YAMAHA PRESENTS THE 2003 NAMM CONCERT
HONORING SIR ELTON JOHN

BUENA PARK, CA (October 17, 2002)—A highlight of Winter NAMM 2003 in Anaheim, CA will be a spectacular musical event featuring one of the most successful and influential music makers of our time.

On Friday, January 17, 2003, Yamaha Corporation of America and NAMM, the International Music Products Association will present "The 2003 NAMM Concert Honoring Sir Elton John: A Benefit for Music Education," at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim. During the concert, the guest of honor will receive The 2003 Lifetime Achievement in Musical Excellence Award from Yamaha, with some 14,000 people in attendance.

The concert is not open to the public; only participants in the Winter NAMM trade show and their guests will be able to attend. Ticketing for the event will be handled by NAMM; for more information, interested parties may visit www.namm.com.

Sir Elton John, the marquee performer of his generation, will receive The 2003 Lifetime Achievement in Musical Excellence Award on January 17 in Anaheim.

The Elton John Band and a wide array of other top artists will join Sir Elton on stage at the event. Yamaha's Chris Gero, corporate director of artist affairs, is the show's producer. Net proceeds will benefit NAMM's music education charities: The American Music Conference, The International Foundation for Music Research and The Museum of Making Music. The concert has echoes of the extraordinary and memorable NAMM Millennium Concert that honored singer-songwriter Michael McDonald at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles in February, 2000, but on an even grander scale.

"Sir Elton John is the marquee performer of our generation, and Yamaha is thrilled to bring him together with so many other great artists and appreciative fans in a setting like this," says Yamaha Corporation of America senior vice president Terry Lewis. "This will be an unforgettable and historic evening."

"Three years ago, Yamaha and NAMM put on the largest concert in NAMM's one-hundred-year history, and this tribute to Elton John is certain to top that," said Joe Lamond, president and CEO, NAMM. "Using the power of the NAMM Show with its 65,000-plus attendees to create a benefit concert for music education is a direct example of NAMM's mission at work in the world."

Sir Elton John (www.eltonjohn.com) has produced a consistent string of chart-topping albums and singles dating from his emergence in 1971 with "Your Song." Working in frequent and famous collaboration with lyricist Bernie Taupin, he has released such legendary hits as "Tiny Dancer," "Rocket Man," "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Daniel," "Crocodile Rock," "I'm Still Standing," "Sad Songs Say So Much," "Honky Cat" and "Bennie and the Jets." His 1997 reworking of the 1987 hit "Candle in the Wind" as a tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, was heard by an estimated global television audience of two billion people.

On November 12, John will release the only complete collection of chart-topping hits spanning his entire career. Elton John: Greatest Hits 1970-2002 (UTV/Universal/UME) will feature digitally remastered versions of all 22 of his top-ten singles and a dozen other favorites, totaling more than two and a half hours of classic music.

He and Tim Rice shared an Academy Award™ for Best Song for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," from the soundtrack of Disney's 1994 animated feature The Lion King, and he also wrote music for the 2000 animated feature The Road to El Dorado. His original production of Aida with Tim Rice is playing to enthusiastic audiences on Broadway; he is currently touring with singer-songwriter Billy Joel before sold-out arenas; and he has enjoyed success with his most recent studio album, Songs From the West Coast. In 1992, he created the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and in February 1998 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

The 650,000-square-foot Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (www.arrowheadpond.com), located on East Katella Avenue, is home to the Mighty Ducks of the National Hockey League as well as a variety of other sporting events, concerts and family entertainment events.

For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622, telephone (714) 522-9011, e-mail infostation@yamaha.com or visit www.yamaha.com on the Web.

About Yamaha
Yamaha Corporation of America manufactures a complete line of musical instruments, professional audio products, customer-driven support products and computer-based products targeted to both the amateur and professional markets.

About NAMM
The International Music Products Association, commonly called NAMM in reference to the organization's popular NAMM trade shows, is the not-for-profit association that unifies, leads and strengthens the $16 billion global musical instruments and products industry. NAMM's activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages. NAMM is comprised of approximately 8,000 member companies. For more information about NAMM, interested parties can visit www.namm.com or call 800-767-NAMM (6266).

About AMC
The American Music Conference is dedicated to promoting the importance of music, music making, and music education to the general public. For more information about AMC and this new partnership, visit www.amc-music.org.

About The Museum of Making Music
The mission of the Museum of Making Music is to celebrate the rich history and encourage the future of music making. The one-of-a-kind museum invites all NAMM members to tour the Museum FREE of charge. Located in the NAMM Industry Headquarters in beautiful Carlsbad, Calif., the museum is a great way to experience first-hand the impact of the music products industry over the last 100 years. For more information about the museum or its activities, interested parties should call 877-551-9976 or visit www.museumofmakingmusic.org.

About IFMR
The International Foundation for Music Research (IFMR) was founded in 1997 to support scientific research to explore the relationship between music and physical and emotional wellness, with particular attention to the elderly population, the impact of music making on at-risk youth, and music education and the effect of music and music making. IFMR also convenes scientists, educators and others around critical issues in music research and disseminates research through its publication, IFMR News, and various on-line research referral services and archives. For more information about IFMR, interested parties should visit www.music-research.org.