Cowra’ s favourite visiting choir, Chor-Farmer fly out of Tokyo tonight at the commencement of their 21st Australia and New Zealand Goodwill Tour.
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The Choir has a busy schedule with concerts in Tauranga, Featherston, [site of a Japanese POW camp in WW2], Nelson, Dunedin, in NZ, Lobethal [Adelaide] and culminating in the final concert in Cowra, the choirs’ “Home Town”, on Friday September 14.
This will be Chor-Farmer’s 21st visit to Australia spanning a period of 42 years, a record surely unsurpassed by any choir to visit Australia.
Cowra has been the ‘home Town’ leg on every one of those tours.
There are still a number of members who were present on the very first tour including the founder, conductor and musical director Hiroshi Masumoto.
All repertoires of Chor-Farmer are Hiroshi Masumoto’s arrangements.
He has a profound knowledge of a genre to be wide to world folk songs and popular music as well as classical music including Schubert.
And he gives rich music characteristics to Chor-Farmer.
He shows the superior ability for various creation activity for the choir with a computer, making music scores and CDs, and editing of publicity booklet of the choir.
The choir made up of students and graduates from the Tokyo University of Agriculture, will perform at the Cowra Civic Centre on Friday, September 14 at 7.00pm.
Tickets prices are adults $15, concession $7, available at the door.
All proceeds from the Cowra concert will go to the Cowra Seikei Student Exchange Programme which this year is celebrating its 49th year of continuous 12 month exchange between Cowra High School and Seikei High School in Tokyo.
In addition to the concert proceeds, members of Chor-Farmer have over the years donated many thousands of dollars to the Chor-Farmer Trust Fund, which is used to support the Seikei Exchange program, and the School Choirs section of the Cowra Eisteddfod.
The Seikei exchange has been going for nearly 50 years, offering a scholarship which pays airfares and insurance to the value of $3,000.
Most other expenses are covered by the school in Japan or host families.
The student lives with three or four different host families and attends school for the year.
The Choir will arrive in Cowra on Thursday evening, September 13 and depart on Sunday morning, September 16, and will be billeted with Cowra host families.
For more information on the Chor-Farmer choir visit their website : www.chor-farmer.com
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