September 2010 Overview

At the beginning of the month Midori performs a Bach, Schnittke & Schubert program in Zurich with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and Antonello Manacorda. Later in the month, she is in Omaha, Nebraska for performances of the Sibelius Concerto with the Omaha Symphony and Thomas Wilkins.

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A video about Midori's June 2009 residency in Costa Rica is now available. Watch it here.

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The summer months have seemingly flown by and I have returned home to Los Angeles for a short week. It is wonderful to bask in the warm sunshine of Southern California, although it was also nice to bundle up in winter clothes while performing in Australia earlier this "summer".

I am invigorated by the flurry of activity that has resumed in my USC studio, also known as "Grand Central Station" around here. This will be my fourth year as Strings Department Chair, and as the Fall semester commences, I am happy to see students and faculty as they stop by to say hello, share their summer's adventures and, of course, discuss their semester and year goals.

As my students and I plan repertoire and practice routines for their competitions, degree recitals and performances this year, I also look forward to my own preparations for the upcoming season, which is filled with projects and community engagement activities that are very special to me.

Much is in store for me in the next few months-including stops in NY for a function at the UN, China, Japan, Germany and Italy, as well as Laos at the very end of December with three wonderful young musicians for Music Sharing's International Community Engagement Program (ICEP). I am also eagerly anticipating my trip to Chattanooga, Tennessee with performances and workshops for this season's Orchestra Residencies Program (ORP).

This is just the beginning of yet another delightful season and I look forward to meeting some of my website readers at concerts and performances close to wherever you may be!

Midori

Hello from Australia, where the winter winds are unusually chilling. The cooler climate was indeed a shock to my violin and me after the rising temperatures of the early summer days of Japan where I spent three weeks for the Music Sharing ICEP activities. This tour reunited violinist Sini Simonen and cellist Peter Myers, the two young musicians who joined me last year on a very spectacular Mongolian community engagement tour, along with a new addition to our group, violist Veit Hertenstein. Our daily blog, part English and part Japanese, which includes our reflections and discoveries, can be found here.

Memories of the experiences in Mongolia, combined with being with special audiences in Japan, fueled our energies throughout the duration of the tour. Music helped us connect with particular groups of people with whom words might have failed: women fleeing from domestic violence, children with serious physical disabilities or diseases, and patients in hospital wards.

The emotional effects of these interactions were powerful for the young musicians and me, spurring reflection on broader social, health, and economic issues. Throughout the tour, questions about the meaning and the state of human life, rights, and dignity crossed our minds.

As the UN Messenger of Peace, I have become increasingly aware of the injustices created, fueled, and sustained by economic, racial, social, geographical, political, gender, and age differences. The UN Millennium Development Goals were set in 2000 to combat these inequalities, and at the current time, we have five years to meet them. According to the UN's recent 10-Year Report on the Millennium Development Goals, we, as a world, have made considerable strides; yet the continued need for betterment far outweighs the positive.

The projection of achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 should be a worldwide priority; the statistics represent people and communities as well as causes that will influence the lives of future generations. The keen interest and camaraderie of this year's soccer World Cup might serve as an example for how the world could work together toward its greater good!

Midori

I send you warm greetings in this first week of Spring. It is a relief to see the first green buds on the trees, after landing in snow for many tour stops in recent months.

One of the busiest and most exciting weeks was my Orchestra Residency this February in the Fargo-Moorhead area on the North Dakota/Minnesota border. One of my students from USC came along to assist and experience the project, and we kept a blog about the varied activities that were happening against a snowy backdrop. Just thinking back about the Fargo ORP excites me for the ones to come; the ORP selection committee is reviewing applications for 2011/2012 as we speak!

This weekend I am in Grand Rapids, Michigan to play the Walton Violin Concerto with the Symphony. This magnificent work was written in the last century, commissioned by the great violinist Jascha Heifetz; one can feel Heifetz's influence in the music's swift pace. It is interesting to me to think about the connections among musicians and composers, especially in the modern era; this process aids in contextualization while working out the eventual interpretation. Imagining Heifetz striding around the same university campus where I now teach serves as a powerful link from the present-day to the history of Walton's great Violin Concerto.

