Institution

Association of Japanese Symphony Orchestras

The objectives of the Association are to encourage cooperation among Japanese professional orchestras, to conduct researches and studies on orchestra management, to provide training for those who are associated with orchestral music, and to promote and popularize the orchestral music through international exchange in order to contribute to the development of Japanese musical culture. We now have 38 professional orchestras that give more than 4,000 performances annually. In November 1997, the Association hosted “Orchestra Summit in Japan”, the first-ever international conference for orchestra administrators in Asia. It further arranged seminars on arts management and a series of workshops searching for new music education possibilities. The Association was assigned by the Agency for Cultural Affairs to produce “Asia Orchestra Week”, inviting orchestras from the Asia-Pacific region. It articulates the importance of classical music in modern society and actively continues to work for its development and expansion.

Speaker

Hiroshi KUWABARA, Managing Director / Executive Director

Born in 1957, he graduated from the Shinshu University (Civil Engineering Department) and had worked for a construction consulting firm for seven years. Hiroshi KUWABARA later joined the New Japan Philharmonic. He had been general manager of the orchestra from 2003 through January 2013. During that period, he also served as a board member of the Association of Japanese Symphony Orchestras (AJSO) and a Chairman of the Board of the Tokyo Orchestra Business Cooperative. He assumed the post of General Manager of AJSO in 2013 and the present post in 2020.