For Immediate Release Contact: Barbara K. Laskin
March 13, 2004 Doug Stone
(651) 696-6203

Fukushima Kodály Choir of Japan to Perform at Macalester
Thursday, March 25, 2004

St. Paul, Minn. - The Fukushima Kodály Choir from Japan will perform a
special concert at Macalester College, 8 p.m., Thursday, March 25, in the
Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center Concert Hall, 1600 Grand Avenue, St. Paul,
Minn. The concert is free and open to the public.

The choir consists primarily of school teachers from Fukushima Prefecture
and Tohoku, in the northern region of Japan. Concert repertoire covers an
unusually wide range, in original languages, from Gregorian chant to modern
a cappella European choral music, including Hungarian composers Kodály,
Bartók, Bárdos, Kurtág and Kocsár. The choir also sings Bulgarian, Finnish,
Indonesian, African and Asian folk music in a variety of vocal styles. Also included in their repertoire for this performance are traditional Japanese folk songs, folk dances and contemporary Japanese choral works.

Miyako Furiya, the choir's director and conductor, is a graduate of Musashino Music Academy in Japan where she majored in piano performance. During 1987, she studied in Hungary, mainly at Liszt Music Academy, on a scholarship from the International Kodály Society, focusing on choral conducting and piano performance. After returning from Hungary, she founded the Fukushima Kodály Choir and since has conducted many concerts throughout Japan and in many foreign countries.

The choir was named in honor of composer Zoltán Kodály and his pedagogical
and musical contributions. The choir's mission is to help primary school teachers educate pupils in a beneficial and meaningful way through participating in music during and after their school years.

Macalester is a private liberal arts college with a full-time enrollment of
1,810 students. Macalester is nationally recognized for its commitment to
academic excellence, internationalism, diversity and service to society.