Japan Tour 2015
The 'Hana Wa Saku' Isabella a cappella friendship tour from November 3rd till Nov 26th 2015 and was the ninth Isabella a cappella "friendship" tour of Japan.
The tour established new friendships between the choir and communities in the Miyagi prefecture with performances at new venues in Natori, Sendai and Minami Sanriku.
As in all previous Isabella a cappella tours, the 'Hana Wa Saku' tour promoted awareness of the special friendship that exists between the choir's hometown of Lismore and Japan and the history of how Australia's first sister city connection came to be established between Lismore and Yamatotakada, Nara in 1963.
The name of the tour refers to the Japanese song ‘Hana Wa Saku’ that was commissioned by Japanese public broadcaster NHK following the 2011 tsunami and earthquake disaster. The title lyric translates as “flowers will bloom” and is about recovering from loss and rediscovering hope and optimism. During the tour the group will performed their own a cappella arrangement of the song at each live concert.
The group also recorded a new CD especially for the tour featuring the song "Hana Wa Saku". 50% of the proceeds of CD sales were donated to tsunami and earthquake relief charity including a donation to the city council of Minami Sanriku as well as a donation to a Marist run charity focussed on providing education to children orphaned by the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
The 2015 "Hana Wa Saku" friendship tour was supported by the Australian Government through the Australia-Japan Foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
We are also grateful for help and support from Southern Cross University.
Finally, we'd like to acknowledge and thank Tazuko McLaren for her tireless energy and commitment - our Japanese partner without whom none of the Isabella a cappella friendship tours would have been possible.