As my students hustle to complete their assignments in the last weeks of the school year, I am relieved that my concert schedule keeps me in the U.S. until their final exams are finished. The frenetic race to graduation day is a thrilling and nerve-wracking time, for both the students and me, so it is good to stay within close range.

As we find ourselves hurrying to keep pace with the spring awakening, I hope that we can all find a moment's peace in the natural beauty blossoming all around us during this time of year.

Warmly,
Midori

Almost faster than I can believe, a new year has arrived, and with it, meaningful reflections on the year that has just passed as well as fresh ideas and hopes for the future.

At the end of December, Music Sharing conducted its fourth annual International Community Engagement Program, this year in Mongolia. Our nine-day musical mission in this frigid landscape met warm welcomes, despite major challenges faced by the populace on a daily basis. Mongolia as a nation has been independent for less than 100 years, and the last 20 years have seen tremendous changes in this large, land-locked and sparsely-populated country. In particular, the urban growth has resulted in shortage of living spaces in its capital, Ulan Bator, amplified crime rates, alcohol abuse, and human trafficking. Too many neglected children have ended up living in 'holes' (the sewer system), where the stifling and unsanitary conditions breed infection and delinquency. Despite all of this, Mongolia is also a country where children do them proud.

The culture so influenced by the steppes and the nomadic lifestyle. The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries revived the Silk Road trade route into a landmark of unity and political stability, and the East-West alliances formed then can still be seen in Mongolian culture today. The morin khuur - or horse fiddle - exemplifies and still has influence in Eastern and Western music with its beautiful, expansive resonance. Overtone singing, or throat singing, is an amazing feat of the human voice to produce double notes. The presentation's passion served as a hallmark of the inner dedication and discipline required in this art form.

So often we get caught up in our stress and work-focused lives; in Mongolia I was compelled to reconsider my own priorities and was reminded of the satisfaction that can be found in a simplified way of living. These thoughts helped me to focus on the return to work and school. The New Music Recitals are on the horizon, and rehearsing this all-contemporary program brings many discoveries and an ever-changing spectrum of interpretation.

I hope that you too have gained some interesting insights to accompany your goals and expectations for this new decade.

Midori

The devastating news from Southeast Asia shook us this morning in the U.S. I offer my sympathies and prayers to those people and places ravaged by the tsunami in the South Pacific, the earthquake in Indonesian Sumatra, and by Typhoon Ketsana in Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines. I have recently visited three of the affected countries through Music Sharing's International Community Engagement Program, and feel connected to them through those experiences.

While the news continues to come in, with the report of thousands missing in Padang and 7-meter high waves in the Samoan islands, my memory of having visited Indonesia less than a year ago is extremely clear. While there, I had the opportunity to be in direct contact with those who survived the catastrophic 2004 tsunami (which killed 232,000 people in total) and the 2006 Java earthquake, and the stories of their experiences are very vivid. We visited refugee compounds in Medan, which housed many survivors of the tsunami. The memories of their anguish and fears, which were so fresh then, haunt me again now. In Yogyakarta, we went to orphanages which took in children who had lost their parents in these tragic natural events. Many Indonesian children found themselves suddenly quite alone, having lost not only their homes and material possessions, but also without their core support system of family and friends.

Now the casualty levels continue to rise as the flood waters begin to recede and as the debris is cleared; so many lives overwhelmed and utterly destroyed by sheer forces of nature. After an undersea earthquake of 8.0, the tsunami warnings did not reach people on the Samoan islands in time to evacuate or initiate protective measures, so most were just going about their usual morning routine when the waves descended. Thousands of miles away, the earthquake in Sumatra registered at a similar magnitude, 7.6. Hundreds of thousands of homes have been swept into the sea or leveled to the ground by the quake.

The road to recovery will be long and challenging for these countries and their citizens. Food shortages, lack of shelter and clean water are anticipated to be major problems. We are currently investigating the role the Messengers of Peace can serve in aiding the recovery efforts, and I hope to share news of that with you soon. In the meantime, please take the moment to reflect and learn more about how to contribute to the relief efforts after these harrowing natural disasters. The United Nations website is a helpful place to start, as well as UNICEF and the Red Cross.

I write to you from Germany, where I am performing my first concerts of the 2009/2010 season. I am always excited by the arrival of September and yet also a little bewildered that another year has come and gone so quickly.

