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ORCHESTRA RESIDENCIES PROGRAM 2013/1014 APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

23 January 2012

The Orchestra Residencies Program (ORP) is now accepting applications for 2013/2014. The deadline is March 1, 2012. Please visit the Applications & Guidelines page for details.

Each season, through The Orchestra Residencies Program (ORP), Midori spends five to seven days working intensively with youth orchestras, performing with the related adult symphonies, and participating in assorted education, advocacy and outreach projects. Read more

This season's ORPs will take place in Oregon (with the Eugene Symphony and Arts Umbrella youth orchestras) and in Virginia (with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra and Arlington County/ T.C. Williams High School Orchestras). In 2012/2013, there will be ORPS in Arkansas (with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra) and in Pennsylvania (with the Reading Symphony Orchestra and Reading Symphony Youth Orchestra).






PARTNERS IN PERFORMANCE 2013/2014 APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

23 January 2012

Partners in Performance (PiP) seeks applicants for the 2013/2014 season. The deadline for submitting applications in May 15, 2012.

Founded by Midori in 2003, Partners in Performance is a non-profit organization that co-presents chamber music concerts with the goal of stimulating interest in classical music in smaller communities outside the radius and without the financial resources of major urban centers.

PiP has already sponsored over twenty concerts in states from Maine to Washington. In May 2012 Midori and pianist Charles Abramovic perform PiP recitals in Melbourne, Florida and Morehead Kentucky. The successful applicant for a PiP recital in the 2012/2013 season is the Arts and Lecture Series of Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Kentucky.






ICEP 2010/2011 CONCLUDES WITH FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES AND REPORTING EVENTS IN JAPAN

May/June 2011

Kuzuu ES
          "Kuzuu Elementary School"  Photo: Music Sharing

Midori and the three young musicians who accompanied her to Laos with the International Community Engagement Program (ICEP) in December 2010, re-assembled in Japan in May/June 2011 for two additional weeks of reporting events and concerts. The repertoire included part of the program they had shared with children in Laos.

The reporting events provide a unique opportunity for Japanese students (both music and non-music students), young musicians and teachers, as well as members of the general public, to hear first-hand accounts from the participating artists of what they thought, felt and learned through their ICEP experience.

The participating artists, Midori, violinist Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, violist Helena Baillie and cellist Peter Myers, travelled from Yamagata Prefecture in the north to Kochi Prefecture in the south by train, bus, van and car, visited elementary and high schools and institutions, and made good use of their ICEP experience to engage with the children. They played for them, answered their many questions, listened to their orchestra rehearsals and coached sectional rehearsals.

STQ
          "Kami-Kawaguchi Elementary School"
          Photo: Shinobu Suzuki

The musicians visited a children's hospital near Yokohama, entering the wards and individual rooms and performing in the lobby, where patients, their parents, doctors and nurses listened attentively. They also performed public concerts in Osaka and Tokyo.

Peter and Helena also experienced a Japanese Tea Ceremony. They all enjoyed the hospitality of their many Japanese hosts all around the country.

Tea Ceremony
          "Peter and Helena at Japanese Tea Ceremony"
          Photo: Music Sharing

Read the running blog kept by Midori, Cindy, Helena and Peter while in Japan and see photos of their adventures: http://www.47news.jp/culture/midori/english/






MIDORI'S RESIDENCY WITH THE QUAD CITY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND QUAD CITY YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

April 2011

By Nathan Reiff

As the Project Director of Midori's Orchestra Residencies Program, I have had the opportunity to help conceive and plan residency weeks (or "ORPs," as well call them) before. Since 2004, Midori has engaged in ORPs around the United States two times each year, stopping off in communities with youth orchestras to spend several days doing all sorts of activities. A typical ORP may include rehearsals, masterclasses, and other educational projects, advocacy work, and meetings to help facilitate future collaboration between student musicians and the local professional orchestra, not to mention performances of all kinds. From April 13-17, 2011, Midori was in Quad City, Iowa, to work with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and the Quad City Youth Symphony Orchestra, and I was fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in an ORP in person for the first time.

