Midori's new CD, in which she performs Bach's Sonata No. 2 in A minor BWV 1003 and the Sonata No. 1 by Bartok, will be released in Japan on December 19th and elsewhere in 2008.
To view a home video clip of Midori performing extracts from the Bach Sonata and discussing the music
http://www.gotomidori.com/japan/movie/midori05.html
November 2007
Midori & Friends officially kicked-off its 15th Anniversary Season on November 8th with an Adventure Concert by Midori and pianist Tom Sauer at P.S. 72 in East Harlem. Midori and Tom played music by Bach, Beethoven, Dvořák, Chopin, Corigliano and Sarasate for an energetic audience of P.S. 72's fourth- and fifth-graders and their teachers. Friends and families of the students and Midori & Friends supporters were invited to attend this special concert which highlighted lessons and themes covered in the students' music classes.
P.S. 72 has been a partner school of Midori & Friends for five years and a participant in the Adventures in Making Music guitar program for three years. This season is the first for after-school clarinet and flute instrument instruction at the school. For more information about Midori & Friends programs, visit www.midoriandfriends.org.
photos: Julie Lemberger 2007
Midori and her long-time pianist partner Robert McDonald will give four concerts with two different programs at Hamarikyu Asahi Hall in Tokyo in December 2007/January 2008. Midori also will be featured in two pre-concerts performing solo works by Bach.
Midori announced her latest project taking place in Japan. This time she collaborates with the well-known Japanese koto player Kazue Sawai and her group to create a special combination of concerts at Hamarikyu Asahi Hall. At no extra charge, ticket-holders can enjoy both pre-concerts and concerts of Japanese traditional music and Western classical music played alternately by Ms. Sawai's ensemble and by Midori and Bob McDonald.
The aim of this project is to erase the border between Japanese traditional music and Western classical music. Midori said, "Japanese traditional music and Western classical music are believed to be different genres of music; however, after they listen to both the pre-concert and concert, the audience will notice that there is no such border between them. I hope everyone who attends these concerts will not only feel great respect for the creativity of human beings in the past but will become aware of the power of human beings to create our future."
For details (in Japanese) click here
Violinist Midori has been officially designated a Messenger of Peace by Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The announcement of her appointment was timed to coincide with the annual International Day of Peace (21 September 2007). The Messengers of Peace is a program instituted by Kofi Annan, the previous Secretary-General of the United Nations, intended to promulgate the goals and ideals of the United Nations by partnering with prominent individuals who have an established and demonstrated commitment to those goals and ideals in their professional and private lives. Other new honorees are Princess Haya of Jordan, conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim and writer Paulo Coelho.
A statement issued by the United Nations says, "When considering Midori for this designation, the Secretary-General said he was convinced that she would be a compassionate and creative Messenger of Peace given the tremendous contributions she has made through Midori & Friends and her other organizations. He commended her for inspiring young people through music, and for utilizing music education as a compelling way to build a sense of community. As a Messenger of Peace Midori will help to promote the U.N.'s Millennium Development Goals and build upon her commitment to youth."
Midori said, "I am very pleased to have been invited by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to become a United Nations Messenger of Peace This is an opportunity to champion the United Nations' Millennium goals in a meaningful way. I look forward to being an advocate for the cause, working both through my own community engagement organizations and in collaboration with United Nations programs".
First Book, a non-profit organization in the United States, has as its mission to give children from low income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books. Founded in 1992, First Book works with existing literary programs to distribute new books to children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
To date, First Book has provided more than 50 million new books to children in need in hundreds of communities throughout the United States. For Midori's participation in the "What Book Got You Hooked?" campaign, 500 books will be donated to First Book in her name.
To read Midori's "What Book Got You Hooked?" column and to find out more about First Book, click here
Midori will hold masterclasses in violin and chamber music at the Schleswig- Holstein Music Festival from August 1st to 8th 2007. Information, including application guidelines, may be found on the Festival's website, http://www.shmf.de/inhalt.asp?ID
With the application, Midori requests that students send a CD containing at least two different works of their choice. The deadline for applications is May 15, 2007.
Midori welcomes members of existing ensembles, as well as individual instrumentalists, to apply for the chamber music classes. The successful applicants, one violinist, two violists and two cellists, will join Midori in repertoire for string trio, quartet and sextet.
Additionally, four positions are available in the solo violin class and the repertoire is open. As well as repertoire of their choice, successful violin class participants will be required to prepare Witold Lutosławski's Partita for violin and piano.
Each violin student and each ensemble member will receive multiple, intensive coaching sessions leading to a concert on the evening of August 8th.
Masterclasses, held at the Musikhochschule Lübeck, have been part of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival program since 1987. Each summer about 400 students from all over the world apply to take part. The Musikhochschule, situated in the middle of the historic town of Lübeck, offers the participants excellent practice facilities surrounded by the beautiful ambience of the town.
The Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival supplies the participants with board and lodging.
The masterclasses at the Musikhochschule Lübeck also offer visitors and observers the opportunity to gain an insight into the pedagogical process.
At the beginning of each masterclass season, detailed schedules are available from the masterclass office and concerts arising from the classes are performed at the Musikhochschule within the framework of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival. The personal commitment of a number of individuals and institutions enables the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival to provide a limited number of scholarships for selected students.
Midori's Recitals in Winter Park, Florida on March 17th, and Gainesville, Florida on March 18th, were cancelled because of a snowstorm in the Northeastern U.S. that resulted in airport closures.
Please note that the Gainesville concert has been re-scheduled for April 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the University Auditorium.
