We are delighted to welcome the Galway City Chamber Choir (GCCC) to Japan with a special performance on Bloomsday!

The GCCC is going on their first tour of Japan and we are excited to bring together the local Ireland-Japan community to welcome them.

This event is co-organised by the Irish Network Japan and the Ireland Japan Chamber of Commerce. We warmly invite all IJCC members and friends to join this open event in celebration of Irish music and literature.

There will also be a special performance from the talented Dai Komatsu and Miho Sakauchi, a fiddle and piano duo, from IJCC Corporate member Ode Inc.

A fundraising raffle will be held during the evening with a variety of special prizes from our generous sponsors The Buskers, Man Woo, ONODA, Eghan's Irish Whiskey and more! Money raised from raffle ticket sales will be used to cover food and drink for GCCC group members, with the remainder to be donated to the GCCC to help cover costs of their tour in Japan.

<Event Detail>

Venue: Peter Cole, Nishi Shinjuku (MAP)
Address: 〒151-0071 Tokyo, Shibuya City, Honmachi, 3 Chome−14−1 アパホテル＆リゾート 1F
Date: Thursday 13th June 2024
Cost: Free to attend. 1 drink and 1 food order is required per attendee upon entry. (A special Bloomsday menu will also be available)

Registration is not required, but we would greatly appreciate it if you noted your interest in the event via Facebook: https://fb.me/e/7bVr6EZAO

<Event Programme>

18:00 Doors open
19:00 Opening and programme introduction, raffle sales open
19:05 Welcome remarks IJCC President Yoshihiro Tsuchiya and INJ Chairperson Doire Myler
19:10 Performance by GCCC
19:25 An open conversation with GCCC
19:50 Performance by Ode Inc. Dai Komatsu (fiddle) and Miho Sakauchi (piano) DUO
20:20 Introduction of Man-Woo by Katsuko Nagano
20:50 Performance by GCCC
21:10 Raffle draw, group photo
21:30 Event end

<Dress Code>

We encourage everyone to come in their best Bloomsday outfit! Please bring all your Edwardian clothing such as long skirts, shawls, fancy hats, ruffled blouses, straw hats, rounded glasses, britches and braces, and canes to go with our Bloomsday theme. There will be a private area at the venue provided as a changing room. There will be a selection of beautiful, hand-crafted hats kindly provided by Ms. Katsuko Nagano of Man-Woo to try on and wear during the event. Hats can also be purchased on the day, so please inquire with Ms. Nagano on the day.

<Raffle>

Raffle tickets will be available for purchase in sets of 3 for 1000 JPY. Only cash payments will be accepted. We apologise in advance for any inconvenience.

<Performers Profiles>

Galway City Chamber Choir

This choir began its journey back in 2016 as a youth choir. During the inaugural years the choir mainly had activity within Galway City. This consisted of a concert series throughout the year in its home Salthill Church. Aside from this, the choir was also involved in many charity events for local causes. Just before Covid the choir rebranded as a chamber choir as the core members had all surpassed the age of 18. Galway City Chamber Choir was born in May 2019 and hosted a visiting choir from the US. The choir was silenced for almost 2 years but had many plans for after the pandemic. The choir had exponential growth in January 2021 which consisted of the best intake of musicians in their history.

The intake consisted of many professional musicians living and working in Galway. In 2022, Galway City Chamber Choir was featured on Nollaig Cois Coiribe which was TG4’s featured Christmas choral programme, broadcasted globally. This choir gives people a chance to challenge themselves vocally while exhibiting excellent music.

To date, the choir and its members have travelled and performed in Ireland, Portugal, France, Monaco, Spain, the US, and Japan (research visit).

Dai Komatsu and Miho Sakauchi DUO

Formed in 2024. A unit that performs poetic and beautiful landscapes on fiddle and piano.
Their live performances of Irish dance tunes and original works, created with a variety of expression and on a large scale, have attracted much attention.

Dai Komatsu, Fiddler
Komatsu first encountered Irish music in 2004 and spent three months in County Clare, Ireland in 2006, learning from Pat O'Connor, a fiddle player living in Feakle, and since then has travelled extensively to Ireland. Since then, he has travelled extensively and performed throughout Japan as one of the country's leading fiddle players. Graduated from Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music.

Miho Sakauchi, Pianist
Around 2000, she first encountered Irish set dancing and was fascinated by its joy. Gradually, she became interested in music as an accompaniment to dance and started performing on the piano, which she became familiar with as a child. She also enjoys dancing in her spare time.