Cleverly named to reflect the distance in miles between Tokyo and DC, The 6821 Quintet consists of international artists coming together to fulfill the understanding that music brings disparate cultures together. The group was originally conceived as a joint effort between the Ryuji Ueno Foundation and the National Cherry Blossom Festival to bring a more prominent classical music presence to the spring festivities in Washington, DC. The quintet not only assembled every spring to perform music at various venues around DC but was also tasked with premiering a new work commissioned and composed for the opening ceremony of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, four compositions in total (2016-2019). 

The idea of commissioning contemporary composers to create a new work for the National Cherry Blossom Festival was an especially creative idea conceived by Founder and Executive Producer Dr. Ryuji Ueno. Just as the National Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates the blossoms as a symbol of peace and harmony between Japan and the United States, Dr. Ueno envisioned a synthesis and harmony of Western classical music with Japanese aesthetics in the new compositions. The criteria for the new works consisted of simply 1) composing a piece of music for a traditional piano quintet setting and 2) the famous folk song “Sakura, Sakura” must be incorporated into the musical narrative. Everything else was left to the creative inspiration of each composer. The outcome of this project has been extraordinary, as you will hear in the recordings. We hope you enjoy this triumph of cultural connection and collaboration through the art of music.