Midori's Music Sharing program, based in Japan, which brings traditional Japanese and Western classical music to children in schools, hospitals, and institutions, will expand its initiative by conducting its first International Engagement Program.
Between 19 and 31 December, Midori and three young musicians, a violinist, a violist and a cellist, will perform chamber music in schools, orphanages and conservatories in five cities in Vietnam, including schools for minority children from outlying mountainous tribes. The purpose of the International Engagement Program is to offer children, especially children in difficult circumstances, the opportunity to experience the beauty and joy of music and, equally, to offer young musicians the opportunity to widen their horizons and learn more about community engagement.
The participating young musicians, one each from Japan, Canada, and the U.K., were chosen by audition. They will perform a private concert for students at the Hanoi Conservatory of Music and another concert at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music, from which ticket sales revenues will go to the two orphanages to be visited later in the trip.
Midori and the three young members of her quartet will work with musicians from the conservatories in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh to finalize the content of the school visit concerts. Once in the schools and orphanages, the musicians will perform in front of the children as well as talk to them and play with them. The children, for their part, will sing and dance for their musician guests.
Local coordination for the visit to Vietnam has been undertaken by the Vietnam Performing Arts Agency, part of the Ministry of Culture and Information. The ANA (All Nippon Airline) has sponsored the program by providing assistance with transportation costs and other support has come from the Embassy of Japan and the Consulate General of Japan in Vietnam.
The countries being considered for future International Engagement programs include Thailand, Myanmar (formerly Burma), East Timor and Cambodia.
Midori and Robert McDonald performed the world premiere of Lost Landscapes by the leading Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara in Munich's Herculesaal in November 2006. Commissioned by Midori, Lost Landscapes joined works by Bach, Beethoven, Debussy and Richard Strauss on Midori and McDonald's November recital program in four cities in Germany.
The reviewer in the Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote, "Rautavaara loves variegation and mixtures from all eras and styles of music history. With the 'impact' of her airy but energetic body and her profound musicality, Midori commandingly unfolds this music, tender, elegiac and rich in embellishment. Especially successful were the meditative yarn spinning of Ascona and the darkness of the Vienna address, while New York was pictured as a busy perpetuum."
The American premiere of Lost Landscapes takes place on March 2, 2007 in Albany's Palace Theatre, on the first stop of Midori and Robert McDonald's March/April US recital tour, to include performances in New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Virginia and New York's Avery Fisher Hall.
Einojuhani Rautavaara on his composition Lost Landscapes:
The four landscapes were important surroundings for me when studying during my Wanderjahre. My two summers in the US, 1955 and 1956, were spent at the TANGLEWOOD Music Center, where my teachers were Roger Sessions and Aaron Copland. The following year I went to ASCONA, Switzerland to study with Wladimir Vogel, learning 12-tone technique. REINERGASSE 11 is the address of the very romantic, decayed baroque Palais Schönburg in Vienna. WEST 23rd STREET was my address in New York. All these 'landscapes' are full of memories and atmospheres, visual as well as auditory views that are musical life-themes for me. I was interested in developing these themes further when the deeply admired soloist Midori honored me by wanting to play a new work for violin and piano.
In the last piece the tempo is fast and Midori plays it so fast that I wouldn't have believed it possible. It is fantastic when the performer can do exactly what the composer had in mind.
Midori on Lost Landscapes:
Rautavaara's fondness for each of these places is evident in his music. Throughout, the sweetness of memory dominates the character in almost sepia-quality flashbacks. So many emotions, so many experiences, so many surprises, as well as challenges, are intertwined in a seamless flow of nostalgic memory. In the entire work, Rautavaara stays true to the concept that "all memories are tender in their remembrance."
Midori was in Costa Mesa, California, to take part in the opening of the new Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall performing the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. As part of the orchestra's educational commitment, she was invited to interact with the young members of the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra and their families.
According to the PSYO Executive Director Steven Payne, the young members had had joint events with previous PSO guest artists but a couple of hours spent with Midori went way beyond what anyone else had ever done. All the PSYO
students and their parents were invited.
Midori, in her continuing effort to give her students positive and practical experiences, brought an undergraduate chamber group in her charge from USC. The evening began with her speaking about her various activities at USC, where she teaches violin and chamber music and runs the Midori Center for Community Engagement. Then she introduced three of her current chamber music students and proceeded to perform the first movement of Schubert's Death and the Maiden Quartet with them. After the performance, during a Question and Answer session, students asked Midori and her students questions on various topics. It was particularly interesting for the PSYO members, only a year, or a few years away from college themselves, to be able to ask the USC students what they were learning at college, what their priorities were and what steps they were taking toward their respective chosen professions.
Concluding the event was a pizza party, where Midori and her students mingled with the PSYO members and their parents.
Midori and her USC students (Pasha Tseitlin, violin; Whittney Thomas, viola, David Meyer, cello) perform the first movement of Schubert's 'Death and the Maiden' quartet
Midori with PSYO violinist Jamie Niu, a 9th grade high school student from
Orange County, California"
Midori's summer included performances in Japan, Australia and the U.S. Unusually, she decided to take a few weeks off from performing to concentrate on just enjoying herself and playing chamber music with colleagues at the Marlboro Music Festival. In between, with the help of friends, she also packed up her books and other personal belongings to be moved to her apartment in Los Angeles. After living in New York City for nearly a quarter of century, there was much to pack! With her brother beginning college in the autumn and Midori's own increased responsibilities at the University of Southern California, it was time to move her home base to the West Coast. A perfect project for the summer of 2006!
