YCS
Yokohama Choral Society

Yokohama Choral Society(YCS) is an amateur choir founded in 1970 aiming for authentic performances of J.S.Bach's choral works. While placing a major emphasis on J.S.Bach, YCS has also performed works of various other composers, ranging from Baroque and Romantic composers, such as Schütz, Mendelssohn and Brahms to modern and contemporary composers, such as Frank Martin and Arvo Pärt.

The resident conductor is Kota Yanagishima, an up-and-rising talent with passion and dedication to music. The voice trainers are Mihoko Hoshikawa (Sop.), Miki Nakayama (Sop.), Akiko Ogawa (Alt.), Shuntaro Konuma (Ten.), and Masakazu Sano (Bas.).

In 1997, 2002, 2008, and 2015, YCS has successfully conducted German tours, among which the fourth tour in September 2015 was particularly significant as it provided an opportunity for a joint concert with amici musicae, a choir and orchestra based in Leipzig. Since then, the clubs have maintained a regular exchange, which can be seen in amici musicae’s return visit to Yokohama in 2017.

In April 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, YCS participated in "Johannes-Passion 2021 Digital", an international exchange project organized by amici musicae, where we performed J.S. Bach's composition "St. John Passion" online. This further deepened the bond between the two.

In 2024, we plan to undertake our fifth German tour.

The 66th Regular Concert / Cond.:Takeshi Yamagami
Orch.:Tokyo Bach Cantata Ensemble
Photo:STAFF TES

The 65th Regular Concert / Cond.:Kazumi Yahiro
Orch.:Tokyo Bach Cantata Ensemble
Photo:STAFF TESc

Kota Yanagishima began his conducting activities during his time at Waseda University. He moved to Germany in 2011, and studied Choral/Orchestral Conducting with Prof. Georg Grün (choral conducting) and Prof. Toshiyuki Kamioka (orchestral conducting) at the University of Music Saar.

Within the university, he was involved in directing and conducting the student choir of University of Music Saar as an assistant.

Outside the university, he served as the chief conductor of the Church Choir St. Cäcilia Ludwigshafen-Oggersheim, guest conductor of the Evangelical Choral Society Saar, and provided spot instruction for various choirs, actively working as a regional choir conductor.

In 2015, he was selected as a fellow of the German Music Council's Conductor Forum (DIRIGENTENFORUM), a stepping stone for young conductors in Germany, and was awarded the "Bach Vokal" award by Carus Publishing.

Since then, he has conducted numerous renowned professional and semi-professional choirs across Germany, including the Berlin Radio Choir (Rundfunkchor Berlin), North German Radio Choir (NDR Chor), and the Saarbrücken Chamber Choir (Kammerchor Saarbrücken).

He studied choral conducting under Prof. Georg Grün, orchestral conducting under Prof. Toshiyuki Kamioka, and vocal music under Anne-Kathrin Fetik.

He has completed conducting masterclasses under a number of instructors including Prof. Morten Schuldt-Jensen (Denmark), Prof. Simon Halsey (England), Gijs Leenars (Netherlands), Prof. Jörg-Peter Weigle (Germany), Prof. Michael Gläser (Germany), Prof. Stefan Parkman (Sweden), and Prof. Josep Vila i Casañas (Catalonia).

He returned to Japan in the fall of 2017. Since then, he has served as a music director and chief conductor for numerous choirs including vocalconsort initium, vox alius chamber choir, Projektchor Philharmonia, Yokohama Choral Society, Kodaira Chorus, Tokyo Juventus Philharmonic Choir, and Chor OBANDES.

In addition, he has collaborated as a conductor with rising early music orchestras such as l’orchestre d’avant-garde and Promusica Baroque Academy, and serves as a lecturer in choral conducting courses sponsored by Chorus Company Inc., contributing to the development of the next generation.

Furthermore, he is expanding his activities as an ensemble singer, being a member of groups such as the Saarbrücken Chamber Choir, Ensemble Vocapella Limburg, vocal ensemble Capella, emulsion, and Salicus Kammerchor.

