More than 100 musicians from across Europe will come together to perform a relief concert for Japan at UNESCO headquarters on 10 April. Kanako Abe will lead the orchestra who are set to play Toru Takemitsu's Requiem for String Orchestra and Dvořák's Requiem Symphony nº 9. Mami Hagiwara, a young pianist, will play Ravel's Piano Concerto, a piece that earned her first prize at the last year's International Music Competition in Geneva.

Over 12,000 people died and 17,000 are still missing as a result of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck northeast Japan a month ago. Hundreds of thousands of children who were displaced by the disaster are missing out on school.

“This is not Japan’s crisis to carry alone,” said the Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova. “It is our shared responsibility. We have all been emotionally moved by the impact of this disaster, and so we will work together to rebuild the affected region.”

While admission to the concert is free, an optional donation is being proposed. All proceeds will go towards rebuilding the 7008 schools that were destroyed or damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. The fund-raising campaign is being organized by the National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan (NFUAJ), that was founded in 1948 and now has a network of 300 clubs and associations.

The concert is held under the patronage of the Embassy of Japan in France, brings together top class musicians, many of whom are affiliated with the Conservatoire National Supérier de Music et de la Danse de Paris. The concert is co-organized by the International Staff Association of UNESCO (ISAU), The Committee of Charity Concert for the Victims of the Earthquake in Japan Paris (CSJP), in partnership with JAPONAIDE and the National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Paris (CNSMD) and is supported by the Society of Collection and Distribution Rights of Performers (SPEDIDAM), among others.

Source: UNESCOPRESS