When I arrived on the evening of April 13th, Midori and her graduate student Moni Simeonov had already had a very busy day in Quad City. After arriving on an early morning flight, they went straight to the Genesis East Hospital, one of the primary health care centers in the area and a supporter of the QCSO. There, they met with and played for patients in the cardiac rehab center. Midori also recorded a Public Service Announcement for local television stations and participated in a press conference to help kick off the residency. After the trip to Genesis, Midori and Moni visited two area schools to meet children, give a short demonstration performance, and answer questions about music and performing. A masterclass with violin students at local Augustana College followed before an evening rehearsal with the QCSO. That was all before I even arrived!

masterclass
          "Masterclass"  Photo: Moni Simeonov

April 14th was no less busy, with trips to two more local schools, an interview at Augustana's classical music radio station, WVIK, and rehearsals with the QCYSO. The students at Davenport North High School and Washington Elementary School were incredible to watch during Midori and Moni's performance. I've never seen students so well-behaved and engrossed! The questions they asked were thoughtful and showed their interest and familiarity with music. The elementary school even had posted a cardboard cut-out of Midori outside the gymnasium where she played, so the students recognized her immediately when she entered the building.

One of the primary focuses of the Orchestra Residencies Program is the youth orchestra. Midori and Moni were eager to begin rehearsing with the Quad City Youth Symphony Orchestra on the afternoon of the 14th. With three performances to come on the 15th, the orchestra director had cleverly planned to have three different violinists from the youth orchestra perform a movement of the Bach Double with Midori as the other soloist. Midori and Moni met with these three soloists to rehearse and share advice before rehearsing the finale of the Bruch concerto (with Midori as soloist) with the full orchestra. Moni found a vacant seat in the second violins and played with the orchestra.

When Midori wasn't rehearsing, the orchestra kept her busy with other events, including an advocacy luncheon, an "Inside the Music" lecture series for the public, and a benefit dinner that all took place on the 14th as well. These events provided an excellent opportunity for Midori to realize another primary goal of the Orchestra Residencies Program -helping to advocate for music and music education in the community. At each of these activities, the excitement and energy was palpable. Members of the orchestra administration, patrons from the community, and audience members alike listened intently and shared their views on the vitality of the orchestras in Quad City. Communication both about and inspired by music is one of the elements that we always work to create while planning a residency project. To see it happening before me was very inspiring.

Inside the Music
          "Inside the Music"  Photo: Nathan Reiff

April 15th began with what must surely be one of the largest events in ORP history; the QCYSO performed three different concerts for local 4th and 5th grade students in the 2200-seat Adler Theater, and the hall was full each time. While the student soloists and the orchestra alike had seemed a bit nervous in rehearsal the day before, it was apparent that they loosened up and had a lot of fun over the course of the three concerts. In between performances, Midori and Moni chatted with students, played a bit, and answered questions. Moni also jumped at the opportunity to meet Pauli Mayfield, Miss Iowa 2010, who was a former QCYSO member and the narrator for the orchestra's performance of Britten's "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra."

Each orchestra works to find unique activities for its residency that will maximize exposure to the individual community in which it is based. One of the activities that the Quad City Symphony administrators had planned since the application process was a composition contest for area students from elementary school up through college age. The competition, called "Mi-Do-Ri," was based on a motive using the three solfege notes represented by the syllables of Midori's name. All of the applicants had the opportunity to workshop their pieces with a professor of composition at Augustana College, and six finalists were chosen to have their pieces performed for the public in a showcase on the afternoon of the 15th. Allen Ohmes, the concertmaster of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, graciously agreed to play the compositions for a sizable crowd. Midori is a proponent of new music, and she and Moni listened as the pieces were premiered and the composers took turns speaking about their inspiration and ideas. It was wonderful to hear the different pieces and to see students from all around the state participating in contest through the residency.

