Fukushima: JEDRO-Projekt IV - Messias-Konzerte

Messias 2012  -  Konzerte in Fukushima
"Remembering 3.11   Rainbow of Love Project"

Am 7. Juni 2012 erreichte uns dieser Brief der Japanischen Bibelgesellschaft. Sie bittet nachdrücklich um Hilfe bei der Finanzierung des Projektes "Remembering 3.11 - Rainbow of Love". Die Bibelgesellschaft bringt mit diesem Projekt Hunderte von Christen und Nichtchristen aus Japan zusammen, um mit ihnen Händels Messias in den vom Erdbeben im vergangenen Jahr schwer betroffenen Städten in Nordost-Japan aufzuführen. Bei Spenden auf das Bankkonto der DOAM für Katastrophenhilfe erbitten wir um Angabe der Zweckbestimmung "Konzert"

 

Geplant für Natori und Iwaki

GRANT APPLICATION
April 3, 2012

Applicant:  NCC Japan Ecumenical Disaster Response Office
 (NCC-JEDRO)
 
Project Title:   Messiah 2012 Choral Concert in Fukushima
“Remembering 3.11  Rainbow of Love Project”

Proposing Body:   Japan Bible Society

Budget:  13,200,000 Yen  (125.000,00 EURO)

Project Period:  June 1 – December 31, 2012

Project Liaison:  NCC-JEDRO staff

Purpose and Mission of NCC-JEDRO
The National Christian Council in Japan Ecumenical Disaster Response Office (NCC-JEDRO) was established, by mandate of the Executive Council of NCCJ on May 27 2011, as NCCJ’s ecumenical response to the Great East Japan triple disaster of March 11, 2011. Manifesting the unity of the Church of Jesus Christ, JEDRO seeks to be a tangible and visible sign of hope for the people in Japan, especially the survivors, as facilitator of international support for humanitarian relief, for physical reconstruction, for accountable government, for environmental rehabilitation, and for efforts to address the spiritual and psychological trauma of people and communities devastated by the disaster. Seeking to demonstrate God’s love for all people in Japan, JEDRO works with NCC-J member churches and organizations to encourage and identify self-initiated projects that answer survivors’ needs. On behalf of these churches and organizations, NCC-JEDRO appeals to the international ecumenical community for solidarity in prayer and financial assistance.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Full Project Title:  Hosting of “Remembering 3.11: Rainbow of Love  Messiah 2012” Choral Concerts
Project Location: Natori city, Miyagi prefecture and Iwaki city, Fukushima prefecture
Project Start Date: June 1, 2012  
Project End Date:  December 31, 2012
Event Period: 4 days (planned)
Applying Body: Japan Bible Society
Project Manager: Yoshihiro Kikuchi


Project Purpose:
Using concert halls located in two cities within the disaster area as venues, 2 energetic performances of Handel’s Messiah will be given so all participants may share in the messages of hope, comfort and humanity expressed in this much-loved musical masterpiece. The concerts, tentatively titled “Remembering 3.11 Rainbow of Love Project,” will feature a core of professional Japanese and foreign musicians, who will be joined by volunteer choir members gathered from local residents of the disaster region, as well as Messiah lovers from across Japan. This mixed-voice choir will lend moral support and encouragement to the people of Tohoku through the power of music, as singers and audience members embrace together the spirit of hope and revitalization that is in the piece.

Intended Beneficiaries
Residents in disaster-stricken areas of Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures.

Locations: 
Tentative plans are to utilize 2 concert halls located in the disaster region; one in Natori City, the other in Iwaki City. Participants living within the prefecture will be provided with chartered bus service to and from the venue, as needed.