The past two weeks at USC have been lively, to say the least, but I am thrilled to be reunited with my students and to hear of all their summer adventures. The new semester has arrived, and we are steadily adjusting to the routine of lessons and assignments.

As I was leaving Los Angeles for Germany this week, the wildfires sweeping through nearby areas were finally being contained by fire-fighters, albeit only marginally so. The fires' rapid spread was not a result of the famous Santa Ana winds, but the flames were just as intense and out of control. The Station Fire, as it has been called, has been determined to be arson, and destroyed much of the Angeles National Forest. One's mind turns to the environment during such fearsome events in the natural world - the typhoons in Asia last month are another example - and to how we can better protect ourselves and the planet from future destruction.

One of the UN's Millennium Goals is to ensure environmental sustainability, which we can all pursue as individuals within our communities. Soon I will be writing more on the website about "being green"; in the meantime, I look forward to further investigating some proposals for making the Earth a cleaner place.

Midori

At this time of year, I prepare myself for the coming season and the school year. I look forward to concerts and community engagement activities in August/September/October 2009 in Europe, the U.S. and China. The places I visit, first time or not, always bring me much to discover and remind me of the passage of time. With every trip taken to any city, one is reminded of the changes brought forth consciously and unconsciously.

I also look forward to the new school year at USC - the return of existing students and the arrival of new students who, together, make the music department a vibrant, creative place. When I get back to my studio at USC from wherever I have been in the world, I feel I am "home" again.

Wishing you an uplifting summer,

Midori

Not long ago, I attended a very special performance of Ravel's Boléro by students in Music Sharing's Musical Instrument Guidance Support Program. The student musicians all attend one of our three partner schools for physically disabled and developmentally challenged children. In the Program's third year, all the participating students and their teachers (who all volunteer their time and energy) assembled for the first time to meet each other and to play music together.

The concert filled me with an overwhelming urge to ponder life's great question of "why?" The children were so inspired by the music; their energy and focus in the performance moved the audience in an incredible, uncontrollable way. It was the kind of experience that makes one grateful to be alive. The most powerful force in the world, literal or otherwise, is the creation of Nature, and musical encounters such as this special concert give us a clear sense of the inevitability of our reality.

It is a gift to gain such a perspective.

I am often asked what inspires my work. While there are various influences, small and large, this concert experience definitely rates high on the list. Like the budding blossoms of springtime, it is insistent in its hopefulness.

Wherever you find yourself in this season of rejuvenation, I hope you will discover new insights into your own life.

Midori

Midori on Facebook

Midori recently gave a recital at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago. To read the Chicago Sun-Times review, click here

Midori

Backstage meeting

Meet & greet after the concert
at the Barbican Hall on February 26th, 2009

Midori

Midori, Jonathan Biss and Johannes Moser
rehearse at the Wigmore Hall, London

Midori

18 May 2008

Dear Friends,

I send you warm greetings from Prague where spring seems to have disappeared right before my arrival. It has been raining almost all day. Even in the rain, Prague is a very beautiful city.

When I reflect a bit on the past few weeks, it has certainly been a rather eclectic time. From the last of the Bach-Schnittke-Takemitsu Project concerts at Lincoln Center early in May, I went on a European tour with Charlie Abramovic with New Music repertoire: works by Huw Watkins, Krzysztof Penderecki, Magnus Lindberg, James MacMillan and John Adams. We performed the program in London, Essen, Rottenburg, Berlin and Dubrovnik. In London, there was an additional piece, entitled Efflorescence, by the young British composer, Christian Mason. From Dubrovnik, we returned to England to perform a Dvořák, Penderecki, Shostakovich, Beethoven program at the Chipping Campden Festival, which we then took to the Prague Spring Festival.

Next, I am off to Japan to tour with Christoph Eschenbach and the Philadelphia Orchestra, followed by chamber music concerts in Tokyo with the artists who joined me last December on our Music Sharing tour of Cambodia. After that, there are performances of the Tchaikovsky Concerto in Taiwan with the Taiwan National Symphony and the Brahms Concerto in Hong Kong with the Hong Kong Philharmonic.

Midori

13 February 2008

Dear Friends,

The weather has not been kind to me recently but I greet you in high spirits today from New York – my old hangout.

