From January 5 to 12, 2018, Departments of Composition and Instrumental Music, Faculty of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts (Tokyo Geidai) implemented an international exchange program with the Lübeck University of Music, one of the partner institutions to Faculty of Music, during which Professor Dieter Mack, a composing professor at the German University was invited.

Professor Mack, who is also a researcher of music in Southeast Asia, has a deep knowledge of cultural exchange between two different cultures. Under his direction, this project aimed to provide practical training for student composers through an opportunity where new pieces of music were created, using the assignment pieces for a woodwind quintet composed by composing students of Tokyo Geidai and the Lübeck University of Music.
A woodwind quintet by students of both institutions performed ensemble pieces. New pieces by Professor Mack and the graduate student Shoichiro Tanaka were also performed for the first time.

In the lecture for musicology and composing students titled “contemporary music of Indonesia”, Professor Mack, who specializes in Indonesian gamelan music, demonstrated using different music sources how traditional music and communities engage in contemporary music. The lecture was very successful, and the participants asked a variety of questions and discussed various topics, including the education programs of gamelan in Indonesia. Both the students and teaching members of the composing and musicology departments actively exchanged opinions.

Professor Mack taught woodwind quintet and double quintet performances throughout his stay at Tokyo Geidai. He also witnessed the rehearsal of the performance of the new quartet piece by Mr. Tanaka and provided advice based on his experience, which was utilized for the improvement of the piece and its performance. Not only the composing students but also the chamber music students gained an experience that can be applied when they work on other forms of music, by actually experiencing the process of composing a new piece including the development of the concept. On January 12, a concert that had two parts was held at No.2 Hall. It ended successfully, attended by approximately 70 people.

The involvement of faculty members and students in the composing and wind instrument departments made this project serve as an opportunity of international exchange for the students of the two institutions but also that of collaboration by the two different fields of studies; chamber music and composition. We are sure that the relationship between the two institutions has deepened through this project. We expect that our students will be engaged in research activities with more global perspectives.

We would like to express our gratitude to the Germany Embassy in Japan for its support to this project. Our appreciation also goes to all the people who worked for the realization of the project.