Project Summary: 
Handel’s Messiah will be performed in Natori City, Miyagi prefecture (Natori Cultural Hall) and Iwaki City, Fukushima prefecture (Alios Iwaki Performing Arts Center). A core group of approximately 50 persons, including choral and instrumental musicians and some staff, will travel by chartered bus for approximately 4 days to give their performances. Current plans are to hold the concerts sometime in the Summer season. With participation from local volunteers, several regional Messiah Concert Executive Committees will be established to coordinate and prepare local mixed-voice choirs, and these local choirs will join together for the concert hall performances. Disaster area residents who cannot, or do not wish to, participate in the concerts as choir members will be invited through direct mail and media to attend as audience members.


Detailed Project Description:
One year has passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake. The purpose of this project is to create a crescendo of praise and prayer and encourage disaster survivors by gathering choral singers from across Japan, even from abroad, who will join their voices with those of the Messiah Choir and local singers. The ensemble of a core group of professional vocalists, instrumentalists and solo artists will surely inspire lasting memories in all participants.

Activity 1: 
* Performances of Handel’s “Messiah” will be given at Natori Cultural Hall (Large Hall, 1,350 capacity) and Alios Iwaki Performing Arts Center (Large Hall, 1,700 capacity), issuing complimentary invitation tickets for disaster area residents.
* Core performers will consist of approximately 50 persons (30 choir, 15 instrumentalists, 4 soloists, 1 conductor and attending staff) and, hopefully, one or more performers from overseas. The plan is to gather voluntary singers from within and beyond the disaster region, to form a mixed-voice choir of approximately 100 people.
* In preparation for the performances, choir practice sessions will be held approximately 5 times before the performance dates. A choir instructor and pianist will travel to Natori and Iwaki cities to provide assistance for these practices.
* For the performance dates, a large bus and a vehicle for instrument transport will be chartered, and these will travel to the two cities over the course of approximately 4 days. The dates of these performances, which will be determined in consultation with local collaborators, will be sometime between June and December, 2012.
* The cost of holding these performances will be approximately \6,000,000 per location, for a total estimated budget of \12,000,000 for 2 locations.

Budget
Item
Cost Estimate

Venue rental:  Yen   800,000
Retention of musical management agency (for 2 locations):   Yen 1,000,000
Travel, lodging, meals, honoraria, bus charter and other expenses (for 30 choir, 15 instrumentalists, 4 soloists, 1 conductor, designated staff, etc.: planned total approximately 50 persons):   Yen 8,500,000
Travel, lodging and meals for choir practice session musical instructor and pianist (5 times, 2 persons, 2 locations):
 Yen    800,000
Design and printing of event flyers:   Yen    200,000
Enveloping and direct-mail postage of event flyers (2 locations):   Yen    500,000
Design and printing of pamphlets for concert day (plan single design for both locations): Yen    200,000
JEDRO Operating Cost:   Yen 1,200,000
Total Estimated Cost      Yen 13,200,000

The design is to establish local executive committees for each location, one in Sendai or Natori city, Miyagi prefecture, and the other in Iwaki city, Fukushima prefecture These committees will inform area residents of the concert and encourage local participation in the mixed voice choir. Charter bus transportation will be provided as needed to persons who wish to participate from other areas within the same prefecture.
We are planning for attendance of approximately 1,000 persons in each location.
In addition to Japan Bible Society, who will host the event, support will be sought from NCCJ member churches and organizations as co-hosting partners, and sponsorships and other forms of support will be sought from national Embassies, disaster response organizations and television stations within Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures.


Activity 2:
Evaluation:  The number of participants at the concerts and the contents of responses to questionnaires will be used for evaluation.

Networking with Other Actors
* Coordination will be necessary among core musical participants and event organizers (choir singers, instrumentalists, soloists, conductor, attendant staff, musical management firm, etc.)
* Requests will be made to the concert halls and local municipal offices for assistance in publicizing the events.
* Collaboration with local churches, etc. to publicize the events in local communities, and to gather local volunteer chorus members.

Reasons for Conducting this Project as a Church, or Christian Organization
It is one of the missions of Japan Bible Society, as a public interest institution, to contribute to both church and society. JBS wishes to stage these philanthropic-purpose Messiah concerts with a design to provide a diversity of support activities for the general public of the disaster-stricken region, in addition to people whose churches were affected by the disaster.

