Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra is Japan’s largest and most active orchestra. We pursue an ambitious subscription concert program and a wide range of special concerts while also backing up opera and ballet. The world’s top soloists and conductors perform in the orchestra’s 20 subscription concerts at the 3 most distinguished halls in Tokyo: Bunkamura Orchard Hall, Suntory Hall and Tokyo Opera City. The programs offer a wide spectrum of music, from the classics to contemporary music. In addition to the subscription concerts, the popular Sunday ‘Afternoon Concert’ series at Tokyo Opera City offers a lighter presentation with a blend of music and talk. Tokyo Philharmonic also holds a number of special concerts and mini-series each year in response to the varied tastes of our wide audience. Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra has a long history in opera and ballet stemming from the pre-war days. Today the orchestra plays in roughly 100 performances each year and is a key presence at the New National Theatre, Tokyo, Japan’s first opera house that opened in 1997. The Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra toured Southeast Asia in 1973 and Europe in 1984, 1989 and 1994. In August 2003, the orchestra will tour in China, Singapore and Korea, the first international tour since the orchestra merger. A world tour is being planned for 2005. As part of its cultural responsibility, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra regularly carries out concerts in regions outside Tokyo and also has regular concert series in Nagoya, Chiba and Saitama. Activities include not only concerts but also chamber music concerts and interactive workshops with the local citizens and music appreciation classes for the young, pop concerts and salon concerts. In 2002, the orchestra launched an innovative education outreach program taking small groups of musicians into schools in Tokyo and the environs. The yearly outreach program culminates in a summer concert for children. Broadcast performances, mainly for NHK, are an important part of the orchestra’s activities. The orchestra is the mainstay of the popular ‘Meikyoku Album’ series. Other broadcasts include the yearly NHK Television New Year concert, which has been performed exclusively by Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra since its launch almost 50 years ago. Many CD recordings have also been produced.