The QCSO regularly hosts hot dog dinners for the community to enjoy a family meal and observe the orchestra rehearsing with Maestro Mark Russell Smith. With Midori's first performance of the Beethoven concerto with the QCSO coming up the next day, about 500 people showed up on the evening of the 15th to have a bite to eat and learn about the rehearsal process. Midori and Moni spoke with Jeff vom Saal, the executive director of the orchestra, before joining the orchestra for the rehearsal. It was actually difficult to get the audience to move into the rehearsal hall because they were so interested in asking questions! With topics ranging from practice techniques to travel stories to musical interpretation and much more, Midori and Moni happily answered questions from an engaged and active audience. Throughout the evening, what seemed like an army of helpful volunteers (all dressed alike in neon green "Midori" t-shirts) worked tirelessly to shepherd the audience, supply hot dogs and generally ensure that everything went smoothly.

Bows & Bridges
          "Bows & Bridges"  Photo: Moni Simeonov

With other obligations back in New York City, I unfortunately had to depart before seeing the final two days of the residency. Highlights from the next two days included the Bows & Bridges event, which saw Mark Russell Smith lead a rehearsal and performance of young musicians alongside Midori and Moni, and the two culminating performances with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra. Even during my short time in Iowa, I was overwhelmed with the ways that the various activities of the residency seemed to draw members of the community together. With over 25 different activities that reached approximately 12,000 people during less than one week, I can only imagine the feelings of exhaustion and satisfaction that Midori, Moni and everyone involved in the residency in Quad City felt on Sunday afternoon. There's little time to rest, though, as there are more residencies to plan for next season!






ORCHESTRA RESIDENCIES FOR 2012/2013 ANNOUNCED April 2011

Congratulations to the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra in Little Rock, Arkansas and to the Reading Symphony Orchestra and Reading Symphony Youth Orchestra in Reading, Pennsylvania, selected for Midori's Orchestra Residencies Program (ORP) in 2012/2013.






MIDORI IN MOOSE COUNTRY-- HER "PiP" CONCERT IN FORT KENT, MAINE April 2011

By Charles Danziger

When Midori was scheduling her Partners in Performance ("PiP") concert in Fort Kent, Maine, her assistant told me cheerfully that Midori was planning to fly to Philadelphia after the evening performance and reception.

As a part-time resident of Fort Kent (as well as a PiP board member), I had to chuckle at this somewhat overly optimistic itinerary. Fort Kent is located in the far northeastern corner of the U.S., right on the Canadian border. The nearest airport ("Presque Isle") is about 2 hours away (counting for moose and snow on the roads), and has very limited flights in or out. Driving is, of course, an option-if one doesn't mind the 14-hour ride to Philadelphia.

Fort Kent is also a fascinating community comprised largely of Acadians- i.e. descendants of 17th-century French colonists. It is known for its stunning outdoors, and hosts the World Cup Biathlon as well as the Can Am dog sled race. In short, it is a town with tremendous culture that is, because of its remote location, cut off from much culture. In this sense alone, it was the perfect choice for the sort of outreach that PiP strives to achieve.

I am happy to report that, despite fears of snowstorms, Midori did arrive in Northern Maine as planned- on a sun-drenched day, with snow glistening. Together, we drove from the airport directly to the Fort Kent elementary school, passing ominous signs along the road that warned: "Break for Moose- It Could Save Your Life." At the school, Midori played a short piece by Bach for the local children. She then fielded questions ranging from "What are your bow strings made of?" to "What do you do if you screw up during a concert?" to "Does all your traveling give you lots of frequent flyer miles?"

Next stop was the cozy home of Dr.Byoung Yang in Fort Kent, a charming physician who had graciously offered to put up Midori and her accompanist, the marvelously gifted pianist Charles ("Charlie") Abramovic. Midori immediately set up shop practicing violin in the living room. Byoung had kindly produced a music stand and humidifier for Midori's violin. My main responsibility was to cook dinner (I had toyed with the idea of making Greek "moussaka" with real ground moose, but I resisted the obvious pun and opted for a safer roast chicken instead.)