The heavy rains in Southern California have turned my apartment into a constantly-running sprinkler system: a huge leak pours water from the ceiling to the floor at all times. I’ve heard that this is the most rainfall the area has seen in 10 years; so much for the song, “It Never Rains in Southern California”! Mudslides and high winds make traveling very treacherous, and of course many flights in and out of LAX were adversely affected by the storms.

Extreme weather conditions seem to have followed me across the country, with snow and blustery winds hitting the East Coast at the beginning of this week. Taxicabs were slipping and sliding along the roads so the subway proved to be the most efficient means of transportation to get to and from rehearsals.

I am in New York this week for the first concert in a special series at Lincoln Center highlighting the music of J.S. Bach, Alfred Schnittke and Tōru Takemitsu. Working with other musicians on this inspiring music eclipses the dreariness of the outdoors. I continue to be invigorated by my students and a bustling schedule at USC, as well as by my recent interactions with young musicians in Des Moines, Iowa for the Orchestra Residencies Program and in Cambodia for Music Sharing’s International Community Engagement Program. Amidst the doldrums of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, we must look to our daily lives and within ourselves for energy and inspiration.

Midori

November 3, 2007

Dear Friends,

I am currently sitting in the departure lounge of Chicago’s O’Hare Airport waiting to transfer from a flight from Atlanta, Georgia to another headed for Omaha, Nebraska. It is a beautiful autumn day.

The last months have been very interesting and rewarding for me, particularly my new position as Chair of the Strings Department at the University of Southern California/Thornton School of Music. This is a new challenge but one that actually brings together all my past experiences and skills, from community activities to my psychology studies at NYU to performing and teaching. I have a wonderful support system at USC and my students continue to be a source of great inspiration. I am having a wonderful time.

In the next few months, there are many more exciting and eye-opening experiences coming up--my first trip to Cambodia, with three young musicians, and the Bach-Schnittke-Takemitsu project, which starts in February. All projects have had a rather long lead time, which I love; It gives me the opportunity to dive into the material more deeply and from different perspectives.

Midori

13 August 2007

Dear Friends,

Time is flying by at an unbelievable speed. I must be having a good time.

In the last three months, I have enjoyed many encounters with young musicians in various contexts. In June, in Japan, I was reacquainted with the musicians who accompanied me to Vietnam last December. After that, at the USC (University of Southern California) Community Engagement Seminar, the participants and I focused on developing skills to bring music to children; finally, in August, at the Schleswig Holstein Festival masterclasses in Lübeck, ten of us came together to work hard and have fun.

My encounters with younger musicians are always invigorating and continue to motivate and inspire me. I am grateful for opportunities to share my experiences with them and, in the process, I also learn a great deal. In trying to discover how music affects each one of us, we find meaning in our music making, and therefore in our practice.

Midori

30 May 2007

Dear Friends,

I send you greetings from Japan, where I arrived a few days ago. The weather is gorgeous and not yet very hot.

May was a particularly engaging month for me. It started with a recital tour of Europe, following which I have been back home in Los Angeles intermittently and have worked with a youth orchestra in Winston-Salem. I am about to start a brief tour of Japan, which will be followed by special projects through the Music Sharing organization. I also look forward to re-connecting with the young musicians who travelled with me to Vietnam last December. We will have an opportunity to share how our thoughts and experiences have developed over the last half year since our time in Hanoi and Ho-Chi Minh. These weeks, as you can imagine, presented me with quite a variety of activities and memories--from the picturesque palace in Schwetzingen to the fast moving freeway of Southern California, from the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina to urban Tokyo and reminiscences of rural Vietnam.

I wish you all a Happy Summer!

Midori

Meet & Greet after the concert in Schwetzingen

18 February 2007

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Warsaw.

Although the temperature is definitely low, the sun has been quite friendly to us during the time we have been in Poland. My pianist, Bob, and I first came to this country some fifteen years ago. At that time, we would have been much happier if the sun had made its appearance for just five minutes. We got plenty of sun on this trip!

Over the next few months, I will be traveling quite a lot, mostly in the United States until May. Among the upcoming projects I look forward to is the Orchestra Residencies Program (ORP) in Great Falls, Montana.

