Nippon Music Foundation
Nippon Music Foundation, NMF, undertakes numerous projects related to music since its establishment in 1974 to promote music culture in Japan focusing on the amateur chorus and marching bands education through schools. In 1994, celebrating its 20th anniversary, the NMF took a turning point to expand its programs to include "International Exchanges Through Music", mainly focusing on classical music by acquiring the top quality stringed instruments to loan them gratuitously to musicians internationally regardless of their nationalities. The Foundation's activities can be divided into the following categories:
1. Acting as a custodian of the top-quality stringed instruments such as those made by Antonio Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesu‐considered to be the world's historical and cultural assets‐the Foundation acquires, preserves, and loans them gratuitously to young promising artists as well as to established musicians regardless of their nationalities.
2. Organizing concerts worldwide with musicians using the instruments on loan from the NMF to provide opportunities for international classical music lovers to fully enjoy the exquisite timbre of the superb quality stringed instruments.
3. Supporting concerts by internationally renowned orchestras for the audiences to enjoy music of the highest quality at reasonable prices.
4. Providing grants-in-aid to musical projects carried out by various organizations. Such projects include concerts, workshops and seminars.
5. Establishing and promoting an international music network
6. Conducting research into various aspects of music and collecting music-related materials for the future establishment of a music information library.
Nippon Music Foundation strives to make global contributions through music‐the universal language for all people. All of these activities are made possible by the generous support of The Nippon Foundation.
