture. The

entire group of ensembles has decided to suspend rehearsals until the end of May, and it is unclear what will happen next, as opinions vary.

With regard to the concerts:

A. will give a concert in December (to be confirmed).

B. will postpone a concert from May 2020 to September 2020 (to be confirmed).

C. is postponing a concert from September 2020 to October 2021 (decided in April)

D. is postponing a concert from July 2020 to July 2021 (decided at the end of April).

E. is postponing a concert from July 2020 to July 2021 (decided early April).

F. is postponing a concert from August 2020 to August 2021 (decided early April).

G. is postponing a concert from March 2020 to February 2021 (decided early March).

All the ensembles have difficulties rehearsing online, as some choristers might not have a good internet connection, while others cannot sing at home. Organising the ensemble is very complicated, so Mr. Ishihara will start privately the “Separated Internet Choir”. He is getting used to working via ZOOM, Audacity and Shotcut technologies, which he never used before the health crisis. Together they will discover the joy of doing the same thing at the same time, in spite of being physicallly distant. “