In fact, we just had the application process for the 2008-09 ORP cycle and, from what I hear, the proposals are very strong. I am eager to see them on my return, although I am not on the selection committee for the program.

I hope the spring time is a time of rejuvenation for all of us!

Midori

October 2006

Dear Friends,

Time has been flying by much faster than usual. With so many changes in the last few months, mostly related to my trans-continental move, life has been hurtling along at jet speed.

There is much excitement on a daily basis and I am happy and thriving in my new dwellings in Santa Monica and at USC, in between my tours. The best part of the move has been that it enables me to be so much more involved in the campus life of USC and to have all my students in one place. As always, my students are caring and a constant source of inspiration for me.

My autumn, in addition to teaching, is full of adventures as well. For one thing, I have been working to learn the newly-commissioned work by the Finnish composer, Einojuhani Rautavaara, with the premiere scheduled for November in Munich. Then comes the recording of the Bach Solo Sonatas and the Community Engagement Program in Vietnam. In terms of performances on campus with my students, a minimum of six presentations are scheduled, and the students are hard at work organizing them.

I still think about the skyline of New York City from time to time and the life I had there with my family and dogs, who are now gone; but I am grateful for the new opportunities and experiences that California offers and I love living in LA so far.

Midori

Dear Friends,

Greetings from New York, where Central Park is enjoying its share of the beautiful foliage season. I am back in this bustling city for a quick stop before taking off to Munich, then on to Japan.

Last weekend in Los Angeles' Disney Hall was definitely one of the most exciting occasions of the season for me. I performed two quartets, each with three students from the University of Southern California (USC), where I am enjoying my second year on the string faculty. Throughout the fall, both groups have been hard at work, weathering my many harsh criticisms [amidst a few compliments] and surviving under my 'that sounds better; let's do it again. And yet again for security.' I am not a believer in the 'practice makes perfect' credo, but I do have to say that 'practice does make a difference!' And all their intensive work certainly came to a wonderful fruition as their performances shone last Sunday evening.

The resonance of their sounds, both the gentle rocking of the Schubert 'Quartettsatz' and the bucolic birdcall of the Dvořák 'American' Quartet, will keep reminding me of them - and of their dedication towards their art - for a long time to come.

Midori

Rehearsing Dvořák's 'American' Quartet with Midori: Yoo Kyung Oh, violin; Kaila Potts, viola; Tina Guo, cello.

Rehearsing Schubert's Quartettsatz with Midori: Yang Xu, violin; Luke Maurer, viola; Lars Hoefs, cello

Dear Friends,

Summer flew by with much traveling between Europe and Asia, always stopping in New York in between. I spent four weeks in Europe in July and August. This was unusual as I am not often able to go on such extended tours during the school year. At the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, over a period of two weeks, I had wonderful opportunities to work with young people both at their Orchestra Academy and through their Meisterkurse in Lübeck.

In Lübeck, I stayed in a typical three-story Lübeck town house with only one room on each floor. It was such a charming setting; coming home to it every night, I felt as though I were becoming a character in a historical novel! When I first arrived, New Yorker that I am, I was surprised that the windows had no bars! But, by the end of my stay in Lübeck, I had not only gotten used to this, I found that I actually liked it!

From Germany, I went to Croatia, Austria, Italy, and France. The weather was mixed - there was a good deal of rain -- but my violin and I survived it all. There was much to enjoy and many different languages to listen to. I was almost sorry to have to board the plane to go home.

However, home is home, and no matter what disarray I return to, of piled up mail and dust, it's always sweet. Once I am back home, I never want to leave again. But of course, I do. A few days after returning from Europe, I was in Worcester, Massachusetts, with my colleagues Steve Epstein and his crew to make a new recording for Sony/BMG. With the recording finished, I went to Los Angeles, to settle into my new apartment and get to know my new students at the University of Southern California. Summer is definitely over.

There is much to come in the fall, including more concerts in the US, Europe, and Japan. Despite all the activity of the summer, I feel totally refreshed and ready to start the new season.

For now, I send you greetings from São Paulo and wish you well.

Midori

Sala São Paulo (Brazil), a former train station

May 2005

Dear Friends,

I am spending one night at home in between the Orchestra Residency Program(ORP) in Duluth, Minnesota and my European recitals.

