The Sapporo Symphony Orchestra (札幌交響楽団 Sapporo Kokyo Gakudan) is a professional orchestra based in Sapporo, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The Orchestra has its nickname “Sakkyo” and is a full member of “Association of Japanese Symphony Orchestras.”

Outline

The Sapporo Symphony Orchestra is the only professional orchestra in Hokkaido

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

. Its subscription concerts take place regularly at the Sapporo Concert Hall

Sapporo Concert Hall

, also known as its nickname , is a municipal musical venue located in Nakajima Park, Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Japan. Established in 1997, the building is owned by Sapporo City, known for having a huge organ built by Alfred Kern & Fils Manufacture D'Orgues in the main music hall.- Overview :The building...

 Kitara and the office is also located in Kitara.

History

• 1961 Started as the Sapporo Citizen Symphony and had the first subscription concert
• 1962 Announced itself as the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra
• 1975 U.S./West Germany Tour
• 1981 Started concerts in Tokyo and Osaka (Tokyo only at present)
• 1992 South East Asia Tour (also in year 1994)
• 2001 U. K. Tour
• 2005 South Korea Tour
• 2007 Celebrated the 500th subscription concert
• 2008 Announced a position of the principal guest conductor
• 2009 Authorized as the Public Interests Corporation
• 2011 Celebrated 50th Anniversary and completed the Europe Tour (Munich, London, Salerno, Milan and Dusseldorf)

Conductors

• Masao Araya (First Principal Conductor) <1961-1968>
• Peter Schwarz (Second Principal Conductor) <1969-1975>
• Hiroyuki Iwaki
  Hiroyuki Iwaki
  was a Japanese conductor and percussionist.-Biography:Iwaki was born in Tokyo in 1932. Shortly after he entered an elementary school, he moved to Kyoto due to his father's transference. He came to play the xylophone at nine years old...
  
   (Principal Conductor, then Music Director, later Conductor Laureate) <1975-1987>
• Kazuyoshi Akiyama
  Kazuyoshi Akiyama
  is a Japanese conductor.-Biography:Born into a musical family, he studied piano at the Toho Gakuen School of Music, but was fascinated by the conducting activities of a fellow student, Seiji Ozawa. He decided to study conducting with Hideo Saito...
  
   (Music Advisor, later Principal Conductor) <1988-1998>
• Tadaaki Otaka
  Tadaaki Otaka
  is a Japanese-born, British-based conductor. He studied composition, theory, and French horn, at the Toho Gakuen School of Music, and later was a conducting student of Hideo Saito....
  
   (Resident Conductor) <1981-1986>(Principal Conductor, then Music Advisor, later Music Director) <1998–present>
• Ken Takaseki (Associate Conductor, then Resident Conductor) <1988-1992, 2003–present>
• Radomil Eliška
  Radomil Eliška
  -Biography:He received his musical education on conducting by Břetislav Bakala at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno...
  
  (Principal Guest Conductor) <2008–present>

Biography

The Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, Hokkaido’s only professional orchestra, has been affectionately known as “Sakkyo” to Hokkaido residents. The orchestra will mark its 50th anniversary in 2011. Based at the Sapporo Concert Hall Kitara, which boasts some of the best acoustics in the world, the orchestra is distinguished by its clear sound and dynamic powers of expression that are inspired by Hokkaido’s vast natural beauty and charm. The orchestra has been engaged in every-active performances with its sights set on audiences around the world and continues to actively promote itself. The current conductors are Tadaaki Otaka, Music Director, Ken Takaseki, Resident Conductor and Radomil Eliška, Principal Guest Conductors.
The orchestra plays over 120 concerts per year throughout Japan and has been invited to perform in the U.S.A., Germany, Southeast Asia, the U.K., and South Korea. It also releases a CD every year since 2007, with the recordings made at Kitara. The orchestra was authorized as a public interest incorporated foundation in October 2009.

Concerts

With 77 orchestra players, the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra performs more than 120 concerts per year, with 2 subscription concerts for each program during every month between September to June.