Rik Hansen will guest conduct in Tokyo

Music professor Rik Hansen be a visiting conductor at the Tokyo Musashino Academia Musicae this fall semester.

Rik Hansen, professor of music at St. Cloud State, will be a visiting conductor at the Tokyo Musashino Academia Musicae from Sept. 22 to Dec. 22.

Musashino’s Wind Ensemble will perform a concert on December 14 in the Metropolitan Arts Center Concert Hall, Tokyo’s most prestigious hall.

Musashino Academia Musicae is a music conservatory founded in 1929. After World War II, the music school expanded, becoming the Musashino College of Music. It now has educational sites in Nerima, Iruma, Saitama and Tama, Tokyo.

Hansen teaches conducting, musicology and interdisciplinary arts at St. Cloud State. He established the graduate program in conducting at the university and has conducted in Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Scandinavia, and throughout the United States.

The Musica Viva! Culturale Club has also invited Hansen to be a visiting conductor and lecturer from April 10-16, 2016 in the Besana, Italy region of Lombardia. Hansen will give an open lecture titled “Human Passions and the Power of Music” during his stay in Italy. During his week long symposium, Hansen will teach conducting seminars, conduct rehearsals and conduct the final concert.