Sea shanties, Japanese style

Press, 28 February 1984, Page 3

Sea shanties, Japanese style

Christchurch Festival

Students from the Tokyo University of Agriculture will sing at the State Trinity Theatre this evening. They make up Chor Farmer, a 43-member male choir well known in Japan and gaining a reputation outside that country. They are shown (right) giving a free concert in the City Mall yesterday. The choir performs in both Japanese and English and has a repertoire which includes sea shanties, country and western songs, Negro spirituals, songs by Schubert, and traditional Japanese songs. The choir is conducted by Hiroshi Masumoto, who founded it in 1967 while a

student at Kunitachi University of Music. Many of the choir’s songs have been arranged by Mr Masumoto, and some are his original compositions. During the last seven years Chor Farmer has travelled to the South Pacific and given several Australian concerts. In 1981 it performed in Auckland. This evening’s performance will be its first in Christchurch. The choir will give only the one performance, starting at 8 p.m.