That evening over dinner, Midori, Byoung and I discussed outreach in rural America with the university's music professor, Scott Brickman- himself a composer whose works had recently been performed in New York. In preparation for the PiP event, Scott had also taught a special class in the community on Midori and classical music.

The next morning (the day of the concert), I got up early to prepare the local specialty for Midori and Charlie for breakfast- i.e., "ployes," which are deliciously addictive buckwheat pancakes resembling crêpes. But I miscalculated the amount of water in the recipe, and they were a flop (though Charlie made a valiant effort to eat one). Ever the trooper, Midori interrupted her violin practicing to correct the recipe and serve up a stack of ployes, complete, of course, with delectable local maple syrup (though purists stick to just butter).

Throughout the day, Midori and Charlie practiced for the concert, ably assisted by their page turner Joanne Zafonte, herself a beloved piano teacher to virtually every piano student in Fort Kent.

We took a break for lunch, and had a choice between the two local dives- the "Swamp Buck" or "Doris's Café." We opted for the latter, and were served homemade bread and... yes, more ployes.

Charlie was so smitten with the charm of Fort Kent- rolling hills, picturesque lakes, French-speaking Canada at the doorstep, and a truly delightful community- that he declared that he wanted to return there for a summer vacation with his family.

Throughout the rest of the day, I played chauffeur for the two musicians, as did our friend Dr.Ganesh Mochida (a pediatric neurologist at Harvard who had made the special trip up north to hear Midori).

At 7 pm, the audience began to file into the performance venue: the Fox Auditorium at the University of Maine at Fort Kent ("UMFK"). The audience included local Mainers and Canadians (including a contingent from the Canadian "Jeunesses Musicales"), dressed in everything from casual clothing, to black-tie, to- in the case of one little boy named Aaron- a top hat.

at Fort Kent
          Photos: The University of Maine at Fort Kent

After a warm and welcoming speech by Dr.Wilson Hess, the affable new President of UMFK, Suzanne Nance of Maine Public Broadcasting roused the crowd with an enthusiastic introduction to the concert. Ms. Nance pointed out that at least 3 other much larger cities in Maine had tried for years to convince Midori to play there, but it was tiny Fort Kent that had managed to win her. Ms. Nance cheered: "You did it, Fort Kent!" (or words to that effect.) The public loved this, and clearly realized that they were in for something special.

Which was the understatement of the year.

Midori (wearing a long red dress) and Charlie gave a thrilling hour and half performance of Beethoven, Bach, Franck and Ravel. Many in the community have since told me that it was one of the most memorable events this town of about 6,000 had ever experienced.

Truth to tell, most of the locals had not heard of Midori before the concert, and certainly had no exposure to this caliber of live classical music. But the impact of the evening's dazzling performance was palpable- not to say audible, given the loud "oohs!" and "ahhhs!" from various corners of the auditorium as Midori and Charlie played with extraordinary power, skill, and verve. At moments during the concert, the crowd was so enraptured by the music that one could hear a pin (or more appropriate for this rural community, a potato) drop.

PiP's mission of outreach was fulfilled in spades, and I can report from personal experience that Fort Kent residents are still gushing about that unforgettable evening.

After the concert, Midori insisted on greeting the entire audience in the lobby before the champagne reception that followed for those who had paid a bit more. She chatted up the locals, posed for photographs with them, signed autographs, and, for about two hours, became a part of the local scene. Proceeds from the evening benefited the University's International Performers Series, which provides free entertainment to university students and the greater Fort Kent community.

at Fort Kent
          Photos: The University of Maine at Fort Kent

at Fort Kent
          Photos: The University of Maine at Fort Kent

Finally, at around 11:30 pm, Midori and Charlie got into the car to return to Presque Isle for the 6 a.m. flight the next morning. They brought back with them the heartfelt thanks from this amazing little town- not to mention a special souvenir: packages of the mix needed to make- what else?- "ployes."