Of course, living in California pretty much requires having a car and Midori has been taking driving lessons, time permitting, over the past year. She says she is "quite comfortable behind the wheel and can easily keep a straight line driving on busy streets". She took a perfect driving practice opportunity at Marlboro between rehearsals, as kind fellow musicians gave her exposure to a variety of cars and real-life scenarios by 'creating' situations in a spacious parking lot around Marlboro College. She therefore felt completely ready for the Road Test scheduled for her last day in New York in mid-August. Leading up to the Big Day, she fine-tuned her skills in the van of a close friend, which had been specially serviced prior to The Test. Unfortunately, on the day of The Test, the car failed and The Test had to be cancelled. It was very anticlimactic, to say the least.
Back in California, without her license, she continues to take public transportation to USC from her apartment in Santa Monica. She is usually on the bus by a few minutes after 5:30 am and comfortably in her studio by 6:15. When in residence at USC, Midori spends most of her waking hours in her studio, where her violin and chamber music students can often be found seeking her guidance. Her studio is always filled with activity whether a lesson, a coaching session or students just 'hanging out.' No matter how pressed she may be for time, she is always the doting mother hen, staying on top of the needs of each and every student under her wings. When she is on tour, she thinks about her students and worries about them incessantly, although she also knows that they actually appreciate the 'down' time away from her.
The first thing Midori did on her return to LA was to prepare the syllabus for her chamber music students. For their parts, Midori's chamber music students are expected to do far more than practice their repertoire, as there is a substantial community engagement and career-training element to their coursework. Besides Midori and her students, her assistant, Jiayi Shi, has also kept very busy. Jiayi, a pianist in her own right, who helps Midori with administrative tasks - including the logistics of her move to California - is a rehearsal pianist for all Midori's concert repertoire and she accompanies Midori's students in their lessons, auditions and performances. As a result, Jiayi has a tremendous amount of music to learn to keep up with everybody.
As the concert season begins, Midori could also be found putting the finishing touches on the music notes for all the works on her recital programs. She uploads these onto her website so that audience members can have access to them before her concerts.
As for Midori's performances this season, she takes part in the inauguration of the new Renee and Henry Segerstrom Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, California, performing the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra this September. As part of the Symphony's request for guest artist involvement in their educational work, Midori will perform with one of her USC chamber music groups for the Pacific Youth Symphony members and their families. Also in repertoire for the current season are the Bartok 2, Beethoven, Bruch, Brahms, Britten, and Barber concertos with orchestras across the US and Europe over the course of the season, including the San Francisco Symphony under Roberto Abbado and the Orchestra of St. Luke's with Donald Runnicles, and the John Adams Violin Concerto under the direction of the composer in London with the London Symphony Orchestra in February and with the Atlanta Symphony in March. Also in March, as guest artist at the annual conference of the American String Teachers' Association in Detroit, Midori plays the G Minor Bruch concerto.
She makes six recital tours, two in the U.S, two in Europe and one in Japan with Robert McDonald and a European tour with Charles Abramovic. Among the thirty-odd cities in which she appears are Philadelphia, Houston, Munich, Frankfurt, New York, Dublin, Ann Arbor, Dresden, Hamburg, Sapporo and Osaka. Her recital repertoire features works by Beethoven, Bach, Debussy, Richard Strauss, Hindemith, Schumann, Webern, Ravel, Enescu and Yun, as well as a major new work for violin and piano by the Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara, Lost Landscapes. Commissioned by Midori in 2004, Lost Landscapes receives its world premiere in Munich in November, and is included in numerous recital programs thereafter.
Throughout the season, Midori also continues her deep involvement in a variety of community- based initiatives that she has established to address the issue of access for music. In the United States, Midori founded Midori & Friends, the Orchestra Residencies Program, University Residencies Program and Partners in Performance. In Japan, she founded Music Sharing and has initiated projects under the title Total Experience. More about these projects can be found elsewhere on this website. During the 2006-2007 season, Midori performs in NYC public schools as part of Midori & Friends and gives Partners in Performance concerts in two small communities in Maryland and in Warm Springs, Virginia. She leads Orchestra Residencies in Montana and North Carolina. As part of Music Sharing, she leads a group of young instrumentalists on an International Community Engagement Program to special schools, hospitals and institutions in Vietnam in December.
The 2006-2007 season will be varied, as always, a full measure of performing, teaching, writing, and community outreach, and a combination thereof. Although flying has become somewhat more problematic in recent times, the positive aspect of all the traveling Midori does is that she is able to see and catch up with friends in many different cities and countries. This season, she will miss seeing her brother regularly but she hopes that the college experience will give him a new perspective on life, as it did for her over ten years ago!
June 2006
Midori's Music Sharing organization piloted a new Comprehensive Program at schools for the disabled that began in April 2006 with the start of the school year in Japan.
Through this new initiative, young and para-professional-level musicians give children with disability weekly lessons at their regular school on instruments of their choice. The instruments range from percussion (timpani and Marimba) and band instruments (saxophone, flute, clarinet, trumpet) to violin.
Music Sharing has successfully obtained instrument donations since the New Year through corporations and individuals. Some of the donated instruments have been adjusted to meet the special needs of the individual students.
This past June, as part of the Comprehensive Program, Midori and pianist Koji Oikawa, her long-time pianist partner for all her Music Sharing presentations, visited the children and their classmates in their schools. Midori commented, "Music Sharing aspires to bring opportunities for children to experience, experiment, and embrace music in various tangible ways. It is my dream, in the near future, to bring together all the children in this special program to create an orchestra as well as a band."
