Youth orchestra from Fukushima, Japan, makes US debut

FILE - In this April 15, 2011 file photo, Japanese police officers in protective suits carry a victim at a tsunami-devastated area in the town of Namie as towers of the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant are seen in the distance, top right, in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. One month after the disaster struck, we slipped into the evacuation zone around the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear facility. We approached as near as we dared, just a few kilometers from the plant, and through my viewfinder I saw a scene straight from a science fiction movie: Men in white spacesuits carrying body bags across the gray ash-like wasteland left by the tsunami. Curtains flapping from windows of washed-up bungalows, beached fishing boats and a crumbled road filled the foreground. In the distance were the iron chimneys of the nuclear plant. The scene captured all aspects of the triple disaster, and as I stepped back from my camera I thought, "Wow, I’ve got it all in one frame." - Miles Edelsten, former senior video producer.  (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)

In this April 15, 2011 file photo, Japanese police officers in protective suits carry a victim at a tsunami-devastated area in the town of Namie as towers of the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant are seen in the distance, top right, in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.  AP

BOSTON, United States — An ensemble of young Japanese musicians founded in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima disaster is making its U.S. debut in Boston.

The Fukushima Youth Sinfonietta will perform April 3 at the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

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Senior musicians from Japan, the U.S., England and India will accompany the 50 teenage musicians on the trip.

The group arrives Saturday and will visit schools, historic sites and Fenway Park and meet with Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and local orchestras.

The Fukushima Youth Sinfonietta was created by middle-school students in Fukushima City following the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown of March 11, 2011. The group has nearly 150 musicians ages 13 to 18.

The Boston concert is its second international appearance. The group performed at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall in April 2014.

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