Midori Is Named to Prestigious Post at USC's Thornton School of Music

Midori has joined the faculty of the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music as Jascha Heifetz Chair in Music. The Heifetz Chair was established in 1974 in honor of the great violinist and pedagogue Jascha Heifetz, who taught at USC from 1962 to 1982. Midori's appointment commences in the Fall of 2004.

Dr. Robert A. Cutietta, Dean of the Thornton School of Music, said "Midori is extraordinarily well-suited to her new role in USC's broad academic setting. She will be an excellent mentor for our students because she combines the highest level of artistry appropriate to a conservatory and the intellectual curiosity appropriate to a research university."

Midori will teach classes at the Thornton School, and will do private coaching in violin performance and chamber music. She will also act as mentor to music majors drawn not only from the ranks of classical musicians but from jazz studies majors as well, treating a whole range of topics relating to the realities of the life of a professional musician, a subject often untouched by conservatories and music schools.

Midori made the following comment on her new appointment: "I'm excited by the opportunity USC will provide to explore music instruction beyond the traditional paradigm of the one-to-one imparting of instrumental skills. Participating in the formation of integrated artists who are complete human beings is at the center of my concerns as an educator, as these issues were of vital importance to me as a student. I also greatly enjoy engaging students in a more holistic approach to music education, with all the collaboration and discipline that requires."

Midori adds her USC appointment to an active schedule of 90 concerts a year, a faculty position at the Manhattan School of Music, and her involvement in the many projects generated annually by her outreach organizations: Midori & Friends (U.S.), Music Sharing (Japan), Partners in Performance (U.S.), University Residencies Program (U.S.) and Orchestra Residencies Program (U.S.).

The inaugural concert for Partners in Performance (PiP) took place in Plymouth, New Hampshire on November 2. The concert, presented at Plymouth State University's Silver Hall by Friends of the Arts, the local community-based arts organization was enthusiastically received. The presenters made a special effort to reach out to members of the community by setting aside a number of low-priced tickets for students and social service agency clients. Midori and pianist Charles Abramovic performed a full recital program consisting of works of Paganini-Liszt, Brahms, Bach, and Saint-Saëns, followed by an encore, "Le Printemps," by Milhaud. For more information on PiP, please contact Kelly Gehrs.

Click here to read Charles Danziger's guest column on the Plymouth, N.H. PiP concert.

MIDORI LECTURES AT NY'S INTERNATIONAL HOUSE

On October 30th (2003), Midori gave a lecture for the Leadership in the Arts program at the International House in New York City. Donald L. Cuneo, the President of the International House, welcomed everyone and introduced I-House alumna Judy Woo. Judy made brief remarks about the Woman's International Leadership Program for which Midori had served as her mentor. In her lecture, Midori focused on the interdisciplinary approach and its influence on many of her projects including Total Experience and the University Residencies Program (URP). The evening concluded with a lively Q & A session.

I-House President Donald L. Cuneo with Judy Woo and Midori. On the artwork behind them is, written in Chinese, the motto of the I- House founder, John D. Rockefeller: "That Brotherhood May Prevail"

Two young performers, Jennie Press and Amy Park, worked with Midori for almost two hours while the audience, comprised of parents, teachers, friends, and music lovers listened attentively.

Amy Park and Midori (photo: Cliff Spicer)

*the photographs are courtesy of The Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, Canada

Midori's 2003-2004 season began on the 5th and 7th of September when she performed the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Honolulu Symphony conducted by its Music Director Samuel Wong. She enjoyed beautiful views of the ocean from her hotel window but her time was mostly spent working - rehearsing with the orchestra, doing radio interviews and giving a pre-concert lecture. In the evenings there were the concerts, of course, after which the Hawaiian audiences greeted Midori warmly in the auditorium lobby.

Audience members greet Midori at Blaisdell Auditorium

The following week Midori was in Milwaukee as guest of the Milwaukee Symphony and its Music Director Andreas Delfs. She performed the Brahms Concerto in the opening concerts of the Symphony season, on the 12th, 13th and 14th of September. As in Honolulu, Midori took part in pre-concert discussions and post-concert receptions. She enjoys meeting audience members informally and, wherever possible, makes herself available after performances to speak with them individually.

"Overture Live" in Milwaukee

Midori spends early summer in Japan every year bringing live music to young people in schools, institutions, and hospitals. In 2003, she gave 17 Lecture Concerts with her pianist-partner, Koji Oikawa, and visited eight youth orchestras. During these visits, Koji and Midori shared their artistry and tales of their experiences, interspersed with stories about music and composers. Particularly during the Orchestra Visits program, there was much lively interaction and exchange of performances with the young people.

In addition to their concerts, Music Sharing, which has taken over from Midori Foundation Tokyo Office and been newly-organized to oversee Midori's outreach activities in Japan, presented several Lecture Concerts by traditional Japanese musicians. Japanese music is extremely diverse, with the two main traditions, Soukyoku and Gagaku as different as day and night.