In addition to the school presentations and visits, Midori and Koji also continued their engagement with children at correctional schools and institutions. Through performances, teaching and collaborating with the children, Midori and Koji are grateful to be able to share their artistry and life stories in very spontaneous ways.
June 2006
In late June 2006, twenty three participants from all corners of the United States, including California, Texas, Minnesota, Michigan and New York, as well as from other countries, took part in the first seminar offered by the newly-established Midori Center for Community Engagement at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music. The seminar, titled Bridging Music and Youth focused on community engagement specifically relating to children.
Students, professional players, conductors. and administrators, the participants were eager to exchange ideas and several spoke passionately about community engagement. The three-day seminar was the first public presentation for the Center, which is led by co-directors Susan Helfter and Midori. Participants learned the fundamentals of community engagement presentation from Midori and Susan, as well as from Dean Rob Cutietta of USC-Thornton, Debbie Devine, Artistic Director of the 24th Street Theatre, and Paula Chan Bing, flutist/performer on Asian and Western instruments. Topics covered included presentation and vocal skills, content development, participatory musical activities, national standards, assessment, classroom management, and advocacy. The participants had hands-on learning experience of making presentations and giving critiques.
For more information on the Midori Center, see:
http://www.usc.edu/schools/music/about/signature/
outreach/midori_center/
An article about the Seminar by Midori will appear shortly in the Random Musings section of this website.
December 2005
Midori spent a few mornings during the week of December 12th in public
schools in New York City on behalf of Midori and Friends.
With pianist Thomas Sauer, she performed works by Glazunov, Beethoven,
Brahms and Bartok for students in the third to fifth grades (approximately
ages 8-10) and talked with the children and their teachers about the music,
the composers and the art of interpretation.
Before the concert
Adventure concert
November 2005
AN OVERVIEW OF MIDORI'S 2005-2006 SEASON
Midori's 2005-2006 season takes her to Asia, North and South America and Europe, filled with concerts and masterclasses, teaching, and working closely with several non-profit organizations that she has founded in the U.S. and in Japan.
Before the season began, Midori spent the summer of 2005 primarily in Asia and Europe, where she did a Music Sharing tour with Koji Oikawa involving 24 concerts in 13 cities, gave recitals in Hong Kong, Macao, and Singapore with pianist Peter Vinograde, and performed Total Experience recitals at Universities in Niigata and Atsugi. In Europe, she was a featured artist at the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival, where she performed Prokofiev's Concerto No. 1 with the Festival Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach in Lübeck, Flensburg and Kiel and led master classes in violin and chamber music at the Festival's base in Lübeck over a six-day period, culminating in public performances with the students. Recitals with Charles Abramovic followed in Germany, Croatia, and France, at the Salzburg Festival in Austria, and the Tuscan Sun Festival in Italy where Midori also performed the Beethoven Concerto with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden under the baton of Antonio Pappano. Toward the end of July, Midori visited the Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara at his home in Helsinki to discuss the work for violin and piano that he was in the process of writing for her. She left their meetings feeling both energized and inspired. The work has since been completed; Midori will give the world premiere during the 2006-2007 season.
Back in the U.S., Midori recorded the Bach Sonata in A for Sony/BMG in Worcester, Massachusetts before flying to Los Angeles to settle into her "cute" new apartment there and meet her new students at the University of Southern California (USC). On the first night in the apartment that she shares with a fellow faculty member at USC, Midori slept on a Japanese Futon-inspired bed that her mother had made for her at her request. Midori is determined to make the move herself, so every time she travels from New York to Los Angeles, she brings as much with her as she can carry and returns to New York virtually empty-handed. The apartment is conveniently located so Midori can commute to school on the bus, at least for the present time, although one of her goals for the next year is to get her driver's license. Her studio at USC has been partly refurbished for her use, although she is eager to retain some furniture and engravings that are rumored to have belonged to Gregor Piatigorsky, who taught in that very room in the 1960s and '70s.
In September, for the first time in ten years, Midori returned to Brazil. There she performed with the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo in the wonderful Sala São Paulo, which used to be a train station, and with the Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre. With the former orchestra, she also gave an outdoor concert in Ibirapuera Park, playing Bruch's Concerto No. 1 for a large crowd, and televised nationally. While in Brazil, Midori met and fell in love with two sweet puppies, who returned her adoration. When their sister puppy was born, she was named Midori in her honor. Like the human Midori, the puppy Midori is also always on the go--refusing to sit still!
(Midori
with Schubert and his sister Twiggy)
Anyone who has offered to help Midori carry her luggage in recent years
knows that the book bag tossed casually over her shoulder is deceptively
heavy, weighing easily ten pounds. This is because of a 1500+ page textbook
she has been reading in connection with her Masters thesis, appropriately
on the subject of Pain. If nothing else, the preparation of her thesis
gave Midori first hand experience of back pain. Those who have experienced
the weight of Midori's book bag will be pleased to know that the book
on pain is no longer in it. In early September, Midori successfully defended
her thesis at New York University's Gallatin School!
In September and October, Midori performed Prokofiev's Concerto No. 1 with the San Francisco Symphony/Michael Tilson Thomas, Philadelphia Orchestra/Christoph Eschenbach and New York Philharmonic/Marin Alsop. Midori also gave Partners in Performance (PiP) recitals with Charles Abramovic in Barron Wisconsin and Richland, Washington.
