On October 10, 2014, a concert was held and a CD album titled "MU∑A” was released to celebrate the KCG Group's 50th anniversary and the launch of the geographical name top-level domain ".kyoto", which KCG serves as the registry operator, was held at the Kyoto Computer Gakuin Kyoto Ekimae Campus 6th floor Main Hall. Nitza Melas, the main vocalist of the entertainment group "Cirque du Soleil" and professor at KCG, performed the songs she wrote for the album. The concert was mainly planned and directed by students, and was the realized creation of performing arts by IT. The KCG Group celebrated its 50th anniversary here again and pledged to make further progress toward the next era.
A total of 12 songs were performed including "Se Thelo," "Cauda Pavonis" and "Jupiter." The "Jupiter" was the opening song for the 50th and 10th anniversary celebration concert of Kyoto Computer Gakuin (KCG) and The Kyoto College of Graduate Studies for Informatics (KCGI), which took place on June 1, 2013 at Kyoto International Conference Center. The musicians included George Nishigomi (drums), Jun Abe (keyboards), Teppei Kawasaki (bass), and Kanae Nozawa(erhu and chorus). During the performance, an image created by KCG students was projected on the screen, enhancing the artistic harmony. Students collaborated with Ms. Melas, where they selected two songs from "MU∑A", translated the lyrics, created a storyline and stage, then recorded and edited their performance on their own. During the concert, student representatives shared episodes from the production. A student chorus group joined in for the finale, bringing the concert to a climax. Ms. Melos’s performance was highly enjoyed by the audience, and the applause was thunderous.
After the concert, a party was held at the 6th floor lounge of the Kyoto Ekimae Campus, where KCG Group President Wataru Hasegawa greeted the guests and received congratulatory speeches from Prof. Norihiko Mino, Director of The Institute for Information Management and Communication and Professor at the Academic Center for Computing and Media Studies of Kyoto University, and Mr. Takahiro Moriki, Director of the Manufacturing Promotion Division of the Kyoto Prefecture's Commerce, Industry, Labor and Tourism Department. After the speeches, the audience enjoyed chatting with Ms. Melas and the performers. At the table, Ms. Melas said, "This concert was created with the students and faculty members together. I had a wonderful time.”
In addition to being a vocalist, Ms. Melas is also active as a voice dubbing artist for commercials and video game characters. She is also is in charge of the IT Voice Actor Course, which was newly established in 2014 in the Information Processing Program of KCG's Computer Science Department (C Department). She teaches vocal techniques and other skills while introducing the use of IT in her own activities. In addition to students in this course, students from other departments and KCGI are also taking the class to deepen their understanding of digital sound processing through singing and voice-over recording of animations.
“.kyoto," which will be operational by the end of this fiscal year, is currently offering a priority registration program, the "Founders’ Program," to organizations and companies in Kyoto Prefecture. The ".kyoto" is intended to further enhance the ".kyoto" brand as a highly reliable domain name for people associated with Kyoto, with emphasis on public interest and transparency. In cooperation with the Kyoto Prefectural Government and other organizations, KCG will strive to contribute to the local community through the revitalization of Kyoto Prefecture's industries by making the domain available to public institutions as well as companies, schools, and individuals in the prefecture.