Project Administrative Structure
(1) Personnel
Support plans are drafted in and executed from the Tokyo office of JBS, and trips are made to the disaster area as needs arise. There are two full-time designated staff in the Fund-raising Department, and these staff are assisted by additional personnel from other departments as project needs demand.

Project Supervisor and Representative Liaison will be Yoshihiro Kikuchi, Senior Staff, JBS Fund-raising Department.
Phone: 03-3567-1980
Fax:  03-3567-4436
E-mail: fund-raising@bible.or.jp">fund-raising@bible.or.jp

(2) Financial Management
Project Accounting Supervisor will be Junnosuke Suzuki, Accounting Manager, JBS General Affairs Department.

Related Activities of the Proposing Organization
JBS appealed for donations from immediately after the disaster, and visited the disaster areas on two occasions in the months of March and April, to provide material life support as well as Bibles to churches and church-affiliated institutions. Since May, JBS has continued to visit the disaster areas and has, to date, donated Bibles and Bible-related publications to approximately 50 churches, kindergartens and other related institutions in the three prefectures that were hardest hit (Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima. In addition to this, JBS sent Bible-related publications as gifts to approximately 150 churches, kindergartens and daycare centers in the same three prefectures plus Ibaraki prefecture. On September 16 JBS hosted a concert by the popular Christian singer SAWA Tomoe at Fukushima City Small Concert Hall, inviting churchgoers from across Fukushima prefecture (attended by 210 people).
JBS has also played a central role in planning, promoting and sponsoring participative Messiah concerts in the past. Most recently JBS served as the lead supporting organization for a special disaster relief Christmas benefit concert performance of Messiah in Tokyo on December 12, 2011.  JBS therefore possesses accumulated know-how and an established network of contacts that will help to make this project a success.
Revitalization after the disaster will take a long time, so we plan to continue to provide a variety of support activities. JBS is planning to host other support concerts along the coast of Miyagi prefecture and in some communities in Iwate prefecture, and we also plan to actively continue with donations of Bibles to the general population as part of our mission work.

Application for funding has not been submitted to other organizations for this, or similar, activity. 

Summary of the Proposing Organization
Japan Bible Society
(1) Personnel
Staff Size:  28 persons
In relation to the 3.11 disaster, the Fund-raising Department of JBS prepares and executes concrete plans for disaster relief, and staff travel to the disaster region as needs arise. There are two full-time designated staff in the Fund-raising Department, and these staff are assisted by additional personnel from other departments as project needs demand.

(2) Chief Representative of Organization:  Makoto Watabe, General Secretary

(3) Address:  4-5-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan 104-0061
Phone: 03-3567-1980
Fax: 03-3567-4436
E-mail:  fund-raising@bible.or.jp">fund-raising@bible.or.jp

(4) Project Manager/Chief Liaison:  Yoshihiro Kikuchi, Senior Staff, JBS Fund-raising Department
Phone: 03-3567-1980
Fax: 03-3567-4436
E-mail:  fund-raising@bible.or.jp">fund-raising@bible.or.jp

(5) Legal Incorporation:
Date of incorporation:  October, 1875  (Accreditation as foundation: April 1949)
Expenditures in most recent fiscal year:  \34,154,654 (Nov. 2010~Oct. 2011)
Donations received in most recent fiscal year:  \46,791,304 (Nov. 2010~Oct. 2011)

(6) Purpose of foundation and Nature of activities
Through a network of Bible Societies in 130 countries worldwide, we support the printing and distribution of Bibles. We also respond to requests for assistance when disasters arise. In recent years we have responded to requests for assistance in response to the earthquakes in Chile and Haiti, by sending relief funds to the Bible Societies of Chile and Haiti.

(7) Organizations with which activities are coordinated, and nature of collaboration
None in particular

Fukushima

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