At this writing, Midori looks forward to many upcoming concerts and projects:
- a U.S recital tour with Charles Abramovic in a program featuring works by Mozart, Schoenberg, Prokofiev and Beethoven. Prior to the Disney Hall recital, Midori will perform a short chamber music program with students from USC;
- two performances of Prokofiev's first concerto in Munich with the Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchestra and Mariss Jansons, followed by a seven-concert tour of Japan;
- performances of the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Colin Davis and with the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester (Berlin)/Kent Nagano and of the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra/Mark Wigglesworth and the National Symphony Orchestra/Leonard Slatkin;
- a European recital tour in March with Charles Abramovic featuring works of Lindberg, Mozart, Grieg, Schoenberg and Beethoven;
- an All-Contemporary Program recital tour in the U.S. in April with Robert McDonald with concerts in Buffalo and Stony Brook, N.Y., Middletown, Connecticut and Santa Cruz, California, at the Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, Carnegie/Zankel Hall, New York and the Herbst Theater, San Francisco. The repertoire includes music by Judith Weir, Isang Yun, Alexander Goehr, György Kurtág and Witold Lutosławski. The San Francisco concert will be preceded by two days of special events. Midori is putting together an informative newsletter about contemporary music in general, and the works on her program in particular, which will appear on her website in the weeks leading up to the contemporary recitals. She is also finalizing the repertoire for her All-New-Music recital program for the 2006-2007 season;
- a European tour in May with Robert McDonald with repertoire by Schubert, Prokofiev, Schoenberg and Beethoven, followed by a brief tour with the NDR/Alan Gilbert in which Midori performs the Stravinsky and Beethoven concertos;
- With some European recital dates, there are also plans for a post-concert Bach performance
- Orchestra Residency Programs in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Burlington, Vermont;
- University Residency Programs in Northampton, Massachusetts and Madison, Wisconsin;
- A continuation of her work with Midori and Friends in New York City;
- A recording of Mozart sonatas with Christoph Eschenbach for Sony/BMG in May;
- In most months, Midori spends several days each in Los Angeles and New York, teaching at the University of Southern California and with her students from the Manhattan School of Music. Working with students, and teaching generally (giving lessons, masterclasses and lectures) gives Midori great pleasure and satisfaction. By now all her students are getting used to early morning telephone calls from Midori telling them she has had a bad dream in which they play incorrectly because she has neglected to teach them something during their lesson. In keeping with the interdisciplinary approach that Midori favors, she is working closely with colleagues at USC in the creation of the Midori Center for Community Engagement at the Thornton School of Music at USC. The Center will serve as a resource center for all matters related to community and public engagement, and the seminar will help musicians learn the art of engaging with communities. This latter part is a component of Midori's chamber music syllabus.
Looking ahead to 2006-2007, Midori is already eager for the three weeks she will spend at the Marlboro Music Festival and to appearing with the Sydney, Perth and Melbourne (Australia) symphonies in July/August 2006.
Although Midori travels a great deal, she still considers New York City her "home," at least for the time being. This may change in the next year, when her brother, Ryu, leaves home to go to college and she will be more permanently based in LA. Midori has always kept a close eye on her brother, toward whom she feels great affection and somewhat protective. Ryu, who is scheduled to graduate from high school in May 2006, is applying to colleges this year. Ryu has become more of a companion to Midori in recent years; they enjoy going out to restaurants and attending concerts together, like the one by Dave Brubeck not long ago, which they both loved.
For Midori, "home" is not "home" without dogs. In the past year, she and her family have suffered the loss of both their beloved pooches, Franzie, the long-haired dachshund and Willa, the West Highland terrier. Both animals lived to good old ages but their deaths have left a big hole in the lives of the Goto family, as has the death of Birdie, their pet bird. Midori has been scouring websites and visiting animal shelters in New York City and nearby, looking for a new puppy, so far without success. Hopefully, the Goto apartment will soon again be filled with animal noises and smells. One thing is certain: the new Goto puppy will be a lucky dog, treated like royalty, fed good people-food and with lots of good music to listen to. (It will have to be a puppy because it will have to be bilingual, and it is easier to teach a puppy to understand two languages, than a mature dog.)
Wherever she is in the world in 2005-2006, Midori will be reading voraciously and is likely to have a knitting or crocheting project on the go as well.
Midori
and Charles Abramovic rehearse in Dubrovnik
Midori
with two friends from the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São
Paulo holding Twiggy and Schubert
This
puppy, named Midori, lives in São Paulo. One of her parents is
Artistic Director of the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São
Paulo
Midori will appear at the Lincoln Center branch of Barnes & Noble in New York City (Broadway and 66th Street) on Thursday, 13 October, between 7 and 8 p.m. in conversation with the New York Philharmonic's Director of Education, Theodore Wiprud, on the subject of books that have been meaningful in her life.
While there's no telling how the conversation will flow, some of Midori's favorites books are Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose, Yu Hua's Chronicle of a Blood Merchant, Jung Chang's Wild Swans, Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, Caryl Churchill's Top Girls, Peter C. Whybrow's A Mood Apart, Kay Redfield Jamison's Night Falls Fast, Somerset Maugham's The Moon and Sixpence, Ryszard Kapuscinski's Shadow of the Sun , Willa Cather's O Pioneers! and David K. Shipler's Broken Idols Solemn Dreams.
Midori performs Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the New York Philharmonic and Marin Alsop on October 14, 15, and 18.
August 2005
MIDORI BLOGS ARTSJOURNAL.COM
For two weeks in late June and early July, while Midori was performing and teaching in Asia. she took park in a blog conversation with ArtsJournal editor Douglas McLennan.
Titled Midori in Asia, the blog can be accessed at www.artsjournal.com/midori
MIDORI TO GIVE MASTERCLASSES IN LÜBECK
As part of her week-long residency at the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival (SHMF) in July, Midori will give masterclasses in violin and chamber music between July 25th and 29th. Open to the public, the masterclasses will take place at the Musikhochschule in Lübeck.
