Date: Thursday, November 6
Time: 19:00 to 21:00 Doors open at 18:15. Concert begins at 19:00
Venue: Sumida Triphony Hall Small Hall
Access: 5 minutes from Kinshicho Station, JR Chuo/Sobu line (North exit) or Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line (Exit 3)
Ticket Information:
Adults: 5,000 yen
People with a disability/guides: 3,000 yen
Students: 3,000 yen
To purchase tickets: https://peatix.com/event/4558426
Free/non-assigned seating
Volunteers for the Visually Impaired (VVI) has been providing English education programs and cross-cultural programs for people with visual impairments for 50 years. To celebrate this remarkable 50th Anniversary, CWAJ will hold a special Anniversary Concert featuring Rika Sugata on the piano and soprano Seina Kudo. This is a celebration for all CWAJ members which you don’t want to miss!
Rika Sugata received the 2021 CWAJ Scholarship for the Visually Impaired. In 2023, she graduated summa cum laude from the Faculty of Education, The University of Tokyo, and received the University President’s Award. She served as a representative for the University of Tokyo UNiTe program.
Rika began playing piano at the age of five. She won first prize at the Kumano-no-sato Music Competition and the Helen Keller Memorial Music Competition. She studied with Olivier Gardon and Michel Beroff at the Nice International Summer Music Academy and performed in concerts. In June 2024, she performed with the Senri Philharmonic Orchestra of Osaka, conducted by Kazuki Sawa at The Symphony Hall. She studied with Yoko Yoshida, Yoshiko Kato, Naoko Miyashita, Kaoru Shirane, Yurika Kiki, and Mamiko Suda. She also received lessons from Olivier Gardon and Charles Richard Adlam.
Currently, she works at a foreign financial institution while continuing her musical activities.
Seina Kudo, also visually impaired, studied piano and voice at the Department of Music Arts, Faculty of Music, Ferris University for Women. She was selected one as of the top students to perform at the graduation concert. She has appeared on musical shows and well-known commercials, including those for Shiseido and Meiji. She currently continues to perform and engage in vocal coaching, while working in a multinational company.
Rika will perform pieces by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and four songs with Seina.
Please join in for this special concert and celebration of CWAJ’s friendship with and commitment to the visually impaired community!
Event contact: vvi50th@cwaj.org
