Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of Josef Laska’s Passing: A Lecture Concert at Aoyama Gakuin University

This year marks the 150th anniversary of Aoyama Gakuin’s founding and the 60th anniversary of the death of Austrian composer Josef Laska. To commemorate this occasion, Aoyama Gakuin University will host a lecture concert on Saturday, October 19, 2024, sponsored by the university and supported by the Austrian Embassy and the Austrian Cultural Forum.

The Aoyama Gakuin Marches No. 1 and 2, composed by Laska in 1935, were unknown for many years until Kazumi Negishi’s autographed score was discovered in the archives of the Anton Bruckner Private University (Linz, Austria). This lecture concert will premiere the original score of “Aoyama Gakuin March” and delve into Laska’s Japanese period, including his time teaching at the Takarazuka Music Opera School. The concert will feature works closely related to Japan, including the “Aoyama Gakuin March”.

Laska’s life was marked by a strange fate. What inspired him to compose the Aoyama Gakuin March? This lecture concert offers a unique opportunity to explore the background behind the composition of this iconic school march and enjoy the works of an Austrian composer who lived in the Far East during a time of global upheaval.

Event Overview

• Event Name: 《Aoyama Gakuin March》 Composer Josef Laska 60th Anniversary Commemorative Lecture Concert
• Date and Time: October 19th (Saturday), 16:00
• Location: Aoyama Gakuin University Aoyama Campus Goucher Memorial Chapel (Campus Map)
• Admission Fee: Free, all seats are free (no application required)

Performers

Lecture

• Speaker: Kazumi Negishi (Professor Emeritus, Osaka University)
• Speaker: Takahiro Takeuchi (Professor and Dean, Faculty of Cultural Policy Studies, Aoyama Gakuin University)
• Moderator: Miki Yamamoto (Professor, Faculty of Education and Human Sciences, Aoyama Gakuin University)
• Piano Performance: Ryotaro Saito (3rd year, Faculty of Education and Human Sciences, Aoyama Gakuin University)

Concert

• Mezzo-soprano: Yuri Mizobuchi
• Piano: Masaru Okada
• Flute: Kayoko Sugiyama