Masterclasses have been an important part of the SHMF since 1987 and approximately 400 applications are received each year from all over the world from students wishing to take part. In addition to Midori's violin and chamber music classes this summer, the SHMF will also hold masterclasses in marimba, voice, double bass, piano, viola, voice, percussion, cello and vocal ensemble.
At the conclusion of each masterclass, there will be a public concert; Midori's students will perform on the evening of July 29th at the concert hall of the Musikhochschule Lübeck.
Further information
for prospective applicants and for observers may be found at
http://www.shmf.de/index2.html
May 2005
COCKTAILS, MUSIC AND DINNER IN SUPPORT OF MIDORI & FRIENDS
Midori & Friends held its 2005 Gala on April 6th at New York's St. Regis Hotel.
There was much to celebrate. Following cocktails in the Library, the guests were ushered into the Versailles Room for a musicale. A performance of Wouldn't It Be Loverly by students from P.S. 180 in Harlem began the special concert in tribute to Kitty Carlisle Hart, the widow of Moss Hart, who was the director of the original Broadway production of My Fair Lady in 1956. Following the children's performance, Mrs. Hart was presented with the second Champion for Children Award.
Immediately afterwards, Midori and pianist Jiayi Shi performed Mozart's Sonata in A Major K305 and Szymanowski's Notturno e Tarantella. The musicale concluded with Canadian Brass playing selections works by Vivaldi, Fats Waller, and the Beatles.
The celebration continued with formal dinner on The Roof during which two other awards were presented: the Distinguished Leadership Award for Arts and Education to Midori & Friends Vice Chair, Bonnie Reiss and the Ambassadors Award, to Canadian Brass.
The Midori & Friends Gala had begun with music performed by students. The evening concluded with a jazz presentation by the Landmark and Coalition High School Jazz Ensemble, drawn from Landmark High School and the Coalition School for Social Change where Midori & Friends has overseen the jazz program for three years. The Ensemble excelled in works by Herbie Hancock, Pedro Flores and George Gershwin.
For more information on the work of Midori & Friends, visit www.midoriandfriends.org
Midori and Jiayi Shi
performing in the Versailles Room
photo:
Steven Ladner
Second Grade Vocal Students from P.S. 180 in Harlem
photo: Steven Ladner
The LC Jazz Ensemble performing in the Rooftop Dining Room
photo: Steven Ladner
JOHANN-A-THON
TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CLASSICAL ACTION
Some of Midori's students at the Manhattan School of Music are involved
in setting up a four-part, twelve-hour music event celebrating the life
and music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The performers are students and faculty
of the MSM.
Johann-a-thon 2005 will take place on Saturday April 2nd at St. James Chapel, Union Theological Seminary, in New York City.
Guest Artists include Dr. Kenneth Cooper, Dr. Walter Hilse, Midori, David Soyer, and Peter Vinograde.
Proceeds from Johann-a-thon 2005 will benefit Classical Action: Performing Arts Against AIDS.
For programs, times, performers and ticket information, please go to www.Johann-a-thon.org
MIDORI GIVES
PRE-CONCERT PERFORMANCES AT LOS ANGELES WALT DISNEY HALL
Midori performed the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Orchestra in February. Before each of the four performances, she took
part in a pre-concert event in which she performed Beethoven's "Archduke
Trio" with pianist Karina Sabac and cellist Ruslan
Biryukov. Karina and Ruslan are students at the University of
Southern California's Thornton School of Music, where Midori has held
the Jascha Heifetz Chair since last September.
February 2005
A MONTH IN THE LIFE
Midori kept a diary
for the month of December 2004 for Gramophone magazine. To read the full
text, which appears on Gramophone's website, please click the following
link:
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/interviews_detail.asp?id=2282
December 2004
MIDORI PERFORMS
FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN IN
NEW YORK CITY
Sandwiched between her Carnegie Hall recital and an extended tour of Asia, Midori spent a few days sharing her music with school children in New York City. Under the auspices of Midori & Friends, she and pianist Tom Sauer visited PS (Public School) 48 in Jamaica, PS 139Q in Rego Park, and PS 180M in Harlem..
Midori and Tom performed works by Copland, Beethoven, Kreisler and Mozart, among others. Paula Bing, Education Consultant for Midori & Friends, guided the children through the concert, with help from Midori and Tom. At P.S. 180, as a treat before Midori and Tom's presentation, the school's children's choir, inaugurated by Midori & Friends during the 2004-2005 school year, gave a mini-performance.
Midori and Tom will give more concerts for Midori & Friends in the spring; in the meantime, the children will be kept busy with other Midori & Friends programs, including non-classical presentations, which will continue through the winter months.
Public School 48
September 2004
MIDORI'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2004
Midori's autobiography "Einfach Midori" ("Simply Midori") was released by the German publisher Henschel Verlag on 30 September 2004. In a straightforward and critical way, Midori recalls 20 years of an impressive career which began in 1982 when, at the age of eleven, she gave her debut with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta.
"Einfach Midori" depicts her successes, large and small, obstacles and disappointments, both professional and personal, and her hopes and plans for the future.
The book has been published in German exclusively and may be ordered online through the publisher
or through Amazon.de
August 2004
MIDORI TO GIVE MASTER CLASS IN TOKYO DECEMBER 26, 2004
Midori will hold a master class in Tokyo in connection with her Contemporary Music Project, involving 12 concerts in Japan in December 2004 and January 2005.
