Founded in 2003, Nagasaki OMURA Chamber Ensemble (NOCE) became the first professional chamber ensemble in Nagasaki Prefecture. The ensemble is composed of top-level performers living in or originally from Nagasaki Prefecture, and is based in Sakura Hall at Sea Hat Omura (Omura City Physical Education and Culture Center), located in the center of the prefecture. Pianist SAKO Akiyoshi served as the ensemble’s first music director from 2003 to 2008. In 2009, violinist MATSUBARA Katsuya became the artistic advisor, and the ensemble strives to continue enhancing its performance and musicality, and to fulfill its role as a high-quality chamber orchestra.
Since its official launch in April 2004, NOCE has performed in various locations within Nagasaki Prefecture, and in 2005 it had its first successful performance overseas, with a concert in Korea. In its regular concerts, such world-renowned soloists as Antonio Meneses (cello), Nobuko Imai (viola), Yuzuko Horigome (violin), and Hansjörg Schellenberger (oboes) have performed with the ensemble as guest performers.
NOCE actively holds school concerts and string instrument seminars as part of its music experience and education programme for young people. The ensemble has also given successful performances in Tokyo at Kioi Hall in May 2015 and in Fukuoka in September 2018. NOCE became a non-profit organization in 2018, and has been an associate member of AJSO since June 2019.