With the excitement of working intensely with young people in Duluth still fresh in my bones, I am diving into the Franck Sonata, a gorgeous work that Bob and I have not played together for some years. Throughout our rehearsals, we notice different details and we look at each other in surprise, "Have we ever done that?!"

Music offers us many refreshing opportunities to learn, and we are grateful, motivated, and excited.

Midori

March 2005

Dear Friends,

Winter in New York has been severe this year. With many snowstorms and windy days, I was grateful to have a roof over my head and be in the company of my Franzie the Dachshund. We spent many hours staring out of the window, listening to the sounds of the outside world.

The day after the Blizzard of 2005, Franzie and I went to look at the whiteness of the streets. The footsteps of the passers-by were softened, and sunlight was even brighter than usual, reflecting off the snow. After a few minutes, the cold started to penetrate our nostrils, and I decided that we should go back into our apartment.

Soon, all the problems caused by the winter storms will be long gone, remaining only in my memories as I work through my repertoire for the next few months. Coming up are works by Bartók, Stravinsky, Rautavaara, Ravel, Mozart, Brahms, Szymanowski... Then, there is the Orchestra Residencies Program (ORP) in Duluth, Minnesota. There is much to look forward to.

For those of you wondering who takes care of Good ol'Franzie while I am away from home performing these gorgeous pieces, I am happy to report that he is in the hands of my doting mother. He is enjoying his life to the maximum though he was diagnosed as terminally-ill a year ago, and despite missing Willa the Westie, who died last November.

Franzie's snore is unforgettable. I think of it frequently on the road. It is so calming and peaceful. I listen to it in my imagination, and I, too am calm. Then, the music starts to flow and take over. Out I go on the stage.

Franzie and I wish you much happy listening for the spring.

Midori

We enter the New Year amidst horrendous reports of the aftermath of the tsunami in Asia. Everyday, we hear stories of the sadness and loss of those who have been affected. While the sounds and images we encounter touch the direct victims most strongly, even those of us who were spared have been deeply stricken by this tragedy.

I am currently on tour in Japan and will be here through January 14th. My days are flying by as I perform two recital programs, one consisting entirely of works written after 1979, part of a larger project that included a day-long seminar and master class in Tokyo. Audiences are always eager to receive us and gladly take on the challenges we present, including seminars and lectures focusing on contemporary music. I was particularly impressed with the master class participants, whose assigned repertoire corresponded with the works in our contemporary recital. I made a short hop to Korea as well.

After the horrors of recent days, I hope the New Year will bring back a sense of peace and happiness.

Sincerely,

Midori

November 2004

Dear Friends,

With winter swiftly approaching and the 2004-2005 concert season underway, I find myself more energized and motivated than ever.

This fall marked the inauguration of the Orchestral Residencies Program in Anchorage and Fairbanks Alaska, where I worked with their Symphony and Youth Symphony orchestras. I had a most enjoyable time making and discussing music with youth orchestra members and their affiliated teachers and coaches. I even managed to find time to visit and pet Ingrid, the musk ox, at a nearby farm. Musk oxen are ancient arctic mammals and Ingrid weighed about 700 pounds so I made sure she didn't step on my toes!

Midori and Ingrid

Through another of my projects, the University Residencies Program, I spent very productive weeks at North Park University, Chicago and at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. NPU is the first school to complete the full residency cycle, which is spread over two academic years; a highlight of my week there in November was my interaction with students from all backgrounds. Visiting different classrooms at the University of Wisconsin, Madison gave me the opportunity to engage in college life, which is something I definitely miss since finishing my course work at NYU.

On the performance front, I am happily occupied with preparing contemporary works, including a commission, the wreckage of flowers, by Michael Hersch. New music presents me with new challenges, sounds, and ideas, and I always find that stimulating.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season,

Midori

September 2004

Dear Friends,

A month ago, I thought the summer would never end, but now it's September, and the new concert season is upon us.

The next ten months promise to be as exciting and energizing as ever. With many projects and new undertakings such as the Orchestra Residencies Program [ORP], contemporary music recitals and commissions, and teaching at USC [University of Southern California], alongside ongoing programs such as the University Residencies Program [URP], Partners in Performance [PiP], and 'simply concerts,' not to mention working with my violin students at the Manhattan School of Music, I wonder if I will have time to brush my teeth! Oh yes, and preparations have already begun for the Total Experience projects in Japan in the early summer of 2005.. ...