ICEP LAOS REACHES 4000 STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND LOCAL PEOPLE

December 2010

Laos
          "Luang Prabang Orphanage School"
          Photo: Shinobu Suzuki

Between December 20-30 2010, Midori led a quartet of young musicians on Music Sharing's fifth International Community Engagement Program (ICEP), this time to Laos. They travelled extensively, visiting numerous schools, hospitals and other institutions and performed a total of 21 concerts for approximately 4,000 students, teachers and locals.

Laos
          "Sathit Primary School"  Photo: Shinobu Suzuki

International Community Engagement Program's goals:
- to offer children, especially those in difficult circumstances, the opportunity to experience the beauty and the treasure of music;
- to give the participating young musicians an opportunity to broaden their horizons, especially with regard to community engagement;
- to promote international exchange, not only between Japan and the target country but also between the home countries of the participating artists and the target country;
- to inspire cultural understanding and establish friendships with the objective of creating a more peaceful world.

ICEP sent a string quartet to Vietnam in 2006, Cambodia in 2007, Indonesia in 2008, and Mongolia in 2009.

Read a detailed Tour Report of the 2010 ICEP in Laos:






MIDORI'S ORCHESTRA RESIDENCIES PROGRAM IN CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE 13-17 October 2010

Midori and one of her students at USC, Moni Simeonov, spent five action-filled days in and around Chattanooga, TN for the latest Orchestra Residencies Program. They visited nearby Lee University and the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, local elementary and high schools, and a learning center for students with special needs, at all of which they performed short programs and talked with students and faculty. Midori spoke with civic leaders about the importance of arts education at a Rotary luncheon. She rehearsed and performed the Tchaikovsky Concerto with the Chattanooga Symphony under its Music Director Bob Bernhardt and the first movements of the Barber Concerto, the Bach Concerto for Two Violins and the Vivaldi Concerto for Four Violins with the Chattanooga Symphony Youth Orchestra under Gary Wilkes. She gave master classes to Chattanooga Symphony Youth Orchestra members. She and Moni continued their discussions over lunches and dinners and at post-concert receptions.

at Chattanooga

Midori and Moni arrived on the red-eye flight from Los Angeles on Wednesday morning and hit the road running. As tiring as these five days may have been for them, they were also invigorating. The focus of their visit was connecting with students and student orchestra members, their teachers, their families and local arts education programs.

How is ORP week different from another tour engagement? Midori says,"ORP never ceases to keep me occupied and engaged directly with the people involved in the musical and the artistic community of a city or a town. There are an increased number of occasions in which I can interact with the younger musicians who already embrace music as well as with those who are just being introduced to the art form. There is always so much to discover, and the process of learning something I hadn't noticed or realized before is priceless to me. I thrive on these 'discoveries' as food for learning; they are the honey of my life."

"These five days will live long in our collective memories," Maestro Bob Bernhardt wrote at the conclusion of the ORP. "Midori and Moni have, through their nonstop sense of purpose and delight in our young musicians, rekindled our commitment to their path and to our own dedication toward Arts in Education, and the success of our Youth Orchestra. I hope that many cities will have the pleasure and thrill of this week's events here in Chattanooga, and if you're thinking about it, I urge you strongly to apply. This is the real thing."

Midori, Moni, Chattanooga Symphony Education and Outreach Manager Steve Tonkinsonand Chattanooga Symphony Music Director Bob Bernhardt all contributed to a running blog about their ORP experiences.http://orpobservations.wordpress.com/

To read more about the Orchestra Residencies Program:
http://www.gotomidori.com/orp/index.html

Applications for the 2012/2013 Orchestra Residencies Program are available via the ORP website from November 1, 2010.






