Summer is upon us, and we are thrilled to welcome this year's PMF Academy, along with the faculty and artists joining us for the first half of the festival. In just a few days, Sapporo Concert Hall Kitara, PMF's home base, will be filled with music and the lively atmosphere of aspiring young musicians. We wish everyone an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime music-making experience!

PMF 2025 program, artists, and more

At PMF, Opening Night always offers a glimpse of what is to come. The program includes orchestral and chamber music, and performances by faculty and the Academy; one cannot help but wonder how this fresh orchestra will transform in the intense weeks of training that follow, with guidance from world-class conductors and musicians from the world’s major orchestras.

This year marks the 35th PMF, and Opening Night offers something special. Schumann’s Konzertstück will be performed by 4 of the top horn players in the world − Stefan Dohr, Sarah Willis, Andrew Bain, and Nobuaki Fukukawa − along with the PMF Orchestra! Willis and Bain are members of the PMF faculty, representing PMF EUROPE in the first half of the festival, and PMF AMERICA in the second, respectively.

Each program gives the Academy a wonderful opportunity to perform with distinguished conductors and soloists, but a piece like this also gives them an up-close look at how a group of such players come together for the first time, in a way mirroring their own situation as an orchestra, and how these virtuosi navigate the extensive process between the first rehearsal and the performance, giving them a rare educational experience. We hope the Academy will be inspired by their unmatched virtuosity and enjoy every moment of performing with them!

The PMF Homecoming Orchestra

PMF has celebrated its anniversary years in the past by forming special orchestras such as the PMF International Orchestra for the 10th Anniversary in 1999, the PMF Anniversary Orchestra for the 20th in 2009, and the PMF Premium Orchestra for the 30th in 2019. For the 35th Anniversary, the PMF Homecoming Orchestra, made up of over 40 alumni from 14 countries and regions now active in professional orchestras and ensembles around the globe, will perform a special program under the baton of PMF alumnus Dawid Runtz.

Sofia Levchenko, a PMF alumna who quickly went on to become a concertmaster herself, will join the Homecoming Orchestra. She kindly agreed to share her thoughts on this occasion, what she learned from her time as a member of the PMF Academy, and what she hopes this year’s Academy will take away from their experience.

Enjoy the “Picnic Concert Experience” with chartered bus transportation!

Outdoor concerts are a prominent feature of PMF, and were an important aspect in planning the creation of the festival as far back as the late 1980s. The annual Picnic Concert at the Sapporo Art Park Outdoor <Leonard Bernstein Memorial Stage> has been held since 1992 and consistently remains one of our most popular concerts.

Last year for the first time, PMF organized a chartered round-trip bus tour to the Picnic Concert from downtown Sapporo, including a concert ticket and a PMF T-shirt, accompanied by an English-speaking guide. Due to popular demand, this year’s bus tour will have increased capacity! See the Picnic Concert Experience Travel Package page for details. (Japanese only)

Alumni activities

Several PMF alumni concerts have been presented since the last edition!

In Tokyo, principal oboist of the NHK Symphony Orchestra Yumi Yoshimura (PMF 2014) and NHK violinist Nana Miyagawa (PMF 2013) performed a concert with PMF pianist Akiko Sakuma at the Yamaha Ginza Shop, with music journalist and critic Naoki Hayashida serving as MC.

Eri Furuguchi (violin, PMF 2018, 21) and three woodwind players performed a special ocean-themed concert at the AOAO SAPPORO aquarium.

AEON Hokkaido is one of PMF’s Special Supporting Companies, and alumni ensembles performed at two AEON locations in Sapporo as pre-events for PMF 2025.

And an all-alumni string quartet − Aoi Serita, violin, PMF 2015 / Shushi Hori, violin, PMF 2014 / Tomomi Tsuru, viola, PMF 2013, 14 / Airi Niwa, cello, PMF 2013 − performed at a scholarship award ceremony for one of the PMF Main Sponsors, the AEON 1% Club Foundation in Tokyo.