Sofia University hosts annual Japanese-Bulgarian music concert

Japanese Ambassador to Bulgaria Hisashi Michigami sang on Thursday evening alongside the Children’s Choir of Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), performing the well-known Japanese song “Sakura, Sakura.”

The diplomat took to the stage at the invitation of the conductor, Maestra Venetsia Karamanova, CE Report quotes BTA.

The choir delivered its annual concert as part of the 36th Days of Japanese Culture in Bulgaria, held in the Aula Magna of Sofia University. The event was opened by Bilyana Stanoilovich, a longtime staff member at the Japanese Embassy and Chair of the Association of Tokai University Alumni.

Pianists Siyana Atanasova and Yana Lolova accompanied the choir. “In these concerts, we present the beauty of the Japanese song, combined with Bulgarian music and global classical works,” Karamanova told BTA.

The concert programme featured works by Bulgarian and Japanese composers and pieces from the global classical repertoire. Alongside “Gloria” from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Short Mass, the audience heard “Bamboo Castanets” by Hideo Kobayashi and “Baba Luk Posela” by Stefan Dragostinov.

A special highlight was the premiere of “Love Will Win,” a song by Japanese singer and composer Kan, which was gifted to the children's choir by Ambassador Michigami. The choral and solo arrangement was created by Professor Atanas Atanasov, who was also in attendance at the concert. “Every Japanese person, young and old, knows this song, and I hope the choir continues to sing it for another 20 or 30 years,” said Michigami, addressing the audience.

The choir's ties with the Land of the Rising Sun date back to 1966, when Tokai University President Shigeyoshi Matsumae visited Bulgaria. At his invitation, the children’s choir embarked on the first of its 18 concert tours in Japan. Over the course of its performing history in the country, the ensemble has visited more than 500 Japanese cities and given over 150 concerts.