Date: Sunday,
26 December 2004 (3 to 7 p.m.)
Place: Tokyo Opera City (Large Rehearsal Room)
Eligibility: Violin students at a para-professional level, aged 16-25, of any nationality are invited to apply between September 13 and November 12, 2004.
Requirements: There is a non-refundable application fee of 2000 Yen. Each applicant should submit details of his or her musical background and a recording (on CD, MD, or DAT) of the work chosen for the master class (from the list below), as well as two contrasting movements from a standard concerto/sonata.
Master Class Repertoire: The work to be performed at the master class must be chosen from among the following works that Midori and Robert McDonald will perform at their recitals in Obihiro, Mibu-cho, Osaka, Sapporo, Niigata and Tokyo:
Judith Weir: Music
for 247 Strings (1981) (published by Novello)
Isang Yun: Violin Sonata No. 1 (1991) (published by Bote&Bock)
Alexander Goehr: Suite for Violin and Piano Op. 71 (2000) (published
by Schott)
Gyorgy Kurtag: Tre Pezzi per violino e pianoforte, Op. 14e
(1996) (published by EMB)
Witold Lutoslawski: Partita (1984) (published by Chester)
Additional Information: Applicants must purchase their own music, which is available through the internet via the publishers' websites or through YAMAHA Music Store in Ginza (Tel: +81 3-3572-3136) and must bring their own pianists to the master class. Applicants are responsible for their own traveling and accommodation expenses.
For further information, including details of the bank account into which Application Fees should be paid, contact:
OFFICE GOTO CO., LTD.
2-5-18-501, Kojimachi,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
102-0083 Japan
Tel: 03-3262-8582
Fax: 03-3262-8634
E-mail: wakako@sym-tokyo.com
August 2004
MIDORI AND ROBERT McDONALD TO TOUR JAPAN WITH ALL-CONTEMPORARY PROGRAM
In recent years, Midori and her long-time pianist partner, Robert McDonald, have included new and lesser-known works in their recital programs in order to broaden the horizons of audience members. Their repertoire for an extensive recital tour of Japan in December 2004/January 2005 underlines their commitment with a commissioned work and a program consisting entirely of music composed after 1981.
The commissioned work, by the American composer Michael Hersch, is the wreckage of flowers: Twenty-one pieces after poems and prose of Czeslaw Milosz. Following the world premiere in Lisbon on 21 November 2004, Midori and Robert McDonald perform the work in Madrid, London, Glasgow, Munich and New York City before bringing it to Japan, specifically to Obihiro, Osaka, Sapporo, Kita-Kyushu, Matsumoto, Niigata and Tokyo.
The all-contemporary program consists of Judith Weir's Music for 247 Strings, Isang Yun's Sonata No. 1, Alexander Goehr's Suite, Op. 70, Gyorgy Kurtag's Tre Pezzi and Witold Lutoslawski's Partita.
In connection with the all-contemporary program, Midori has prepared an educational Pre-Concert Event to be held at Tokyo Opera City on 26 December. This will be open at no charge to ticket holders to the concert on 12 January at Takemitsu Memorial Hall (also at Tokyo Opera City). The object of the December 26th Event is to invite participants to examine contemporary music from different perspectives, to enhance their listening enjoyment of Midori's Contemporary Music Concert and to promote contemporary music in general.
The day will be divided into four sessions: morning and afternoon lecture discussions, a master class (devoted to the works on Midori's Contemporary Music Concert) and a reception. The lecture discussions will feature guest speakers drawn from musicologists, composers and hosts of classical music programs, as well as Midori herself. Audience participation will be encouraged. At the end of the afternoon there will be a short performance by Midori and Robert McDonald.
Four pre-selected young musicians will be invited to take part in a public master class given by Midori. During the master class, an overhead projector will enable audience members to follow the scores. A question and answer session will follow the master class with long-distance questions, particularly via e-mail and telephone, will be welcomed.
Video footage, including interviews with contemporary composers, will be shown in the lobby area for a few weeks leading up to the concert, along with a display of photographs. These will also be shown at the Yamaha Music Store in Ginza and at other CD shops and music stores. A listening space (mobile library) will be set up to enable members of the public to listen to works by the composers represented in the concert in a comfortable setting. Scores will be available so interested audience members can examine them and/or follow them while listening to the recordings.
The Pre-Concert Event will be capped off with a reception open to everyone who attended the day's events.
June 2004
MIDORI AND PETER VINOGRADE IN BANGKOK
Midori and pianist Peter Vinograde were in Bangkok for three very busy days. On 29 June, over 500 music students from all over Thailand were invited to listen to their private recital at the Small Hall of the Thailand Cultural Center, which included works by Mozart, Ravel, Goehr, and Dvořák. The duo concert was followed by Peter's mini-piano recital exclusively for piano students, with works by Bach and Beethoven. Later that day, both Peter and Midori gave masterclasses and private coaching to selected Thai instrumentalists.
On 30 June, Midori
and Peter gave a charity concert at the Main Hall of the Thailand Cultural
Center, which was attended by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and
HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana Krom Luang Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra. The
proceeds from the performance will benefit the Support Foundation of HM
Queen Sirikit of Thailand and HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Foundation.
Midori and Peter wish
to express special thanks to Toshiba Thailand and to the Bangkok Symphony
Foundation for their wonderful support and hospitality.
Midori and the pianist
Peter Vinograde, with Mrs. Wattanavrangkul of Thai Toshiba and Mrs. Tejapaibul
of Bangkok Symphony
Midori with music students in Thailand
Midori giving masterclass in Bangkok
April 2004
Midori's recital with Robert McDonald in April 2004 at Dublin's National Concert Hall was broadcast Wednesday June 9th at 9 p.m.on RTE Lyric fm (96-99 fm), Ireland's Music and Arts Channel.
