April 27, 2026
Eton College Chapel Choir event bridges music, social awareness
The Eton College Chapel Choir performed a charity concert on March 25 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre in Ikebukuro. This marked the choir’s seventh visit to Japan, with Tim Johnson, Eton’s precentor and director of music, leading a group of 40 clad in the choir’s iconic red robes. Despite taking place on a weekday evening, the event drew a large audience.
Founded in 1440 by King Henry VI, Eton College is a prestigious full-boarding school for boys in the United Kingdom, with a distinguished history of producing leaders across a wide range of fields both in the U.K. and around the world. At its founding, 10 adults and 16 boys were appointed to perform at chapel services, and the choir has maintained a long-standing tradition of musical activity centered on liturgical singing in the college chapel. The school has also cultivated close ties with Japan and in recent years has offered summer programs for students from Japan.
Today, the choir is composed of current students, many of whom gained experience as choristers in cathedrals and chapels before entering the school. During term time, they sing in the college chapel an average of three times a week and rehearse daily.
The choir is made up of students from diverse backgrounds, reflecting the commitment to diversity and inclusion at the school, where differences in culture, ability and background are seen as integral to the learning environment.
International touring forms part of the choir’s activities, involving performances each year in countries including the Netherlands, Spain, India, Germany, Latvia, Hong Kong and Japan as well as appearances at numerous cathedrals. The choir also performs regularly in the U.K., with recent performances including concerts with The Sixteen and The Academy of Ancient Music as well as a performance of Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms” with the Hong Kong Philharmonic under Leonard Slatkin.
The choir’s visit to Japan was its first since 2013, when, under Johnson’s direction, the group gave charity concerts in Ishinomaki and Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture in support of recovery efforts following the Great East Japan Earthquake. The final performance of that tour was held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre.
The program for this year’s concert centered on performances by the choir, alongside a collaboration with Koto Shichisei, a group of graduates from the Ikuta-school koto program at Tokyo University of the Arts. The performance combined Western choral music with traditional Japanese instruments, including the koto and shakuhachi.
The program also featured a broader repertoire beyond sacred music, including songs such as The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” and Kyu Sakamoto’s “Ue o Muite Aruko.” This added a sense of familiarity for the audience while also highlighting cross-cultural exchange through music drawn from different backgrounds.
The concert was held as a charity event in support of the nonprofit EDGE (short for “extraordinary, dyslexic, gifted, eclectic”), which is dedicated to promoting understanding of learning disabilities. The organization seeks to raise awareness of conditions such as dyslexia and provides support to affected individuals and their families.
Awareness and support systems are still developing in Japan, and many affected people do not yet get early identification or appropriate support. Eiko Todo, chairperson of EDGE, noted that these challenges were a key factor behind the organization’s founding and emphasized the importance of fostering accurate understanding in both educational settings and at home.
Todo began her advocacy after her son was diagnosed with dyslexia while studying in the U.K., where schools play a central role in providing support tailored to individual students and creating learning environments that take their differences into account. “Given appropriate learning opportunities, people with dyslexia can realize their full potential and make significant contributions to society,” she said.
EDGE’s relationship with Eton College began in the early stages of the organization, through connections with individuals associated with the school’s Japan office. The charity concert formed part of this collaboration, serving not only as a fundraising initiative but also as an opportunity to raise awareness of the organization’s initiatives and the challenges it seeks to address.
Todo said that as technology advances, “difficulties in reading and writing will no longer be a major barrier in the years ahead. Through this event, I hope more people will gain a better understanding of dyslexia, leading to greater support for children facing such challenges.”
The concert brought together diverse elements as a charity event that fostered both cultural exchange through music and greater awareness of social issues. Beyond their performances in Tokyo, members of the Eton College Chapel Choir also engaged with Japanese students and music enthusiasts, creating opportunities to deepen mutual understanding among young people of the same generation.