However, I always make time for moments of reflection, and in those moments, I feel grateful for the sense of togetherness I experience in my life, a gift from others that I cherish dearly.

Sincerely,

Midori

I am in Japan where it is humid, stormy, and windy from the effects of an approaching hurricane. It was very sunny until yesterday, but now the skies look angry and eruptive.

My days are filled with children and music. There are concerts every day at schools--sometimes three in a single day! Even in the heat, the children listen and take in music sincerely; their curiosity fuels my interest and excitement in sharing the time of music with them.

I have been noticing how beautifully school children sing here in Japan. Some schools honor our presence by singing a song for us after our concert, and it is always amazing to watch and listen to a group of children singing in harmony to the baton of a fellow student, accompanied on the piano by another student or two.

One more week of school concerts coordinated by Music Sharing, and then I will be visiting Thailand. I am looking forward to working with young people there as well as to the master classes and special coaching that has been planned.

I am enjoying my summer, and I send you best wishes for a productive one, as well.

Sincerely,

Midori

April 2004

Dear Friends,

Spring is finally here. From my study, I can see clearly over to New Jersey across the Hudson River. Above the buildings is light blue sky into which the birds soar. The river seems calm and inviting, and I can sense the tranquillity before the heat-shock of the summer months.

In my daily life of concertizing, teaching, and studying, I dig deeply into the John Adams Violin Concerto of 1993, which I have recently added to my repertoire. Such a brand-new undertaking is as fresh as a clear spring day here in New York. I look forward, too, to my upcoming trip across the Atlantic to the UK where my pianist Bob McDonald and I will be giving recitals. Already, I can see the bright colors of daffodils in the streets of London!

My students continue to give me much pleasure and always give me something to ponder while I am away from them for a few days on tour. As for my thesis on pain, I am forever battling a typical writer's block but it is progressing, though slowly.

I hope you are also experiencing a nice spring--the season of re-birth and rejuvenation--wherever you are,

Midori

©2003 Lois Greenfield

January 2004

Dear Friends,

I send you greetings from deep within a harsh cold spell here in New York...word has it that it will continue to be rather severe. I'd just as soon not know...

Each morning as I wait for the kettle to boil, I try to picture the winter scene in different parts of the world—the peaks of the Swiss Alps painted winter-white, the wreaths that decorate almost every entryway in Japan, preparations for the Year of the Monkey in Chinatown, and - where it must be green - the sheep meadows outside Auckland.

I'm struck by the diversity of these places, their varied customs and habits, some of which I know and others that I can only imagine. And, reminded of the concert tours ahead of me in the next twelve months, I am excited and looking forward to them.

Warm wishes,

Midori

December 2003

Dear Friends,

Since my last greeting to you, both Partners in Performance (PiP) and the University Residencies Program (URP) have been launched. I am very excited about these new initiatives, and they have made a strong impact on me.

Through these projects, I sense that I am able, yet again, to experience the soulful exchange with many others. Through these exchanges I feel enriched and empowered.

One of my favorite children's books is Mole Music by David McPhail. It tells the story of a mole who lives alone, comfortably, but with the emptiness of something missing. He sends away for a violin, and teaches himself to play. From then on, he plays every day, purely for his own ears, his own enjoyment--simply to embrace the music--and that makes him a happy mole.

For Mole, as it is for me, the music is there for its own sake. It reaches out and is received in its purest form in projects such as PiP and URP.

Wishing you happiness for this season,

Midori

October 2003

Dear Friends,

The season is now well underway. To my amusement, I have to pack sweaters and light coats in my suitcase these days. How long gone are the summer nights!

The new season has much to offer, however. This fall alone sees the inaugural season of my Partners in Performance and the University Residencies Program. Planning and facilitation go on simultaneously for existing Midori & Friends in its 11th year and Music Sharing in its 2nd, as well as various future projects and ideas in the US, Europe, and Asia. And to add to all these, I am enjoying intensive practice sessions of learning and re-learning repertoire including the Violin Concerto by John Adams. Written in 1994, this work requires as much endurance from the soloist as patience in getting it under one's fingers.

