2025年12月10日
Greeting
As the oldest symphony orchestra in North America and the premier classical music ensemble at Harvard University, the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra tours abroad every other year to share our music with audiences worldwide and foster cultural exchange.
This upcoming tour to Japan marks the orchestra’s first return to Japan in more than forty years, and we are beyond excited and grateful for this opportunity.
The theme of our tour is “Music as Peace.” We are inspired by the work of Nihon Hidankyo, which won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize and will celebrate its 70th anniversary in 2026. It is an honor to help promote their powerful message through music.
Our performances will take place in Yokohama, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. In addition to our concerts, we will visit peace memorial sites and take part in cultural exchange programs in each city.
We believe in the unique power of music to serve as a bridge between people, cultures, and nations. We hope to foster and strengthen our connections with communities in Japan, and look forward to sharing these meaningful experiences with you.
program
Date & Venue
Wed May 20, 2026 7:00 PM Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall (Grand Hall)
Thu May 21, 2026 7:00 PM Dai-ichi Seimei Hall, Tokyo
Sat May 23, 2026 2:00 PM Benex Nagasaki Brick Hall (Grand Hall)
Sun May 24, 2026 3:00 PM Hiroshima International Conference Center Phoenix Hall
program
Toru Takemitsu: Requiem for Strings
Sergei Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 63
Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, “From the New World,” Op. 95
Artists
Conductor: Federico Cortese
Violin: Stella Chen
Orchestra: Harvard–Radcliffe Orchestra
Conductor: Federico Cortese
Violin: Stella Chen
Orchestra: Harvard–Radcliffe Orchestra
May 20, 2026 7:00 PM Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall
May 23, 2026 2:00 PM Benex Nagasaki Brick Hall
May 24, 2026 3:00 PM Hiroshima International Conference
Center Phoenix Hall
Toru Takemitsu: Requiem for Strings
Sergei Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2, Op. 63
Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 9, “From the New World,” Op. 95
Conductor: Federico Cortese
This year marks Federico Cortese’s seventeenth season as Music Director & Conductor of the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra. Mr. Cortese first moved to Boston as the Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and debuted in September 1998, stepping in at short notice to conduct Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in place of an ailing Seiji Ozawa, which was widely praised. Serving in that position from 1998-2003, Mr. Cortese led the Boston Symphony several times in Symphony Hall and at Tanglewood. His conducting of Puccini's Madama Butterfly was particularly heralded. Additionally, he has served as Music Director of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras since 1999 and was previously Music Director of the New England String Ensemble and Associate Conductor of the Asian Youth Symphony Orchestra. Other appointments have included Music Coordinator (in lieu of Music Director) and Associate Conductor of the Spoleto Festival in Italy, Assistant Conductor to Daniele Gatti at the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and Assistant Conductor to Robert Spano at the Brooklyn Philharmonic.
Mr. Cortese has conducted numerous prominent symphony orchestras, including Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, BBC Scottish Symphony, Sydney Symphony, and Oslo Philharmonic to name a few. Opera engagements have included Maggio Musicale in Florence, Spoleto Festival in Italy and the United States, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Finnish National Opera, Opera Australia, and Washington National Opera, among many others. Mr. Cortese has been Music Coordinator and Associate Conductor of the Spoleto Festival in Italy. He also served as Assistant Conductor to Robert Spano and to Daniele Gatti.