Miki Nakayama was born in Kanagawa. She graduated from bachelor's and master's course of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and studied with Yoko Oshima.

She has won 3rd prize at the 30th International Competition for Early Music Yamanashi, in 2017 and also awarded several prizes. She has appeared as solist to perform Haendel's Messiah, J.S. Bach's Missa in B minor, Mozart's Requiem, Beethoven's ninth symphony, Orff's Carmina Burana and many other famous classical works. She has also appeared in opera as Cleopatra of Giulio Cesare in Egitto and Calisto of La Calisto.

公式HP：https://nakayamamiki.com

A graduate with Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the prestigious Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Opera Institute, she completed her studies at the Nikikai Opera Studio program and received Outstanding Performance Award.

After studied with Christina Wartenberg in Leipzig, Germany, she sang in concerts at Mendelssohn-Haus etc.

Later on, she was back in Germany several times again and sang cantatas of J.S. Bach as a soprano soloist of a Japanese Chorus Group, with the members of Gewandhausorchester Leipzig in various churches in Eisenach, Weimar, Leipzig in 2004, 2007, 2015.

Praised for her vocal beauty, seamless technique and abundant musicality as well as her knowledge and insight in singing sacred music such as J.S. Bach’s and W.A. Mozart’s, Ms. Hoshikawa joined Masaaki Suzuki’s Bach Collegium Japan from 2001 and recorded cantatas. She also sang “St. Matthew Passion” as a soprano soloist during its American Tour in 2003.

Besides sacred pieces, she sang many significant roles in famous Operas, too.

She made her debut as an opera singer in Tokyo when she sang Pamina of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” at the New National Theatre, produced by the Nikikai Opera Foundation in 2005, and Maestro Masaaki Suzuki chose her to sing Cleopatra in “Giulio Cesare”. In 2013, she sang the role of “a Boy Soprano” of G. Mahler’s “Das Klagende Lied” with Maestro Kazuyoshi Akiyama in Suntory Hall and her outstanding performance there is still remembered fresh in our mind.

Ms. Ogawa graduated from the Faculty of Music and completed the master course of the Graduate School of Music of the Tokyo University of Arts, specializing in solo vocal music. She has also completed a training course at the Opera Institute of the Agency of Cultural Affairs and was a student of well-known vocal singers/instructors, such as Keizo Takahashi, Takanosuke Watanabe, Toshiko Toda, Jun Mohri and Adele Haas. After receiving a number of awards including the Second Award in the Vocal Music Section of the 61^st Music Competition of Japan in 1992, the Third Award in the 4^th Vocal Music Contest of Japan, the First Prize and Kosaku Yamada Award in the 4^th Sogakudo Japanese Song Contest, she studied in Vienna for a year from November 1997, sponsored by the Agency of Cultural Affairs of the Japanese government.

As a soloist, she has performed religious music composed by Bach, Händel, Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Bruckner, etc., and taken part in concerts of “Symphony No. 9” by Beethoven, “Song of Lamentation (Das Klagende Lied)”, “Resurrection Symphony (Auferstefung)” and “The Song of the Earth (Das Lied von der Erde)” by Mahler, “The First Walpurgis Night (Das erste Werpurgisnacht)” by Mendelssohn and “Romeo and Juliet (Roméo et Juliette)” by Berlioz, among others. She has also appeared in operas, such as “The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte)” by Mozart, “Hansel and Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel)” by Humperdinck, “In the evening, congratulation songs are heard (Iwaiuta ga nagareru yoru ni)” by Kazuko Hara, “Spirits of Another Sort (Tenshu Monogatari)” by Shuko Mizuno, “The Child and the Spells (L'enfant et les sortilèges) by Ravel and “The Flying Dutchman (Der fliegende Holländer)“ by Wagner.

