History

The Original of APPDA

The Japanese Band Directors Association (JBA) was established on the advice of Dr. Paul Yoder, an American composer and former chairman of the American Band Masters Association (ABA), and called by Manabu Kasuga. Subsequently, activities by JBA as follows led the organization of APBDA.

1967	July	25 members of JBA conducted an inspection tour to learn about the wind band scene in the U.S.
1973		JBA visited Korea and had an exchange with band directors, resulting in the establishment of the Korean Band Directors Association (KBA).
1974		The first Joint Convention between ABA and JBA was held in Honolulu, U.S.
1975	22nd – 26th July	JBA visited Seoul, Korea, and held a Joint Convention with KBA.
1976	27th – 30th December	JBA visited Singapore and held an exchange concert.
1977	27th – 30th December	JBA visited Manila, Philippines, and held an exchange concert with the National Band Association of the Philippines on December 28th and 29th.

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South East Asian Band Directors

1978	26th – 28th October	The 1st South East Asian Band Directors Conference was held in Tokyo, Japan, with attendees from Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Paul Yoder, James Berdahl and Neil Kjos from the U.S., and George Felman from Belgium attended as observers. Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra performed. The Convention Flag was instituted.
1980	4th – 5th November	The 2nd Conference took place on 4th October in Tokyo, Japan, at Tojyo Hall, with a performance by Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra.
1982	27th July	The 3rd Conference was held in Seoul, Korea. 3 bands from Korea and Japan participated.
1984	26th – 28th December	The 4th Conference was held in Manila, Philippines. 3 bands from the Philippines and Japan participated.
1986	26th – 30th December	Unofficial conference was held in Taipei, Taiwan. Bands from Taiwan and Japan participated.
1988	4th – 7th Februry	The 5th Conference was held in Chiangmai, Thailand. 7 bands from Thailand, Japan, Philippines and Indonesia participated.

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Asia and Pacific Band Directors’ Association

1990	24th – 28th July	The 6th Conference was held in Kwangju, Korea. Renamed to Asia and Pacific Band Directors’ Association / APBDA. 3 bands from Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
1991	May
1992	14 – 18th August	The 7th Conference was held in Taipei, Taiwan. 19 bands from Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Australia and Singapore participated. Robert Edward Jager attended.
1994	20th – 25th July	The 8th Conference was held in Hamamatsu, Japan. 19 bands from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore participated. A new constitution was established.
1996	25th – 28th July	The 9th Conference was held in Hong Kong. 32 bands from Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Macau, Australia and Singapore participated.
1998	25th – 29th July	The 10th Conference was held in Sidney, Australia. 23 bands from Australia, Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tonga and Canada participated. The Constitution was revised, and a new rule was introduced for the Chairman selection; the Chairman will be chosen from the next hosting country in a two-year term.
2000	24th December – 5th January	The 11th Conference was held in Chiayi, Taiwan. 46 bands from Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, and Kazakhstan participated. APBDA used to collect 100 USD per year as a membership fee and allocate it for the cost of the office, but it was suspended after this conference. Chiayi City Government bore ground costs of board members which had been paid by each member, flight costs were still paid by members though. Membership fees weren’t collected since.
2002	6th – 12th August	The 12th Conference was held in Guanguzo, China. 68 bands from China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and Germany participated.
2004	14th – 20th August	The 13th Conference was held in Jeju, Korea. 38 bands from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Germany participated.
2006	31st July – 4th August	The 14th Conference was held in Macau. 58 bands from Macau, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Australia participated.
2008	26th July – 3rd August	The 15th Conference was held in Tainan, Taiwan. 74 bands from Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Korea, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia participated.
2010	25th – 28th July	The 16th Conference was held in Hong Kong. 40 bands from Hong Kong, China, Macau, Taiwan and Australia participated.
2012	3rd – 9th July	The 17th Conference was held in Singapore. 45 bands from Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, China, Korea, Philippines, Malaysia and Macau participated.
2014	8th – 15th August	The 18th Conference was held in Jeju, Korea. 23 bands from Hong Kong, Korea, Macau, Taiwan and Japan participated.
2015	14th – 18th July	A board meeting was held in Beijing, China.
2016		The 19th Conference was held in Beijing, China. The conference was planned in Sidney, Australia but the place changed to Beijing due to financial reasons.
2017	July	A board meeting was held.
2018	19th – 22nd July	The 20th Conference was held in Hamamatsu, Japan. 39 bands from Japan, Australia, China, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Malaysia, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau joined.
		A board meeting was held in Tainan, Taiwan.
2020		The 21st Conference which was supposed to be held in Taiwan, Taiwan was postponed for a year due to the pandemic of COVID-19.
2021	6th November – 26th December	The 21st Conference was held in Tainan, Taiwan.
2022		A conference was suspended due to the pandemic of COVID-19.
2023	15th July	A board meeting was held in Inchon, Korea. The 2024 conference, scheduled for Daejeon, Korea, was canceled due to circumstances, and it was decided that conferences would be held every odd-numbered year thereafter.