May 2004
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.).
February 2004
MIDORI GIVES A MASTERCLASS AT BOWLING GREEN UNIVERSITY
Anabelle Tirado, Cheng Hu, Emily Coplin and Kathleen Jara, students at the College of Musical Arts, Bowling Green University in Ohio, took part in a masterclass with Midori and also attended Midori's recital at Kobacker Hall on February 13th.
Anabelle Tirado, Cheng Hu, Midori, Emily Coplin, Kathleen Jara
February 2004
MIDORI TO APPEAR ON WQED MARCH 31ST 2004
A brief profile of Midori and her San Francisco recital will be broadcast on Spark, a culture/news program, on the Bay Area's PBS TV station, KQED. The First broadcast is scheduled for Wednesday, March 31st at 7:30pm with a repeat on April 2nd at 11pm.
January 2004
MIDORI MEETS STUDENT ORCHESTRA MEMBERS
Midori made side trips in January 2004 to visit with young musicians -- in Dayton, Ohio and in Detroit, Michigan.
On 10 January, beating
the extreme cold, members of the Dayton Philharmonic's
Junior String Orchestra gathered for their first rehearsal after a holiday
hiatus, met with Midori during their rehearsal break. This young
orchestra is comprised of 53 students from grades 6 to 12, who rehearse
every Saturday during the school year under the guidance of conductor
Karen Young. The young performers listened intently as Midori spoke about
her
career and responded enthusiastically with many questions.
On another cold day a week later, members of the Detroit Symphony Civic Sinfonia met with Midori after their rehearsal. This group, now happily situated in the new Max M. Fisher Music Center, is made up of young players from all over Michigan who have been selected through a rigorous audition to work with conductor Charles Burke. They also asked Midori a lot of questions and were eager to get a glimpse of the life of a professional performer.
Q&A with the Detroit
Civic Sinfonia members
Lobby scene at the The Schuster Performing Arts Center in Dayton, Ohio
Visiting the members of the Dayton Junior Philharmonic
MIDORI'S MENDELSSOHN/BRUCH CD WINS AWARD
Midori's recently released recording of the Mendelssohn and Bruch ViolinConcertos has received the Quarterly Prize of the German Record Critics (Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik).
November 2003
LIFT OFF FOR PARTNERS IN PERFORMANCE
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.
Greeting well-wishers after the performance
October 2003
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"
The lecture took place in the Home Room looking out to the Riverside Park and the Hudson River
October 2003
A MASTER CLASS
IN TORONTO
On October 15, 2003, the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Glenn
Gould Professional School of the Royal Conservatory of Music jointly presented
a master class led by Midori.
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
Jennie Press and Midori (photo: Cliff Spicer)
October 2003
ONE SEASON'S
REPERTOIRE
Sometimes people ask Midori which works - and how many works - she has
performed in a single season. For those who are interested, here is a
list of the music Midori has performed during her 20th anniversary (2002-2003)
season. The music is listed in three categories: works for violin and
piano, chamber music and concertos.
In putting together recital programs, Midori tries to combine better-known and lesser-known pieces. It's more interesting for her and she hopes it's also something of an ear-opener for members of the audience.
Midori is constantly
searching for new pieces that she can learn and then share with her audiences.
The Amy Beach Romance is one of these. So are Lutoslawski's Subito, Schulhoff's
Second Sonata and Szymanowski's Myths.
Violin and Piano:
Amy Beach: Romance
Beethoven: Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 12 No. 1
Beethoven: Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 (Kreutzer)
Beethoven: Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96
Brahms: Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op.100
Dvořák:
Sonatina in G Major, Op. 100
De Falla/Kochanski: Suite populaire espagnole
Grieg: Sonata No.3 in C minor, Op. 45
Janáček: Sonata (1914, Rev.1921)
Lutoslawski: Subito (1992)
Mendelssohn: Sonata in F Major (1838)
Mozart: Sonata in G Major, KV 301
Mozart: Sonata in E minor, KV304 (300c)
Mozart: Sonata in A Major, KV526
Mozart: Sonata in C Major KV296
Paganini: La Campanella
Ravel: Tzigane (1924)
Sarasate: Zapateado, Op. 23 No. 2
Schnittke: Sonata No.1 (1963)
Schulhoff: Sonata No. 2, SZ 76
Schumann: Sonata in A minor, Op.105
R. Strauss: Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 18
Szymanowski: Myths, Op. 30
Tchaikovsky: Waltz-Scherzo in C Major, Op.34
Webern: Four Pieces, Op. 7
Chamber Music:
Brahms: Sextet in B-flat, Op. 18
Dvořák: Terzetto, Op. 74
Mozart: Duo for Violin and Viola in B-flat, K424
With Orchestra:
Barber: Concerto, Op. 14
Dvořák:Concerto
in A minor, Op. 53
Elgar: Concerto in B minor, Op. 61
Mendelssohn: Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
Mozart: Concerto No. 3 in G Major, K216
Saint-Saëns: Havanaise
Saint-Saëns: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso
Sibelius: Concerto in D minor, Op. 47
September 2003
MIDORI KICKS OFF HER 2003-2004 SEASON WITH BRAHMS IN HONOLULU AND MILWAUKEE
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
The ocean view in Waikiki
A visit to the Hawaii Public Radio for an interview
Pre-concert talk at Blaisdell Auditorium
Q & A with members of The Milwaukee Youth Symphony members