Friday, December 18th, 2020　7:00 pm ~（Eastern Standard Time）
Participation fee: $ 150 per member (tax and service charge included)

※Participation fee includes admission to the virtual event,
Nippon Club special dinner box with dessert, a selected small sparkling wine in a bottle & red wine in a can, and 1 free door prize ticket.

The Nippon Club will hold a virtual holiday party for our club members this year. This year’s entertainment will feature Mariko Anraku, a Japanese Harpist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Ryan Silverman, who is a top singer in the Broadway musical “Chicago;” Akiko Tsuruga, a Jazz Organist, performing as a special jazz trio for the party with Joe Magnarelli (trumpet) and Jimmy Macbride (drums); and Miharu, a popular impersonator and TV personality. We are proud to present a diverse group of performers from New York and Japan!

We invite you to enjoy a luxurious dinner specially made by the Nippon Club chef with a selection of sparkling and red wine at home with your family members or in the office. We also have some nice “door” prizes. This holiday season is different from usual, but we hope you have a great time!

＊The Holiday Party will be held in Japanese, but The Nippon Club will be providing real-time subtitles in English through Wordly.

Registration deadline: Monday, December 14th

■ Pick-up location: Nippon Club Tower Lobby (145 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019)

＊If it is difficult to pick up your dinner package, you can choose an assortment of Japanese sweets from Bokksu (www.bokksu.com) . If you wish to change it, please select it when you register.
＊Please note that we cannot accept changes or replacements of the menu contents.
＊Reservations will be completed by a confirmation e-mail with automatic reply.
＊Please contact us by Tuesday, December 15th for cancellation. Please note that refunds will not be given after December 15th.

☆ Artists’ Biography ☆

MARIKO ANRAKU

Mariko Anraku has won attention as one of the world’s outstanding harpists through numerous appearances as soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician. She has enchanted audiences with her virtuosity and “manifestation of grace and elegance” (Jerusalem Post). Since 1995, she has held the position of Associate Principal Harpist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Ms. Anraku’s impressive list of awards includes First Prize at the First Nippon International Harp Competition, First Prize at the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York City, the Pro Musicis International Award, as well as Third Prize and the Pearl Chertok Prize at the International Harp Contest in Israel. As a recitalist, Ms. Anraku has performed in major concert halls on three continents, including the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Opera Comique in Paris, Kioi Hall in Tokyo, etc. An active chamber musician, she has performed at numerous festivals including the Spoleto, Tanglewood, Newport, Bridgehampton, Banff Centre, Kirishima, Takefu and Pacific Music Festivals and venues including the Metropolitan Museum, Gardiner Museum, Columbia University and the Harvard Music Association. Her strong commitment to contemporary music and the expansion of the boundaries of the harp repertoire has included invitations to premiere works by Toshio Hosokawa at the Donaueschingen Musiktage in Germany, Wien Modern in Austria, etc., collaborating with traditional Japanese musicians and monks. She has recorded exclusively for EMI Classics, including three solo recordings and a CD with eminent flutist Emmanuel Pahud. A dedicated teacher, Ms. Anraku is a faculty member of the Manhattan School of Music and the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Juilliard School and is a recipient of an Artist’s Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada. She also studied Oriental Art History at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. She enjoys playing community service concerts at hospitals, drug rehabilitation centers, prisons and other venues. Ms. Anraku was born in Japan and moved to Canada at a young age due to her father’s work.

RYAN SILVERMAN

Noted for his performances which “stand in memory” (The New York Times), multiple Drama Desk nominee RYAN SILVERMAN has been praised as the “smoothest, most assured bari-tenor, leading-man theatre voice at the moment” (Playbill.com). Silverman received a Drama Desk nomination for Best Actor for the role of Terry Connor in Side Show on Broadway, and has starred as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera and as Billy Flynn in CHICAGO.

Silverman has also received Drama Desk and Drama League nominations for his performance as Giorgio in CSC’s 2013 production of Passion, which the New York Times praised for its “risk-taking, unconditional emotional commitment.” Additionally, he has appeared as Sir Lancelot in Camelot at the Kennedy Center, in the Théâtre du Châtelet’s acclaimed production of Passion opposite Natalie Dessay, as Tony in the Olivier-nominated 2008 West End production of West Side Story, and in the premiere of Delaware Theater Company’s new musical, A Sign of The Times.

Silverman recently starred in concert with West Side Story with the Philadelphia Orchestra and in The Golden Apple at City Center Encores! He has made soloist appearances with the New York Pops, Seattle Symphony, Philly Pops, Cincinnati Pops, Houston Symphony, the NHK Symphony in Tokyo, the Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, the Kaohsiung Symphony in Taiwan, and Edmonton Symphony, among others.

Other credits include Cry-Baby on Broadway, Finian’s Rainbow (Irish Repertory Theater), and New York City Opera’s The Most Happy Fella. He recently made his debut at Papermill, starring in Ken Ludwig’s A Comedy of Tenors.

Akiko Tsuruga – Jazz Organist

Organist Akiko Tsuruga is an accomplished composer and extraordinary performer who has received high accolades from saxophonist Lou Donaldson, calling her “The Queen of the Organ”. Organist Dr. Lonnie Smith says “Akiko’s playing is like watching a flower blooming and a bird spreading her wings in the music world. Akiko is here to stay.” Tsuruga’s playing complements fellow musicians on stage to sound as good as possible, sharing a common joy, and an intensely positive energy for great musical experiences. Akiko’s style is light, and can shift from playing funky boogaloo to be-bop to blues. Tsuruga has played in Lou Donaldson’s band since 2007 at New York’s Carnegie Hall, The Village Vanguard, and Dizzy’ Club. Akiko began playing the organ at the age of 3, and includes organists Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff, Charles Earland, Jimmy McGriff, and her mentor and teacher, Dr Lonnie Smith as influences. Tsuruga has 10 recordings as a leader and ranks as one of today’s top organists. Tsuruga is selected 2020 Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll Rising Star Organ. She is the real deal.
【Band Members】
Joe Magnarelli -trumpet
https://www.joemagnarelli.com/biography
Jimmy Macbride -drums
https://jimmymacbride.com/bio 

Miharu

Miharu is a multi-talented impersonator who won the MVP award in the “Bakusho Look-alike Impersonator Kohaku Uta Gassen Special”. She used to be an ordinary housewife, but jumped into the world of comedians. She has a repertoire of over 40 impersonations. She is currently active in various media, including TV and radio, mainly as an impersonator!

【Contact】 info@nipponclub.org