Countless musicians loved the public hall as if it were their home and visited many times. Each of them brought wonderful inspiration to the eyes and ears of the audience through this stage. Eloise Cunningham was one such person.

Cunningham established the “Music for Youth, Inc.” in 1939 to give Japanese youth the opportunity to hear live performances, and in June of the same year, the first “Symphony Concert for Young People” was held at Hibiya Public Hall, where the New Symphony Orchestra (now the NHK Symphony Orchestra) performed six pieces, including Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony.” Since then, even during the chaotic postwar period, the monthly concerts held at the public hall have played a major role in fostering a younger generation of music lovers. With more than 200 performances already held, in 1999, the year of the 70th anniversary of the public hall, Cunningham celebrated her 100th birthday, and a concert to commemorate her longevity and the 60th anniversary of her first concert was held with the same program as the first one.