For those of my friends wondering about my writing projects, namely the memoir for the German publication and my master's thesis on pain research, both are tackled on a daily basis, at home and on the road. Both give me a sense of calm as I dive deep into retrospection and thinking. My time for writing as well as that spent with my dedicated students at the Manhattan School is, for me, most precious. This is when I sense the inability for anything else to interfere. To have such opportunities for pure concentration, I am fortunate indeed.

With best wishes,

Midori

Dear Friends,

My 2002/03 season is just about over--one more concert tonight at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York, and then I will be off to take refuge in the hills of Vermont.

Much of that time in nature will be spent putting final lines to a personal memoir I am preparing for German publication, delving deeper into research for my thesis on pain, as well as other reading, reflecting, and relaxing. A little violin practice is a possibility, as well!

In the coming season I am particularly looking forward to the inauguration of Partners in Performance and to the University Residencies Program. While this past season was tremendous in its own way, as it was my 20th Anniversary year, next year promises even more new, exciting, learning ventures.

As ever I am energized by the prospects of the unknown that are to come, and I am happy with the anticipation of sharing my discoveries with you in the months ahead.

Sincerely,

Midori

After a whirlwind stop at home in New York in between Europe and Japan, I am happy to be writing from the relative calm of the seaside city of Sasebo, near Nagasaki.

This part of the country is always intriguing for me. There is something different in the color of light here, not dissimilar from that of other southern places I know, like Florida or Spain, but still very unique. Nagasaki as a port was one of the entry points of Western culture many centuries ago. As such, there is still an old, Western colonial influence and the church architecture that attracts the attention of newcomers to the city.

Soon I will be back in Tokyo--only an hour away by plane. There, I am "only a speck in the sand dune " among the urban jungle of modern buildings. When I think about the individual character of various places I visit in Japan, I am amused by the idea I once had that the country was rather uniform.

I am looking forward to visiting with many children in schools and hospitals over the next couple of weeks here in Japan. Each visit brings forth its own set of remarkables, particular to the site and the environment of its vicinity. As always, my life is enriched, and for this, I am thankful.

Sincerely,

Midori

Dear Friends,

Spring is finally here. While the suffocating, hot days of summer are just around the corner -at least in the Northern hemisphere! - I hope there are flowers and blue skies wherever you are logging in from.

The musical season will soon end and, looking back at my activities in the months since last September, I realize that many miles and many notes have been crossed. I also feel blessed as a result of the experiences that came my way in the last year.

May is always a wonderfully interesting month for me. I think of all that went on in the previous nine months - with the passing of another full cycle of my work life. This particular '20th anniversary' season was also one in which new activities and projects, like the Residencies and Partners in Performance, got started.

I am now looking forward to the summer season, with its concertos and chamber music in Europe, Festivals in the US and 27 events in Japan, many of them associated with my Music Sharing project.

Wishing you all a pleasant May,

Midori

March 26, 2003

In the days leading up to the Carnegie Hall recital, I am constantly on the road, performing for audiences in various American cities and towns. Today, in Sarasota, Florida, I am standing by the stage door in a moment of reflection, gazing out to the Bay. I see the water and the light at one with each other and the pelicans sunbathing leisurely.

In contrast to this tranquil scene, there is a wide pendulum of emotions in the music for the current recital program, as there is in the world-at-large, and in my own life. When the calm is realized, it makes an extraordinary impact for its rarity, intensity, and potency, which is profound.

Sincerely,

Midori

11 February 2003

Friends,

15 January 2003

Dear Friends,

I greet you warmly in cyberspace.

There have been quite a number of exciting projects this season for me—surely the privilege of being in the midst of an anniversary year.

It is twenty years since my debut concert in which I performed with the New York Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta, and ten years since the inception of Midori and Friends, which I founded in order to bring music education to children in New York City.

Moreover, this year marks the beginning of the Music Sharing organization in Japan, which will focus on taking performances of classical music and traditional Japanese music to children in schools, hospitals, and institutions.

Indeed, these days are filled with interesting and inspiring activities. And, as I believe that the present is informed by the past, and the future follows the present, I am simply grateful for the projects I have during this time.

Through these web pages, I hope that you can share in the excitement.

The Internet has become an indispensable part of our lives. I look forward to its effective use as the means of communication with you.

Sincerely,

Midori