The Prague Spring Music Festival, which was scheduled to be held in 2020, was postponed due to COVID-19, and will now be held in May 2022. Naturally, the competition was also postponed, but will now be held in May. The Prague Spring Music Festival is one of the most traditional music festivals in Europe. Prague Spring Music Festival

The postponed competitions are for the bassoon and clarinet sections, and the first round of the clarinet section will begin on May 7 this year. That's right! What a surprise! I have been selected as one of the seven jury members! The seven jury members are Finnish, English, German, French, two Czechs, and myself. I consider it a great honor. I would like to express my sincere thanks to all the people involved.

To introduce the jury members, click on the clarinet tab on this page and you'll find me at the bottom!

Forty-eight young players (age limit 30) were selected for 2020 in the clarinet category. With the postponement, they have finally confirmed the participation of 46 young players. It was decided not to hold an additional pre-selection round for the four positions that became vacant. And above all, the nationalities of the young performers. Ukrainians and Russians, of course, but also French, Germans, Swiss, Hungarians, Czechs, Poles, Americans, Koreans, Taiwanese, Japanese... all the talented young people who will be responsible for the next generation of clarinet culture will be here. Due to the recent war, no one says "I won't participate because someone else will be there" or "I'm afraid of the coronavirus," but rather they just naturally participate in the event. I think it is the "power of music" that makes them do so. I would like young people studying at music academies in Japan to know that young people all over the world are practicing and studying passionately and enthusiastically in this vortex of poor clarinet environment! Let's go for it! Japanese clarinets!

List of Participants click on the clarinet tab on this page