News Release

30th Yasushi Akutagawa Suntory Award for Music Composition
Nominated works announced

Yujiro Ariyoshi	Kenta Onoda	Noeru Hiyamizu

The Suntory Foundation for the Arts (Directors General: Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and Shingo Torii) has announced the three works to be nominated for the 30th (2019) Yasushi Akutagawa Suntory Award for Music Composition (previously the Akutagawa Award for Music Composition).

The Yasushi Akutagawa Suntory Award for Music Composition was established by the Suntory Music Foundation (now the Suntory Foundation for the Arts) in April 1990 with the support of the Japan Federation of Composers, and celebrates the achievements of Yasushi Akutagawa (1925-1989), one of the leading Japanese composers of the post-war era. In fond remembrance of the late composer's love of music, his lucid views on music and the passion that he brought to the promotion of music, this composition prize, which was the first of its kind in Japan, is a unique initiative aimed at up-and-coming composers creating orchestral works full of freshness and steeped in potential, with winners selected from among pieces premiered at public concerts. This is a compound award, as composers winning the prize also receive a commission for a new orchestral work, with the first performance held two years thereafter.

Last year, 2019, marked the 50th anniversary of the founding in 1969 of the parent organization of the Suntory Foundation for the Arts, the Torii Music Foundation, and also a change in the name to “the Yasushi Akutagawa Suntory Award for Music Composition,” to make the spirit of the award clearer. At the same time, the prize-money was increased to ¥1,500,000. Going forward we will continue to support the young composers of Japan as they emerge onto a wider stage.

▽Selection process
On Thursday, March 5, 2020, at ANA InterContinental Tokyo, the three members of the selection committee, after careful consideration, came to a decision on the three nominated works. These were chosen from among orchestral pieces created by Japanese composers that were first performed in Japan or abroad during the period from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019, based on the music score and the recording of the first performance.
The three members of the selection committee were Tomoko Fukui, Hitomi Kaneko and Misato Mochizuki. (In alphabetical order)

▽The 30th Yasushi Akutagawa Suntory Award for Music Composition nominated works

Yujiro Ariyoshi：Merry Go Round / Orchestral Circuit for Orchestra（2019）
Premiered “The 11th Morning Concert in 2019” on Sep.5, 2019
at Tokyo University of the Arts, Sogakudo Concert Hall

Kenta Onoda：Singable Love Ⅱ – feat.Magicicada for Orchestra（2018-19）
Premiered “Subscription Concert for the Introduction of New Graduates by the Geidai Philharmonia Orchestra, Tokyo” on Apr.19, 2019
at Tokyo University of the Arts, Sogakudo Concert Hall

Noeru Hiyamizu：Not Found for Orchestra（2018-19）
Premiered “The 3rd Morning Concert in 2019” on May 16, 2019
at Tokyo University of the Arts, Sogakudo Concert Hall

▽Biography

Yujiro Ariyoshi
Yujiro Ariyoshi was born in Kyoto on September 8, 1994. After graduating from the Department of Composition in the Faculty of Music at Tokyo University of the Arts he entered the graduate school, where he is currently majoring in composition as a first-year student in the master’s course. He studies composition with Kunitaka Kokaji. He has been awarded the Ryohei Miyata Scholarship, the Yoshio Hasegawa Prize, the Acanthus Music Prize, the Toride Mayor’s Prize and third prize in the composition category at the 87th Music Competition of Japan. He was selected for the Newcomer’s Prize at the 35th JSCM Award for Composers.

Kenta Onoda
Kenta Onoda was born in Fukui on August 13, 1996. He was a finalist at the 86th Music Competition of Japan in 2017, and in 2018 was awarded a scholarship by the Meiji Yasuda Cultural Foundation. He has studied composition with Chiharu Wakabayashi and Jummei Suzuki. He graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts and was awarded the Acanthus Music Prize upon graduation. He is currently studying in the master’s course at Tokyo University of the Arts.

Noeru Hiyamizu
Noeru Hiyamizu was born in Wakayama Prefecture on July 14, 1997 and is currently a fourth-year student in the Department of Composition in the Faculty of Music at Tokyo University of the Arts. He has studied composition with Takayuki Morikawa and Jummei Suzuki. He was awarded the Aoyama Foundation Scholarship in 2018. His works have been frequently performed both inside and outside his university and broadcast on NHK-FM (J-Culture Fest ’19).

▽The 30th Competition of Yasushi Akutagawa Suntory Award for Music Composition
Date/Time：Saturday, August 29 2020 at 15:00
Venue：Suntory Hall Main Hall
Performers：
Ryusuke Numajiri, Conductor
New Japan Philharmonic
Programme：
Naoki Sakata：New Work for Orchestra
［World Premiere, Commissioned by Suntory Foundation for the Arts］
The 30th Yasushi Akutagawa Suntory Award for Music Composition Nominated 3 works

See here for more on the Akutagawa Yasushi Suntory Award for Music Composition
See here about the Suntory Foundation for the Arts