The 666th Subscription Concert 2025.January.25（Sat）17:00～
/ January.26（Sun）13:00～ Sapporo Concert Hall; Kitara

© Masaaki Tomitori

Junichi HIROKAMI（conductor）

Born in Tokyo, Junichi Hirokami studied piano, composition and music under Atsutada Otaka. Then studied conducting and graduated at Tokyo College of Music. Winner at the first Kondrashin International Conducting Competition in Amsterdam at the sage of 26 in 1984. Since 1990, Junichi Hirokami has appeared as guest conductor with major orchestras throughout the world including the Orchestre National de France, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and Wiener Symphoniker. Apart from guest appearance he had served as Chief Conductor of Sweden's Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Chief Conductor of the Limburg Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Principal Conductor of Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and Music Director of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. In recent years, he has been a guest conductor of orchestras which include the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, L'Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. In Japan he has conducted all the major orchestras including NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Saito Kinen Orchestra. He also received great acclaim for his appearance with the Mito Chamber Orchestra. He is prolific in opera as well, having led celebrated performances of "Un ballo in maschera" and "Rigoletto" at the the Sydney Opera House, and his most recent triumphs include "La Traviata" at the Fujiwara Opera, "Le Nozze di Figaro" and "Ainadamar" at the Nissay Theatre, and "La Traviata" and "Aida" at the New National Theatre. From 2008 to 2022 Hirokami has achieved a golden era in Kyoto as Chief Conductor as well as Music and Artistic Advisor of the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra for 14 years. In 2015 he received 46th prestigious Suntory Music Award with Kyoto Symphony Orchestra together. Currently he serves as Friend of JPO / Artistic Advisor at Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and Friendship Conductor at Sapporo Symphony Orchestra (from April 2022). Furthermore he will start his tenure as Artistic Leader at Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa from 2022/23 season. He serves as professor of conducting division at Tokyo College of Music. (from our website)

© Yuji Hori

Keisuke TOYAMA（piano）

Sapporo-born Keisuke Toyama began studying the piano at the age of five. He was awarded the first prize in the 73rd Japan Music Competition in 2004. His other prizes include the Masuzawa Award, Iguchi Award, Nomura Award, Kawai Award, and Audience Award. Toyama graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts in 2006. In 2008, he began studying in Germany (Hanover University of Music and Drama), and in 2011, he obtained his postgraduate degree from Tokyo University of the Arts. He is currently a part-time lecturer at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music. In 2007, Toyama released his first album, CHOPIN: HEROIC. He also launched a nationwide tour of debut recitals from Suntory Hall, performing to sold-out audiences and debuting on a remarkably large scale for a newcomer. In 2008, he released his second album, Impressions and, in the same year, embarked on a nationwide recital tour, again performing to full houses. In 2009, he performed Chopin’s piano concertos with the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra. In this year, he released his third album, Rachmaninoff (selected for the special recording prize of Record Geijutsu magazine). In 2010, Toyama released his fourth album, Polonaise-Fantaisie and, in the same year, undertook a nationwide recital tour, performing an all-Chopin program in celebrating the 200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth. On December 31, he performed in the “Tokyo Silvester Concert (broadcast live on the TV Tokyo nationwide network). In 2011, he released Keisuke Toyama BEST, featuring recordings from his four past albums, and undertook a nationwide recital tour performing a Beethoven program. In 2012, he performed in a New Year concert at Kitara Hall (Sapporo) and launched a nationwide recital tour with a program featuring Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” In 2013, Toyama performed in a New Year concert at Philia Hall (Yokohama). He also achieved his debut in Europe, performing in Belgium with the Orchestra of Flanders, and his performance with the NHK Symphony Orchestra was broadcast nationwide on NHK. In July, he released a CD, Pictures at an Exhibition, which was selected for the special recording prize of Record Geijutsu magazine. Keisuke Toyama has performed with numerous renowned orchestras, including the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, and Sapporo Symphony Orchestra. His teachers have included Katsumi Ueda, Gabriel Tacchino, Matti Raekallio, and Masako Yoshitake. His distinctive sound, with its delicacy and rich color, is garnering attention in a broad range of fields. (from https://www.keisuke-toyama.com/profile.html)