PARTNERS IN PERFORMANCE: 2011/2012 SEASON

Partners in Performance is delighted to announce the names of the three presenting organizations selected for PiP recitals in 2011/2012. They are: the Melbourne Chamber Music Society in Indialantic, Florida (www.MelbourneChamberMusicSociety.com); the Churchill Arts Council in Fallon, Nevada (www.churchillarts.org); and the Performing Arts Society of Acadiana in Lafayette, Louisiana (www.pasa-online.org). For more information about PiP, please refer to the dedicated website http://www.pipmusic.org/






INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM 2009/2010 - MONGOLIA AND JAPAN

In December 2009, while many of us were fighting crowds in department stores, decorating Christmas trees or cooking turkeys, Midori and three young string players met in Japan for rehearsals prior to an action-packed ten day trip to Mongolia. There, as part of the International Community Engagement Program (ICEP), an initiative of Music Sharing, Midori's not-for-profit organization based in Japan, they made music for and with young people in schools of many stripes. Among these were schools for the blind, the disabled, for school dropouts, for language enthusiasts and for students of music and dance. They also visited orphanages, rehabilitation centers and a maternal and child health center-cum-hospital. The Mongolia visit was ICEP's first to northern Asia. 2009 also marked the 35th anniversary of the "Exchange of Notes for promotion of cultural exchange between Japan and Mongolia."

In December of 2006, 2007 and 2008, ICEP sent string quartets to Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia respectively, in keeping with the goals of the International Community Engagement Program goals. As part of the program, the quartet members reunite in Japan the following June for additional community engagement activities in schools, shelters and hospitals, for public concerts and for discussions about their experiences the previous December. Feedback from the 2008/2009 ICEP Quartet participants can be found below this article.

Because of extreme weather conditions and the resulting difficulty of travelling within the vast expanse of Mongolia, the ICEP 2009 activities took place in the environs of the capital city, Ulan Bator. Midori, violinist Sini Simonen, violist Jinsun Hong and cellist Peter Myers dressed in multiple layers to protect themselves in weather colder than they had ever previously experienced.

Between December 18 and 28, the ICEP quartet took part in 13 'Visit Concerts' in venues holding between 70 and 350 people. (One visit was cancelled because of a blizzard forecast.) Many of the schools were large but had only small public spaces. For example, School No. 97 in the Bayanzurkh District has 2,225 students but the school gymnasium only accommodates 200. The teachers therefore specifically selected the least affluent students to attend the ICEP event, students who would not otherwise have had the opportunity to experience a cultural event.

Other venues included a school where the children study three of five languages (Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, Russian), a school for disabled children, a national rehabilitation center where disabled students from 16 to 24 are taught the basics of making prosthetic limbs, cooking and using computers, and a Maternal and Child Health Research Center for children and families of children with leukemia, heart disease and infectious diseases. In this last venue, the ICEP quartet performed in a hallway and a doctor's office.

At each visit, the ICEP quartet members started by introducing themselves. Then the ensemble performed movements from several string quartets and interacted with the children in instrument experience and Question/Answer sessions. Frequently, the students welcomed the ICEP quartet with their own performances of traditional Mongolian music and dance.

The ICEP quartet repertoire for Mongolia included movements of quartets by Borodin (String Quartet No. 2 in D Major), Britten (Alla marcia), Shostakovich (String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110), Haydn (String Quartet in C Major, Op. 3 No. 2), Mozart (String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K465 'Dissonance') and Karatachi no Hana, a song for schoolchildren by the late Japanese composer/conductor Kosaku Yamada, arranged for string quartet by Peter Myers.

The ICEP quartet also gave a master class to a student quartet from the Music and Dance College of Mongolia. After the master class, the students joined the ICEP quartet for a concert at their school. Subsequently, they participated in three 'Visit Concerts.'

The concert at the Music and Dance College of Mongolia was one of four more 'traditional' concerts that the ICEP quartet performed in Mongolia. The others took place at the official residences of the Japanese and American ambassadors and at the Mongolian State Philharmonic.

The Mongolian State Philharmonic consists of a symphony orchestra, a matouqin orchestra, the Morin Khuur Traditional Music Ensemble, and a jazz orchestra. The ICEP quartet was given explanations of and coaching in the matouqin and other traditional instruments by professional players. The ICEP quartet and the symphony orchestra each performed for the other informally and later took part in a concert where the audience was welcomed by the Japanese Ambassador to Mongolia.

In all, the ICEP quartet performed for approximately 2700 people - children, parents, teachers, carers, patients, doctors, administrators and ambassadors.

