Association for Corporate Support of the Arts. - Kigyo Mécénat Kyogikai

The Toyota Youth Orchestra Camp (TYOC) is a four-day residential program bringing young people with an affinity for music together from around Japan to receive instruction from professionals. This program commenced in 1980 as a combined initiative by Toyota Motor Corporation and the Federation of Japan Amateur Orchestras, inspired by the keenness of young people to share more and spend more time with their friends nationwide.
The first camp was in 1985, and it has been held annually ever since. The initial participants were members of Japanese junior or youth orchestras, and the scope has been extended to bring in ordinary members of the public and members of junior orchestras in other Asian countries. In 2013, a total of 160 people with an age range of 13-23 attended the 30th camp. The TYOC is structured as a two-year program, so that in the second year people come back together with members they had met the previous year, receiving instruction from top-level professional musicians each day from morning till night as they prepare to perform a specific piece. The camp culminates with a public performance at Suntory Hall in Tokyo on the final day, attracting attendees of previous camps who gather to encourage the young musicians.
One of the distinctive characteristics of TYOC is the self-managed style adopted. This approach originates in the success of the young people speaking out and sharing their own ideas at the very first camp. Consequently, the two camps that each member attends provide experience in tuning in to each others’ minds as well as in tuning up their instruments and technical skills. Each returns home from TYOC with a promise to pass on the skills and management expertise that they take away from the camp. As a result, the valuable experience that would be difficult to obtain elsewhere gains broad application at orchestras in many different locations.
To date, over 5,000 people have taken part in the Toyota Youth Orchestra Camp, and even the youngest members of the earliest camps are already in their forties, becoming professional musicians or key members of local orchestras in their own right. The seeds sown at TYOC have grown up around Japan and around Asia, and are still gaining strength as they continue to grow