News Release

32nd Yasushi Akutagawa Suntory Award for Music Composition Nominated works announced

Makoto Ohata	Kohsuke Negishi	Yuya Haryu

The Suntory Foundation for the Arts (Directors General: Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and Shingo Torii) has announced the three works to be nominated for the 32nd (2021) 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.

In 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 Monday, March 7, 2022, the three members of the selection committee, after careful consideration, came to a decision on the three nominated works by online. 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, 2021 to December 31, 2021, based on the music score and the recording of the first performance.
The three members of the selection committee were Norio Fukushi, Kenji Sakai and Akiko Yamane. (In alphabetical order)

▽The 32nd Yasushi Akutagawa Suntory Award for Music Composition nominated works

Makoto Ohata: JINK (2021)
Premiered “Subscription Concert for the Introduction of New Graduates
by the Geidai Philharmonia Orchestra, Tokyo” on May 28, 2021
at Tokyo University of the Arts, Sogakudo Concert Hall

Kohsuke Negishi: Moonlight Hidden in the Clouds for Orchestra (2020)
Premiered “Toru Takemitsu Composition Award 2021 Final Concert” on May 30, 2021
at Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall: Takemitsu Memorial

Yuya Haryu: A Lost Innocence ChaseⅡ for Orchestra (2020-21)
Premiered“The Museum of Creativity 2021
by the Geidai Philharmonia Orchestra, Tokyo” on June 4, 2021
at Tokyo University of the Arts, Sogakudo Concert Hall

▽Biography 

Makoto Ohata
Makoto Ohata was born on June 21, 1993 in Miyagi Japan and in his youth, he played the piano along with Japanese drums in private. In his college years, Makoto attended the Tokyo University of the Arts as well as Saitama University, where he studied composition and education. He has studied composition with Seiya Suzuki, Kunitaka Kokaji and Misato Mochizuki. He graduated from the TUA with a first-class honors degree in 2021. During 2018 - 2019, He investigated the Kagura music in Tohoku district, which greatly influenced his style of using traditional structure in contemporary music context. His music has been performed in several concerts in Japan by orchestras and ensembles such as the Geidai Philharmonia Orchestra.

Kohsuke Negishi
Kohsuke Negishi was born on June 7, 1998 in Saitama Japan and is currently a student at the Nihon University College of Art (Master's degree). He won first prize at the 37th JSCM Award for Composers (2020), the 31st Asahi Composition Award (2020) and the Toru Takemitsu Composition Award (2021). He has studied composition under Hiroyuki Itoh.

Yuya Haryu
Yuya Haryu was born on August 17, 1995 in Ibaraki Japan and raised in Chiba.He won the Prize at 35th JSCM (Japan Society for Contemporary Music) Award for Composers in 2018 and the 1st Prize at 89th Music Competition of Japan in 2020. He has studied composition with Jummei Suzuki, Mitsuhiro Kosaki, Hiroyuki Yamamoto and Tomoyuki Hisatome. He graduated from Aichi University of the Arts in 2018 and completed his master's degree in composition at Tokyo University of the Arts in 2021. He is the co-chairman of the composition group “Tampopo”.

▽The 32nd  Competition of Yasushi Akutagawa Suntory Award for Music Composition
Date/Time：Saturday, August 27 2022 at 15:00
Venue：Suntory Hall Main Hall
Performers：
Yoichi Sugiyama, Conductor
Tomoki Akiyama / Atsushi Yamanaka, Piano
New Japan Philharmonic
Open Screening：
Yuji Numano, MC
Norio Fukushi, Kenji Sakai and Akiko Yamane, Jury                 
Programme：
Kenta Onoda: New Work for Two Pianos and Orchestra (2021-22)
［World Premiere, Commissioned by Suntory Foundation for the Arts］
The 32nd 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