In June 2010, the ICEP quartet members will reunite in Japan for more community engagement activities and public concerts and to summarize their ICEP Mongolia experience.






IN THEIR OWN WORDS: PARTICIPANTS IN MUSIC SHARING'S 2008/2009 INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM DESCRIBE THEIR EXPERIENCES

November 2009

Each December since 2006, Midori has travelled with three young string players to a different country in Asia for 10 days of intensive community engagement. The International Community Engagement Program (ICEP) is an initiative of Music Sharing, Midori's not-for-profit organization based in Japan. ICEP visited Vietnam in 2006, Cambodia in 2007 and Indonesia in 2008.

In each case, the following June, the ICEP participants reassembled in Tokyo for de-briefing and reporting and to continue their work in a variety of institutions around the country.

While the goals and descriptions of past ICEPs may be found elsewhere on this website, we thought it might be interesting to ask the 2008/2009 participants, at the conclusion of both the Indonesia and Japan portions of the program, to describe their experiences and reactions.

The 2008/2009 participants:
Sini Simonen, Violin
The Finnish violinist Sini Simonen currently studies at the Sibelius Academy and the Hannover Music Academy with Lara Lev. Sini won 1st prize in the Cremona International Solo Violin Competition and 2nd prize in the Carl Flesch International Violin Competition in 2008. She also reached the final round of the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in 2005. Sini has played recitals in various European countries and has appeared as a soloist with major Nordic symphony orchestras such as the Finnish Radio Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic. She plays a Giovanni Battista Guadagnini instrument owned by the Finnish Cultural Foundation. Sini participated in the Japan portion of the ICEP only.


Carmen Flores, Viola
Carmen Flores grew up in San Diego, California and attended Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, where she studied music and geography. She continued her studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. She has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Asia, and Europe, and in 2000 she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study the musical heritage of the Philippines. Carmen is Principal Viola of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia and lives in the United Kingdom, where she performs across the country as a chamber and orchestral musician.


Martin Smith, Cello
Australian cellist Martin Smith began Cello at the age of 8, studying with Uzi Wiesel in Sydney and is currently studying with Natalia Gutman. Martin has appeared as orchestral soloist and recitalist throughout Australia, Europe and North America with recent performances including the Plymouth Symphony, the Orchestre de Chambre de Lyon, and a tour of Denmark with the Esbjerg Ensemble. He has appeared in concert with such artists as Leon Fleisher and Kolja Blacher and has been heard on BBC Radio 3, Danish Radio, Deutsche Rundfunk Köln and ABC-FM.


Was the ICEP in Indonesia different from what you had expected?

Martin: From the very beginning, I found the ICEP Indonesia program to be incredibly invigorating and challenging. We were always kept informed as to what our roles would be and what was expected from us.

Although I had assumed that it would be very hard but rewarding work, I had no idea how quickly our roles would change once in the program and how flexible we would have to be. During our time in Indonesia, for example, we could be performing up to four concerts a day for completely different audiences. With only the time between concerts available to prepare, one had to assess the audience very quickly and then, if need be, change delivery style accordingly. I found this flexibility of approach and the need to work independently to be among the greatest experiences of the program and something I thought I would never be capable enough to do.

Carmen: When I first applied for the ICEP, I knew the program combined a number of things I was interested in: chamber music, cultural exchange in Asia (visiting both Japan and Indonesia), and the chance to play for audiences that were different from those in western concert halls. Once we started the tour, the ICEP fulfilled all of my interests, but it went even further. Perhaps the biggest difference was the emotional investment that I eventually made in this project. Up until the ICEP, I had become quite blasé about concert audiences, mostly because I somewhat felt removed from them, being onstage or in the orchestra. During the ICEP, the diversity and raw emotion emanating from many of our audiences struck me, from disabled and visually impaired children, to orphans and abandoned kids, to survivors of the Boxing Day tsunami. Each person had such a strong life story, and it seemed they demanded our attention and emotional interaction. In the end, I felt they helped give more meaning to the music I played for them.