The koto is the main instrument for Soukyoku. Much to the surprise of Midori, who is just starting to learn about traditional Japanese music herself (you can see Midori and Koji inspecting the wind instrument 'Sho' in the photo), the koto is a big-sounding plucked string instrument requiring much power to produce the sound. Unlike such Western instruments as the guitar and the harp, the koto can easily be heard without amplification. The koto group was led by Kazue Sawai, the grande dame of the koto and its culture.

Gagaku, the music of the Imperial Court, was led by Ko Ishikawa. He and two colleagues, playing wind instruments, made their presentations to the children wearing traditional attire. As they entered the gymnasia, which served as auditoria in each of the schools, they always brought a sense of calm and serenity. 'Sho,' which is one of the Gagaku instruments, is about 3000 years old and is one of the rare wind instruments that can produce double-notes.

For audiences in Tokyo and Osaka, there were also two special concerts that were open to the public. The program consisted of Western classical music and traditional Japanese music performed by Midori, Koji Oikawa, Kazue Sawai, Ko Ishikawa and all their colleagues. Special low priced tickets were available for children with the result that both concerts were filled with young people, either alone or with parents or friends. Before the performances - one at the Takemitsu Memorial Hall in Tokyo and the other at NHK Hall in Osaka - and during the intermission, audience members were encouraged to try out the traditional instruments. There were so many participants that the queue was very long.

Midori's personal account of her tour will appear in the coming months in 'Random Musings.'

Midori and Koji Oikawa

Midori's 2003 summer schedule kicked off with a recital tour of Japan with pianist Peter Vinograde. Midori was particularly pleased to be performing some pieces for the first time in these concerts, namely the Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Janáček sonatas. Readers are invited to enjoy her program notes on the works in the Music Notes section. Peter Vinograde has contributed his own account of the tour. (click)

MIDORI RETURNS TO ASPEN

For the first time in over 10 years, Midori returned for a brief visit to Aspen Music School and Festival in July 2003. In addition to her performance of the Dvořák Violin Concerto with the Chamber Symphony conducted by James Conlon, she worked with four violin students in a master class. Held on campus, the class attracted students, parents, and members of the general public who listened as the four young musicians discussed and tried different ideas with Midori.

The participating students were Christel Lee, Fabiola Kim, Anna Clearman, and Angel Valchinov.

Photo: Alex Irvin

Photo: Alex Irvin

AN ILLUSTRATED TALK

One morning during her April 2003 performance period in Chicago, Midori was asked to give a talk to some of the Chicago Symphony's donors. About 40 guests attended the event. A set of nine panels was specially prepared for the occasion containing archival photos and mementos from Midori's life and career.

REACHING OUT

I always enjoy the opportunity to meet and speak with students in the towns and cities where I perform. During the second half of my Spring (2003) US Recital Tour, a master class was arranged by one of the presenting organizations and a lecture followed by a question and answer session by another. At Columbus State University School of Music, I worked with four violin students - Laszlo Stan, Callie Knight, Barbara Careaga, and Solange Navarrete. And I was really pleased that at the University of Arkansas lecture/Q and A, there were students in the audience from several different departments.

Master Class at Columbus [Georgia] State University School of Music

Midori does not like to waste time. She also loves to teach. When there are days between concerts and it is humanly possible to get home, she flies or takes the train to New York to squeeze in extra lessons with her Manhattan School of Music violin students.

In Philadelphia in late February (2003), Midori was the soloist in the Sibelius Concerto with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Christoph Eschenbach on three consecutive evenings. (Read about her adventure getting to Philadelphia through a blizzard LINK) Although she did not manage to get back to New York in between concerts, she did the next best thing - she gave an open masterclass in the Kimmel Center's Innovation Studio for three local violin students.

Two of the students were pupils of Philadelphia Orchestra members and the third was a finalist in the Orchestra's Albert M. Greenfield Student Competition. The audience, made up largely of students and teachers from area music schools (including the Curtis Institute, Temple University and the Settlement Music School), Philadelphia Orchestra concertgoers and journalists, listened attentively as Anne Ku, Danbi Um and Alexandra Osborne tackled the first movements of Lalo's Symphonie espagnole, Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto and Bruch's First Concerto.

MIDORI VISITS VIOLIN MAKING SCHOOL

When I was performing in Salt Lake City during the week of March 3rd (2003), I had a kind invitation from the Violin Making School of America to come for a tour.

There, I met about 30 people who were students, faculty, and staff. There is also the Bow-Making School of America as well as a dormitory for the students on site. It was absolutely fascinating to see the creation of a violin taking place: the instrument (or bow) simply starts out as a block of wood.

I intend to write in more detail about my experience there over the next couple of months (to appear in Random Musings), but I wanted to share a photo of my fascinating visit with the web readers!

Violin Making School of America: www.violinmakingschool.com

Bow Making School of America:
www.bowmakingschool.com

A violin-making student "planing" the wood board. It will eventually become the side wood of the instrument.