THE Jerudong International School (JIS) Art Centre Auditorium came to life yesterday as the sound of music from the Japan-Brunei Drums & Voices Joint Concert played live in the Hall of the Art Centre Auditorium as part of the 40th Year of Asean-Japan Friendship & Cooperation Events.

Present as the royal guest of honour to watch the spectacular event was Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Masna, Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Also present were Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Lela Cheteria Sahibun Najabah Pengiran Anak Haji Abdul Aziz bin Pengiran Jaya Negara Pengiran Haji Abu Bakar; as well as Datin Paduka Hajah Adina binti Othman, the Acting Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports.

The event began with an introductory remark presented by Kenichi Suganuma, the Ambassador of Japan to Brunei Darussalam, whereby he stated that this year has started with a number of events all over Asean and Japan where the concert is a form of sharing cultures and exchanging between Asean countries and Japan.

“Twelve artistes from seven Asean countries comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Japan; have joined in workshops for four weeks where they have collaborated, worked and invented new music together to perform for this tour, and this group has already gone to the other Asean countries and this is the last step of the tour in Brunei tonight,” stated Kenichi Suganuma.

The Ambassador of Japan also explained that they will also be preparing for a concert in Japan for the Asean-Japan Summit in December.

Moreover, Japan and Brunei will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries in the coming year and a number of cultural events in the form of performances will be planned by the Embassy of Japan in Brunei Darussalam, whereas Brunei will also be planning a number of cultural events in Japan as part of the celebration.

In the event, three artistes from Japan – namely Tsubasa Hori, Kazunari Abe, Yasushi Kita, collaborated in a number of performances with Brunei’s Senandung Budaya, such as the Hadrah Performance, Ue O Muite Arukou, and Joget.

Performed separately by Japan’s artistes were musical numbers such as Ishizuchi, Yuki Usagi, the Echo of Dragon Singing, Shamisen Solo, Ohara Bushi, and Komatsu-bayashi.

Meanwhile, Senandong Budaya performed Dundang Dundang Dance, Medley of Adai Adai and Kikik Serbang Merah, Samalindang Dance and Dindang di dendang song. - Borneo Bulletin (24 November 2013)