This summer in Yokohama, contemporary music is hot! Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall and Kanagawa Prefectural Music Hall will host performances by young musicians.

As a port city, Yokohama has always embraced and developed new cultures. In music, it has introduced and popularized brass bands, organs, jazz, and more.

With this cultural background, Yokohama is actively engaged in promoting new expressions created by contemporary musicians.

In July 2026, Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall and Kanagawa Prefectural Music Hall will host new commissioned performances in collaboration with young musicians. These two venues will work together to support promising musicians from Yokohama.

Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall will welcome Yuli Uemoto, a 2002-born composer whose new opera premiered at the Munich Biennale in May 2026, for a performance combining choir, cello, and electronics (July 17).

Kanagawa Prefectural Music Hall will hold the fifth edition of the 'Momijizaka Project,' a public call for proposals for projects that aim to open up the future of music (July 11). This time, the projects by double bass player Seiya Kondo and composer/percussionist Mizuki Aida were selected.

Look forward to the new music from Yokohama, full of fresh and vibrant sensibilities!

World-renowned young genius! Yuli Uemoto's new work premieres in Yokohama ('Yuli Uemoto: Forgetting the Song, Crying' Venue: Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall)

Yuli Uemoto, in her second year as a composer at Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall (born in 2002), presents a new commissioned performance 'Forgetting the Song, Crying,' confronting her roots in 'choir.' She reinterprets the voice as a 'material,' reconstructing it through traditional notation and meticulous digital editing. She coexists with fragments of consumer culture and meditative sounds, re-examining the nature of 'voice' in modern times. Following last year, Uemoto's curation introduces works by emerging composers such as Ben Nobuto from around the world. The performance is led by Kenji Ohtani, a leading figure in the choral world, with the pure voices of the NHK Tokyo Children's Choir, combined with the electronics of Shintaro Imai and the cello of Munehiko Harada, updating the image of choral music for one night.

◆ Event Information

Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall Composer 2025-2027

Yuli Uemoto: Forgetting the Song, Crying

Date: July 17, 2026 (Fri) 19:00 Start (18:30 Open)

Venue: Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall Small Hall

Performers: NHK Tokyo Children's Choir Youth Singers, Youth Men's Choir (Choir) Kenji Ohtani (Choir Conductor) Munehiko Harada (Cello) Shintaro Imai (Electronics)

Program: Yuli Uemoto: Forgetting the Song, Crying (2026, Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall Commissioned Work, World Premiere) Yuli Uemoto: I can't sing (2026, Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall Commissioned Work, World Premiere) Ben Nobuto: Sol (2022) Eric Whitacre: A Boy and a Girl, etc.

Tickets: All seats reserved General: 3,000 yen 65 years and older, university students, and those with a disability certificate: 2,500 yen High school students and younger: 2,000 yen

*No admission for children under school age

Organized by: Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall (Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Yokohama Arts and Culture Promotion Foundation)

Supported by: ・Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Nomura Foundation ・Subsidy for the Promotion of Cultural and Artistic Activities from the Agency for Cultural Affairs (Strengthening the Functions of Theaters and Music Halls [Vitalization of Core Theaters and Music Halls in the Region]) │ Independent Administrative Institution Japan Arts and Culture Promotion Organization

▶ Event Information is here

What is the 'new music' created by two young artists selected through public recruitment at the music hall? ('Momijizaka Project Vol.5' Venue: Kanagawa Prefectural Music Hall)

Since 2022, the Kanagawa Prefectural Music Hall has been hosting a project to discover 'fresh ideas that turn the concept of music on its head,' initiated by the late Kazuki Ichiyanagi. This project selects two artists each year and supports the realization of their ideas for about half a year.

For Vol.5, there were 12 applications, and the selection committee (Shuji Numano, Sae Ichikawa, Satoru Ono) selected Mizuki Aida (born in 1988, percussion/composer) and Seiya Kondo (born in 1992, double bass).

In March 2026, a 'Work in Progress' event was held to present works in progress to the general public and receive diverse feedback.

The main performance will take place in July.

◆ Event Information

Momijizaka Project Vol.5

Date: July 11, 2026 (Sat) 15:00 Start (14:15 Open)

Venue: Kanagawa Prefectural Music Hall

Program:

●100,000 Years Ago Double Bass/100,000 Years in the Future Double Bass (Planner: Seiya Kondo)

…AI created an unknown double bass 100,000 years ago in the 'past.' In the 'future,' a new instrument is born from the modern double bass 100,000 years later. Starting from 'now,' this concert takes a journey through distant times with sound and action.

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Performance: Seiya Kondo

《100,000 Years Ago Double Bass》 Composition and Production: Fumiya Tokutake Instrument Making Cooperation: Akihiko Yamanobe (Harpsichord Maker)

《0 minutes 00 seconds》 Composition: John Cage

《100,000 Years in the Future Double Bass》 Composition and Instrument Making: Subaru Kawashima

●One Breath, One Hour, Searching for Red Shoes (Planner: Mizuki Aida)

…Based on research about Yokohama, a new monodrama is created. The theme is 'waiting,' telling a story about people and streets that are being forgotten.

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《One Breath, One Hour》 Composition: Yoshio Yamamura

Monodrama 《Searching for Red Shoes》 Composition: Mizuki Aida

Tickets: All seats free General 1,000 yen / U24 (under 24 years old) 500 yen High school students and younger Free (reservation required) Wheelchair seats 1,000 yen (one companion seat free)

*No admission for children under school age

Organized by: Kanagawa Prefectural Music Hall (Designated Manager: Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Kanagawa Arts and Culture Foundation)

Supported by:・Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Nomura Foundation ・Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Rohm Music Foundation

▶ Event Information is here

Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall (Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Yokohama Arts and Culture Promotion Foundation)

220-0012 Minato Mirai 2-3-6, Nishi-ku, Yokohama ☎ Representative: 045(682)2020(9:00-18:00)　[email protected] https://yokohama-minatomiraihall.jp