She has released a number of CD albums; “Selected Japanese Songs” in 2003, “Singing Takuboku and Misuzu” in 2006, “Karatachi no Hana - Songs by Kosaku Yamada” in 2008, “Kojo no Tsuki - Great Composers of Japanese Songs” in 2010, “Sakura Yokocho – Four Collections of Songs by Yoshinao Nakata” in 2012, “Soshunfu – Selected Japanese Songs 2” (Piano: Hiroaki Yamada) in 2014 and “Karamatsu – Japanese Songs Performed by an Alto and a Guitarist”(Guitar: Kiyoshi Shomura). Many of her performances can be heard on YouTube.

She is a member of Nikikai Opera Foundation.

Shuntaro Konuma is a tenor singer from Hokkaido prefecture. He graduated from the Music Expression Department, Vocal Course, of Shobi University, and completed the graduate program.

He studied vocal music under Prof. Hiroshi Kakumaru and took on numerous leading roles in operas and also served as a soloist in religious music field including playing the Evangelist in Bach's "St. Matthew Passion."

In 2017, he had the honor of performing as the soloist in “ Requiem” composed by Shigeaki Saegusa during the Japan-Vatican 75th Anniversary Memorial Mass held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City.

He is a member of the Tokyo Mixed Choir, and ensembles with groups such as Vocalconsort Tokyo and Icola Chamber Choir. Also, he is the founder of a music collective "Sound Particles," which aims to bring the composers and performers together.

Mr. Sano graduated from the Vocal Music Course of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts & Music with honors. Upon graduation, he has the privilege of performing in the presence of the Emperor at Toka Gakudo in the Imperial Palace. He also completed the Vocal Music Course of the graduate school of the University. He won the second place at the Japan Italy Vocal Concorso and the Cercle Deux Colonnes and received a prize at the Music Competition of Japan as well as an encouragement prize at the Sogakudo Japanese Song Competition. He has played many roles in opera performances, such as Don Giovanni in "Don Giovanni", Rigoletto in "Rigoletto", Germont in "La Traviata" and Marcello in "La Boheme". He has also served as a soloist in a number of religious music performances, such as "Requiem" by Mozart, Fauré and Duruflé, "German Requiem" by Brahms, "Messiah" by Handel, "Cantata" by Bach, "The Death of Jesus" by Graun (the first performance in Japan), "Messe" by Puccini and Schubert. For three consecutive years from 1996 to 1998, he appeared as a soloist in the Japan-US Friendship Concert of Symphony No.9 at the Carnegie Hall in New York. Currently, Mr. Sano is a lecturer at Shobi Junior College and Seitoku University. He is also a member of Sankikai, Japan Italy Music Association, Japan Vocalists Academy, La Société Fauré du Japon, Japan Federation of Musicians and the Tokyo Nikikai Opera Foundation.

Sumire Miyoshi graduated from Tokyo College of Music with a major in Composition and Conducting (Art Music Course). At the graduation ceremony, her orchestral work was performed by the college orchestra.

At the same college, she completed the master’s degree specializing in Keyboard Instruments (Accompaniment)

She worked as a piano accompanist researcher at the college and completed the “workshop Next Generation Cultural Creation: Workshop for Emerging Singers and Collaborative Pianists by Mariella Devia" in 2017, commissioned by the Agency for Cultural Affairs.

She was a member of "Gruppo Kappa" led by Prof. Tadayuki Kawahara from the 3rd to 6th periods.

She has worked as a rehearsal pianist for various groups, including Kodaira Choir, Projektchor Philharmonia, and Novanta Quattro.

In 2022, she received startup funding from Arts Council Tokyo and launched the concert series "Radice Viola" from the perspective of accompanist. She curated and produced five duo recitals with five different singers in two months, including the premiere of her new works.

In the winter of the same year, she held a concert “Esquisse of sound and words”. It was selected as a participant in the Hokutopia International Music Festival.

In the same year, she performed as a pianist for the whole act of opera "La Bohème" by Novanta Quattro, an opera company consisting mainly of rising artists.

Currently, she is actively engaged in work as an ensemble pianist, while at the same time, developing her skills to a higher level as a collepetitua.