Annelies VAN PARYS

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Annelies VAN PARYS

Participating Project	Institutional Recommendation Program
Activity Based	Ghent (Belgium)
City / Place stayed	Tokyo
Period	2025.9-2025.11

Purpose of the residency

During my residency I would like to do some further research on Japanese story telling. It would also be great to be in contact with some performers of traditional music, to learn more about the music and its techniques. I'm also interested in the ‘sound’ of Japan. Therefor I will make field recordings.
For the future chamber opera project, I will collaborate with Ryoko Aoki for one of the vocal parts. This chamber opera handles the theme of domestic violence and femicide. For this I would like to learn more about women’s social position and about (domestic) violence in Japan.

Plan during the residency

• Collaborations with Ryoko Aoki and eventually other musicians to learn more about traditional Japanese singing and music, techniques and notation.
• Learn more about the social position of women in Japan with a focus on domestic violence & femicide.
• Making field recordings in Japan and the city of Tokyo and discover acoustically interesting places.
• Making first sketches for the opera and trying to find interest to co-produce or present the opera in Japan. Next to this: working a bit on current projects (SWR Vokal & EUYO strings).
• Visit conservatories of Hiroshima where the Royal Conservatory has a connection as part of my duties as a Professor in Brussels.

Activities during the residency

During my residency I did some research for a future chamber opera for LaMonnaie and had several meetings with one of the main singers in this opera: AOKI Ryoko. Also I established some contacts with the musical scene in Tokyo that might help to bring this production to Japan.
The research consisted of a meeting and workshop with a shamisen player who is also specialized in contemporary music. And some research for the content that is focused on domestic violence and femicide. Apart from that I also gave a lecture about my work at the Elisabeth University in Hiroshima and I visited the Weather Forecast Centre and the Metropolitan Underground Discharge Channel that were both very inspiring visits that found a direct translation in my work for EUYO.
During the residency I wrote The [Uncertain] Spring for string orchestra, a commission of the European Union Youth Orchestra and finished the choir piece Extase for SWR Vokalensemble.

Outcome of the residency

Thanks to the residency I could take part in the musical life of Tokyo and elaborate my network in the local musical scene. I also had the immense pleasure to meet multiple times with AOKI Ryoko in preparation for a future chamber opera. She often took me to interesting events and exhibitions and introduced me to several musicians and organizers that might be influential in the future.
The work with HONJOH Hidejiro for the shamisen, an instrument that will play a role in the opera was also very influential. The opera is planned for May 2028.
Apart from that, the time and room provided me with the ideal conditions to write a piece for the EUYO that will be premièred in March 2026. Also the residency enabled me to travel to Hiroshima where I could give a lecture at the Elisabeth University that is connected with my home University College Brussels, in the framework of my institutional exchange.

Creator Information