Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival

In 1984, a decade after the passing of the magnificent educator Hideo Saito, Seiji Ozawa assembled globally acclaimed fellow students to perform a concert in his memory. The Saito Kinen Orchestra was thus born, and formed the basis of the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto (SKF), a musical festival launched in September 1992 under the direction of Seiji Ozawa with the two pillars of orchestral concerts and opera. In 2015, the festival has been renamed into Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival (OMF), to mark a new stage. By involving Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Orchestra, the OMF aims to enrich the educational program and offer wider opportunities for the youth to interact with the music. Held every September since its inception, the festival has drawn the enthusiastic attention of the music world both at home and abroad, and the orchestra has taken its place as one of the finest and most highly respected international ensembles.