This music project will organise rehearsals and performances for 60 young musicians from 10 schools in Fukushima, survivors of the 2011 earthquake, taking to the stages of Fukushima Ongakudo on 25 March and Boston Symphony Hall on 3 Apr 2016. This is a chance for young people who have suffered all the problems and dangers of Fukushima to show how music is a lifeline to help them survive and thrive and inspire the development of further initiatives of lasting and much needed support to Fukushima
Following the worse natural disaster in Japan's history on 11 March 2011, 150,000 people where displaced. In Fukushima, after the earthquake and tsunami, the invisible threat of radiation ruined lives in ways that cannot be measured. People living near the affected areas have been living under the threat of radiation, with children and young people being the most vulnerable. The psychological side effect and the dangers of radiation are pressing on the core of the identities of Fukushima.
The heart of the FYS programme is self-expression and personal improvement through music. The young musicians of the FYS speak frequently about how their musical activities have strengthened their self-confidence and their personal identities, enabling them to grow and face with hope, courage and confidence the challenges of their daily lives following the disasters of 2011. The FYS also aims to demonstrate to the world that Fukushima is full of active, recovering and creative people.
As members of the present generation of students grow older, the FYS will bring in more and more children to share in the incredible formative experience of making music together. We hope that this process will also permit more international performance tours and more international exchanges through music. We also hope to encourage more individual student members to develop stronger leadership skills and take on more responsibilities in organising rehearsals and public concerts.
