Bach Collegium Japan (BCJ) is a Japanese baroque ensemble founded in 1990 by conductor and harpsichordist Masaaki Suzuki, originally to bring historically informed performances of European baroque music to Japanese audiences. The ensemble - a period-instrument chamber orchestra of around twenty players and a choir of about twenty-five - built its international reputation through a complete recording of Bach's church cantatas for the Swedish label BIS, a project spanning 1995 to 2018 and running to more than fifty CDs. Its repertoire extends beyond Bach to contemporaries such as Handel, Schütz and Buxtehude. Since 2018, Masato Suzuki - son of the founder - has served as principal conductor, while Masaaki Suzuki remains music director.
BCJ celebrates its 36th anniversary in the 2026-27 season with six subscription concerts at Suntory Hall and Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, with highlights including the St. Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor.
Masato Suzuki conducts Bach Collegium Japan on October 20, 2026 at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam during the European tour with the Brandenburg Concertos.
The European tour in October 2026 takes the ensemble to cities such as Budapest, Amsterdam and Berlin, with Masato Suzuki as conductor and harpsichordist.
In January 2025, BCJ undertook a European tour with an all-Mozart program, with performances in Paris, Toulouse, Barcelona, Madrid and the Netherlands.
BCJ announced the 2025-26 season program as its 35th season, with the start of the new series 'Path to Beethoven' under the direction of Masato Suzuki.
