The year 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of late avant-garde composer John Cage’s birth, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. In recognizance of his achievements, we have organized the John Cage Countdown Event Executive Committee. The committee is scheduled to hold annual events in various forms, such as concerts, workshops, lectures and discussions, during the five year period between 2007 and 2012. In doing so, it is out intention to introduce Cage’s ideas and his art to as wide an audience as possible.

John Cage, who was deeply influenced by Oriental schools of thought such as Taoism, Confucianism, Indian and Zen philosophies, sought to perfect a method of creating music that would be entirely independent of one’s taste or intention and thus diverge significantly from the traditional processes commonly associated with artistic activity. By introducing accidental elements inspired by the Chinese “I Ching” (“The Book of Changes”), as well as abstract visual diagrams into his music, he tried to infuse it with the capability of transporting listeners into an organic and ambiguous “state,” which could be likened to man’s experiences under the direct influence of Nature or the Environment. He hoped that he would thus break the boundaries between “Art and Life, Man and Nature” and lead the way towards achieving an all-encompassing Unity. From this point of view, it is our belief that Cage’s conceptions of art, nature, history and psychology may have in fact foreshadowed the directions that 21st century art would eventually take and thus constitute viable beacons for future development.

Nowadays, humans have become more and more concerned about their natural surroundings, and problems such as global warming or the development of alternative sources of energy have come to hold great prominence within the collective psyche. Nonetheless, until not so long ago, attitudes to the environment were still regrettably short-sighted and it is only recently that most people came to re-adjust their views. We believe that, in certain ways, similar attitudes have also prevailed in the domain of music and it may well be that the time has finally come to open our minds further.

To this day, the art of John Cage has been researched, discussed and analyzed from a great number of differing viewpoints. Our intention is to take as much of these perspectives as possible into account and subsequently endeavor to perform concerts with the aim of proving, through Cage’s music, that our “environment” is also “our way of being” and to help our listeners connect with the true nature of the unseen “environment” and its fundamental components: Space, Time and Existence.