A fifty-five member orchestra took to the stage of one the most significant concert halls in Europe—the Queen Elizabeth Hall—on 1 April 2019. As in the Tokyo concert a few months earlier, the Fukushima musicians were joined by several London supporting members, as well as the group of teachers who had been working with them for the two weeks leading up to this concert. 

 

The repertoire consisted of Beethoven Coriolan Overture, Borne Carmen Fantasy for Flute and Orchestra, Mackenzie Britannia, and Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5. Two conductors worked together to present the programme (Masanori Taniguchi from Japan and Panos Karan of the UK) and Keys of Change trustee Zach Tarpagos performed the flute concerto.

 

This was the most successful concert the FYS has performed to date. The almost full nine-hundred-seat auditorium held its breath for two hours, as the Fukushima musicians presented the programme. The emotions of the music brought the London audience to its feet for a rapturous standing ovation, with loud cheers and exclamations of “Bravo!”.