Min-On Concert Association Sponsors Back-to-Back YPC Tours of Japan
In two remarkable tours of Japan in the summers of 2009 and 2010, the Young People’s Chorus of New York City performed for thousands of enthusiastic Japanese audience members in 32 major…and some minor…cities in Japan. With a program that included a number of Japanese compositions and folk songs, the chorus drew from 2,000 to 4,000 people each night, all sponsored by the Min-On Concert Association.
At the beginning of the first tour, the Japanese Consul General told the choristers that Japanese audiences are a bit reserved. They will clap politely after songs and then boisterously at the end if they like the concert. As per the Consul General’s prediction, the audience clapped boisterously, but then something surprising happened: scattered among the crowd, people began standing. After the encores, the crowd continued to get even more excited as more people began to stand. Needless to say, the choristers were overcome with enormous feelings of pride and confidence.