Violin :Stella Chen
Gramophone 2023 Young Artist of the Year Stella Chen garnered worldwide attention with her first-prize win at the 2019 Queen Elizabeth International Violin Competition, followed by the 2020 Avery Fisher Career Grant and 2020 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award. Since then, Stella has appeared across North America, Europe, and Asia in concerto, recital, and chamber music performances. She recently made debuts with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Baltimore Symphony, Belgian National Orchestra, and many others and appeared at the Vienna Musikverein and Berlin Philharmonie. In recital, recent appearances include Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Phillips Collection, Rockport Music Festival, and Nume Festival in Italy. She appears frequently with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center both in New York and on tour. Stella has appeared as a chamber musician in festivals including the Ravinia, Seattle Chamber Music, Perlman Music Program, Music@Menlo, Bridgehampton, Rockport, Kronberg Academy, and Sarasota. Chamber music partners include Itzhak Perlman, James Ehnes, and Matthew Lipman. She is the inaugural recipient of the Robert Levin Award from Harvard University, where she was inspired by Robert Levin himself. Teachers and mentors have included Donald Weilerstein, Itzhak Perlman, Miriam Fried, and Catherine Cho. She received her doctorate from the Juilliard School where she serves as teaching assistant to her longtime mentor Li Lin. Stella plays the 1720 General Kyd Stradivarius, on generous loan from Dr. Ryuji Ueno and Rare Violins In Consortium, Artists and Benefactors Collaborative and the 1708 Huggins Stradivarius courtesy of the Nippon Music Foundation
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The Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra (HRO) is the oldest continuously active symphony orchestra in the United States. Founded in 1808, the orchestra delivers professional-quality performances to the Harvard, Cambridge, and greater Boston communities four times each academic year, in addition to initiating a variety of outreach programs on equitable arts access and music education. Originally founded as "the Pierian Sodality" by Joseph Eaton (class of 1810) and five classmates on the night of March 6, 1808, the Pierian Sodality was named after the Pierian Spring, a sacred spot where the ancient Greek drank from an alleged fountain of knowledge and worshiped the heroic musician Orpheus. Accordingly, Eaton’s group was known for its consumption of brandy and cigars, in addition to its music. In the 1830s, the Faculty of Harvard College began public admonishment of the Pierian Sodality for entire nights spent away from Cambridge “serenading young ladies.” In 1832, such censure reduced the group’s membership to one musician. The tradition of the Sodality was gradually restored until 1840, when the group reported fame that “did wax exceedingly great, and did reach all the places round about Cambridge.” The Pierian Sodality predates the first professional orchestra in the United States (the New York Philharmonic Orchestra), which was established in 1842.
Violin
Ethan Chang
Ayaan Ahmad
Ethan Chaves
Claire Cho
Kevin Cho
Bianca Ciubancan
Feodora Douplitzky-Lunati
Stephanie Dragoi
Noemi Gilbert
Mia Hakkarainen
Sophiette Hong
Lizzy Huang
Henry Jackson
Chrissy Jung
Eddy Kang
Ella Kim
John Kim
Joylyn Kim
Julia Kim
Logan Lee
Enoch Li
Ozioma Obi
Sarah Park
Serin Park
Miro Raj
Gabriel Sagini
Paloma So
Noa Suk
Krystal Sun
Audrey Sun
Iris Sung
Moshi Tang
Sava Thurber
Xinran Tong
Mana Tsuruta
Sophie Tung
Kerrie Zhu
Matthew Yar
Viola
Ana Cardona Izquiel
Katherine Avery
Ian Chung
Esther Clayton
Benjamin Fortuin
Jihyo Kim
Juhee Kim
Graham Lee
Sidney Lee
Sophia Nam
Masako Yang
Brendon Lau
April Zhang
Cello
Noah Chung-Igelman
Jack Damon
Chloe Dong
Noah Ferris
Maya Fu
Caleb Graupera
Sol Gutiérrez-Lara
Sophia Hwang
Elizabeth Jones
Andrew Kim
Elizabeth Norris
James Obasiolu
Justin Shaw
Brody Van Wave
Dylan Wu
Sean Yu
Bass
Connor Greally
Sonia Le
Annabella Mack
Benjamin Witzel
Flute
Oboe
Carolyn Lau
Jayden Lee
Ray Moon
Kaitlyn Choi
Yul Kim
Puyuan Ye
Clarinet
Louis Auxenfans
Cadee Lee
Veronica Li
Jacob Mandelbrot
Bassoon
Benjamin Killip-Leonard
Zachary Piesner
Smera Sachin
Madeline Zhang
Horn
Trumpet
Isabelle Lee
Finn Tondro
Tony Xu
Diogo Feldman
Catherine Li
Benjamin Lyczkowski
Trombone
Tuba
Percussion
Thomas Gustafson
Samuel Jacobowitz
Benjamin Arthurs
Kai Deshima
Ryan Lopez
Christian Ogata
Suc Song Moi Bamboo Ensemble
With only the only bamboo musical instrument in Vietnam
An organized ensemble.
