Prof. Shimono Tatsuya from Ueno Gakuen University's Department of Music gave a lecture on conducting on April 8, staging demonstrations together with two graduate students and the TNUA Orchestra.
The two graduate students who received one-on-one instructions from Prof. Shimono were Chen Po-hung and Tsai Cheng-chia. For the demonstrations, they conducted Beethoven's “Symphony No. 7, Op.92 Movt. I Poco sostenuto – Vivace” and Mozart's “The Marriage of Figaro Overture.”
Prof. Shimono noted that a conductor must notice each and every member of the orchestra during the performance. The conductor's movements must change to reflect the mood of the music, he said.
Apart from teaching, the professor is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Hiroshima Wind Orchestra, and Permanent Conductor of the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra.
He honed his skills under many masters, including Takashi Asahina.
Prof. Shimono has won many awards, including the First Prize at the 12th Tokyo International Music Competition in 2000, the First Prize at the 47th Besancon International Competition for Young Conductors in 2001, and the 6th Hideo Saito Memorial Fund Award in 2007.
He has guest-conducted at major orchestras both in Japan and abroad. He won great plaudits for his concerts at the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale de Santa Cecilia and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in 2009.
In March 2010, he made his debut with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, and in October of the same year he again guest-conduct the Orchestre Regional de Cannes PACA.