Vivinavi : Houston : (United States) Houston

Nice to meet you all. My name is Mitsuhiko Toda （ and Teruhiko Toda ）, the president of Houston ・ Japanese Chorus "Sakura". This chorus group started up after the Japan ・ Festival in April 2014 and in May afterwards with your help. At the Japan ・ Festival, we sent a message of encouragement from Houston to the victims in Japan to remember the tragedy of the Great East Japan Earthquake and to send a message from Houston to those who suffered from the disaster. With the help of the members of this chorus, a new chorus group, ・ "Sakura", has been formed here in Houston.

I have been involved in many opera productions in Japan as a music staff member, including the New National Theatre, the Nikikai, and the Yomiuri Symphony Orchestra. I am also the music director of Opera to Go of Houston ・ Grand ・ Opera in Houston. I have been working in the field of music, especially opera, and ever since I came to Houston, I have been thinking about how I can convey Japanese culture through music. Therefore, I am very happy to bring Japanese culture to the people of Houston through the Houston ・ Chorus "Sakura". Music and words are deeply connected, and singing can give you even more excitement. Therefore, I always try to make my performances enjoyable to sing, and at the end of the performance, I hope that the audience will truly enjoy it. Whether you like music, want to start something new, meet new people and expand your horizons, or just want to try singing for your health, we hope that many of you will join us and deepen your relationship through music. We hope to share our culture through music with a large audience by performing not only Japanese music but also a wide variety of other genres.

Last but not least, music and art cannot survive without your support. We believe that the bare necessities of life are necessary, but that music and the arts can further brighten and enrich our lives. In this respect, even in the most difficult times, the arts can give us hope and the strength to live. Therefore, I hope that as many people as possible, not just those who want to sing, will support the Houston ・ Chorus "Sakura".