The highly respected Australian conductor Mark Ford has been given the honour of conducting at the 20th anniversary concert of the Hamamatsu Brass Band in Japan.

He will fly to the country at the end of the month to renew a musical friendship first made with Atsuhiko Okamoto 25 years ago when he led Kew Band Melbourne on a ground-breaking Japanese tour in 1999.

Friendship

Atsuhiko Okamoto told 4BR: "I wanted Mark to come to conduct this celebratory concert as it continues our musical friendship formed in 1999 when he conducted the massed bands at the All Japan Brass Band Festival in Tokyo.

It was this meeting and musical experience that inspired me to form a British style brass band in Hamamatsu."

Repertoire

Mark, who was presented with the Frank Wright Medal for Services to Music in 2018 and who has gained huge respect across the banding world will direct 'A Brussels Requiem' by Bert Appermont as well as work by Sparke, Richards, Lovatt-Cooper, Arnesen, Crausaz and Aertgeerts at the event on December 1st.