The Armenian Little Singers choir — whose repertoire includes classical songs, modern music, jazz and bossa nova — are performing in Japan for the first time.
The singers — 40 girls aged 11 to 18 — are all students of music schools in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, the mountainous landlocked nation that sits along the old Great Silk Road and between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea.
The group was originally established by Tigran Hekekyan, Professor of Choral Conducting at Komitas State Conservatory in Armenia, in 1992, and it has since won many awards at international chorus competitions, says Min-On Concert Association, the choir's Japan tour organizer. It also tours Europe and the United States every year.
For this extended tour in Japan — which includes 16 venues, some of which have already sold out — the girls will sing several hymns such as "Ave Verum Corpus," as well as a George Gershwin medley, "The Girl from Ipanema," "In the Mood" and other popular songs.
Tickets are available for Minato Mirai Hall in Yokohama on July 13; Sano Culture Center in Tochigi, July 15; Soleil Hall in Kita Kyushu, July 18; Marugame Civic Hall in Kagawa, July 19; Nitori Bunka Hall in Sapporo, July 23; Iida Cultural Hall in Nagano, July 26; Acros Fukuoka, July 30; Mizayaki Municipal Culture Hall in Miyazaki, Aug. 1; Nagasaki Brick Hall in Nagasaki, Aug. 2; Watanabeo Kinen Kaikan in Ube in Yamaguchi, Aug. 4; and Ishikawa Ongakudo in Kanazawa, Aug. 8. Ticket prices vary from ¥3,800 to ¥4,800. Visit www.min-on.or.jp/play/ticket.html for reservations or call Min-On on 03-5362-3400