The next mushroom promotion (nmp) was founded in 2001 by Tomoko Fukui (composer), in cooperation with Motoharu Kawashima (composer) and Nozomi Ueda (clarinetist), aiming to promote contemporary music concerts in the Kansai area (Kyoto, Osaka and Hyogo) where there are few active ensembles specializing in contemporary music. The nmp consists of musicians and composers either born in or residents of, mainly, the Kansai area.
Besides concerts featuring pieces by a variety of composers, the nmp has promoted concerts focusing on specific composers (see “major activities”.) For the concerts vol.2 and 3, Aki Takahashi (pianist) was invited for performances. For the concerts vol. 5, 7 and 8, the featured composers were invited for lectures and/or self-performances, and those concerts were well received. Vol. 8, “Toshio Hosokawa: Fifty Years of The Landscape,” in particular was awarded the Suntory Music Award in 2005 for its highly sophisticated program and performance.
Always featuring Japan’s premiere pieces, the nmp’s challenging programs have attracted an enthusiastic contemporary music audience from all over Japan since the first concert. This enthusiasm is presumably due to the nmp’s primary ambition to revitalize the Japanese contemporary music scene by having concerts in the Kansai area with players of Kansai origin in a Tokyo-centered cultural situation.
The peculiar name of this ensemble is derived from John Cage’s attachment to mushrooms (he claimed that the word “music” is next to “mushroom” in a dictionary!). As the next generation after John Cage, the nmp will promote the music of its own generation.
Tomoko Fukui: Director, the next mushroom promotion |
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