Suntory Hall, as Asia's Leading Hall

101 participants of 58 organizations from Australia, China, South Korea, Singapore, and the U.S.

In September, Suntory Hall attended the annual conference of The Association of Asia Pacific Performing Arts Centres (AAPPAC) in Auckland, New Zealand.

AAPPAC was founded in 1996 as a platform for the members and representatives to facilitate exchanges in information on programs, training opportunities, marketing and management initiatives, as well as technical issues. Currently, it has a network of 80 members from over 20 countries, and only Suntory Hall and Aichi Arts Center are the members from Japan. The conference consisted of moderated sessions featuring various topics including the role of a performing arts center in society, marketing, and sponsorship.

Aotea Centre, the conference venue with symbolic Maori gate

Delegates welcomed by Maori’s ceremony

In Asia, Suntory Hall is the leading hall particularly in the fields of commissioning new works, education programs, and social contribution. This conference was a perfect opportunity for us to introduce our various activities such as Composer Mark-Anthony Turnage’s “Hibiki” winning RPS Music Award 2018, the U.K.’s most prestigious Award for Classical Music, commissioned by Suntory Hall for the commemoration of its 30th anniversary for our commissioning projects; and also the Aoi Trio, a piano trio formed by alumni of Suntory Hall Chamber Music Academy, winning the first prize at the world’s eminent ARD International Competition(Piano Trio Category) in Munich in September, which has also extended to a triumphant concert at Suntory Hall in December.

>Aoi Trio's movie of the final round of ARD International Competition 2018 can be viewed here:

Subsequent AAPPAC annual conferences will be held in Philippines in 2019, Taiwan in 2020, and Hong Kong in 2021. Suntory Hall will continue to contribute to enhancing the presence in Asia and the global corporate value of Suntory through music.