Founded in 2013 by Dong Quang Vinh. All instruments are made by renowned wind music maestro Don Van Minh (Don Quan Vinh's father). The current repertoire includes works by Vietnamese folk music as well as classical masterpieces by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Debussy, Ravel, Saint-Saëns, Offenbach and Elgar.
Suc Song Moi Bamboo Ensemble is often invited to international music festivals.
2015 14th Asian Art Festival (China) and 2nd Maritime Silk Road International Art Festival
2017 China-ASEAN Art & Theater Week
2019 Performed with the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra at the opening concert of the "One Belt, One Road" International Music Festival in Shenzhen, China
2019 Performed at the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore
2020 Participate in online performance projects in the US, France, China and India
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Kazuta Yamamoto Governor of Gunma Prefecture
Kenji Tomioka Mayor of Takasaki City
Yoshihiro Murai Governor of Miyagi Prefecture
Masami Saito Mayor of Ishinomaki City
Masanori Yamamoto Mayor of Miyako City
Hiroshi Kiba Mayor of Fukushima City
Ayuko Matsuda President, Almond Co.
Sponsor
Kazuta Yamamoto Governor of Gunma Prefecture
Kenji Tomioka Mayor of Takasaki City
Yoshihiro Murai Governor of Miyagi Prefecture
Masami Saito Mayor of Ishinomaki City
Masanori Yamamoto Mayor of Miyako City
Hiroshi Kiba Mayor of Fukushima City
Ayuko Matsuda President, Almond Co.
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OUR SPONSORS
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Subsidized by
Presented by
The Harvard Radcriff-Orchestra
Co-presented by
Nagasaki City, Hiroshima City
Planning & Production
Almond Co.,Ltd.
ハーバード・ラドクリフ管弦楽団日本公演
主催 ハーバード・ラドクリフ管弦楽団
共催 長崎市（長崎公演）広島市（広島公演）
企画制作 アーモンド株式会社
顧問
冨山和彦
株式会社日本共創プラットフォーム(JPiX)
代表取締役社長
松本順
株式会社みちのりホールディン グス
代表取締役グループCEO
村岡隆史
株式会社経営共創埜盤（IGPI)
代表取締役CEO
事務局長
松田亜有子
アーモンド株式会社代表取締役
鷺この美
加納遥香
高橋彩
今野華那
金子ひろい
星野友子
鹿又紀乃
事務局
CEO Almond
Matsuda, Ayuko
After graduating from Kwassui Women’s University in the music department for piano and organ, Ayuko Matsuda began her professional career working with the composer Akira Miyoshi, an artistic adviser to Nagaoka Lyric Hall. She took charge of the planning and public relations role at the Nagaoka City Arts and Culture Promotion Foundation.
In 2001 she managed the Nagaoka Lyric Hall’s 5th- anniversary celebration. In addition to Japan’s celebration, she partnered with the Aldeburgh Festival Music Festival for performances in England. Pairing Britten’s opera “Curlew River” and a Noh performance of “Sumida River,” the performances were selected as part of the “Japan 2001” UK national event. They received great acclaim in both the UK and Japan. Ayuko subsequently joined the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Going beyond arts and culture industries, she held communications management roles at Japan Post Co., Ltd. and Industrial Growth Platform Inc (IGPI). During these appointments, Ayuko was particularly involved in the CSR activities of her companies and clients and in supporting the growth of companies funded and supported by IGPI.
In 2013, she returned to the Tokyo Philharmonic as the Director of Public Relations and External Affairs, overseeing the communications function, and negotiating the sponsorships around major events and projects, including the Tokyo Philharmonic’s 100th Anniversary Celebration and World Tour, the 50th Anniversary of Japan-Korea Diplomatic Normalization, the 45th Anniversary of Japan-China Diplomatic Normalization,” and more.
Ayuko established Almond Co., Ltd. in November 2018. She also serves as an IGPI advisor, an international PR representative of the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, and a Gunma Symphony Orchestra board member.
Ayuko is the author of two books (in Japanese), entitled “A Broad History of Classical Music” and “A Broad History of Classical Masterpieces”.