Please describe one or more visits/experiences in Indonesia and how they affected you, both emotionally and professionally.

Martin: For me, one of the most memorable experiences in Indonesia was visiting an orphanage for children affected by the 2004 Tsunami in Aceh Province. Our visit to the school coincided with the fourth anniversary of the disaster and so it was an honour to be able to share such an important day with children who had already experienced and suffered so much.

As an outsider, or someone who has never experienced disaster and tragedy on the scale of the 2004 Tsunami, it was hard to prepare mentally for what I was to experience. With many of these audiences, I found the best approach was to just focus on the children and making sure that they were enjoying themselves. Throughout the entire concert, the audience were extremely receptive and attentive, actually one of the best audiences that we played for. At the end of the concert, we were in turn treated to performances by the children, including humorous skits and examples of traditional dance.

The whole experience proved very inspirational and uplifting. The general feeling of the orphanage was very positive with a sense of moving forward and trying to better one's situation. For me, disasters like these, and seeing how resilient people can be when faced with them, helped me assess my own attitudes towards loss and re-assess what was important in my own life.

Another venue that I found to be memorable was the very first school that we visited. This was my first foray into international outreach and it was definitely a tough beginning. Situated in the slums underneath a highway, the "emergency" school is run by twin sisters, who continue to manage the school through donations. The first thing that struck me, after a treacherous walk through the slums, was the energy and the vibrancy of the children. It must have been quite a sight seeing the numbers of media and photographers walking through this tiny slum, but the children seemed to be interested and focused on the music we were presenting and playing for them. One of the most memorable parts of the entire Indonesia trip was hearing the children playing Indonesian songs on traditional instruments for us. The gratitude shown to us, not only in this school, but also by all the schools we played for, was something really special and something that will stay with me forever.

Carmen: In Jakarta, we visited the Harapan Kita Hospital, and particularly the section for patients with heart problems. This was my first time playing in a hospital. We performed a small concert for the child patients and we also performed an impromptu concert in one of the lobbies for adult patients who were nearby. As the day wore on, I found myself becoming more saddened by our surroundings. Many of these listeners were very ill, or close to death. As I thought about their situation, and as we met more patients, I started crying.

My strongest memory was when we visited the intensive care unit in the hospital. When we entered the unit, we saw a young teenage boy in a separate room, lying on a bed hooked up to many machines. He was staring at us as we entered but he did not react -- it rather looked like he was staring through us, with no reaction on his face. He seemed desolate and in pain. We played the adagio movement from the Haydn quartet for him, and also for many of the babies who were critically ill in the unit.

After we played, I looked back at the boy, and he was smiling, like any child should be. As we left, he waved his hand to gesture thank you. It was a quiet but powerful moment for me in the ICU, to show how music had such a redemptive and healing effect -- it helped take those children to a place medicine couldn't reach.

How did the people you played for respond to you? What was your reaction to the people you were playing for?

Martin: In all the schools and venues that we performed in, the response was always incredibly positive and thankful. To see such a reaction from people who have suffered and endured so much really restores one's own belief in the power of music. One example was at a primary school in Osaka. Midori and the ICEP members [each went to different] rooms and classes, to play and to talk about our instruments. Not speaking more than four words of Japanese, I was slightly overwhelmed at the task, conjuring images in my mind of being overrun by screaming children who were bored and wanted to get out of there.

After having been personally picked up by two Year 1 students, I was escorted to my classroom, where I proceeded to play and generally have a good time with the students. It wasn't until we were leaving that afternoon that students approached me from those classes, with over 40 letters, each one personally written by a student, thanking me for my time and for coming to play.

Carmen: On the Indonesian portion of the trip, the children were always amazed at our concerts. They always wanted to know where we were from and who we were, how and why we came to Indonesia. In terms of the music that we played, when it came time for them to touch our instruments, they always rushed to line up. Sometimes they didn't even line up and mobbed us completely! The first time this happened, I was surprised, but over time I learned how to guide the kids carefully with my instrument. The children always approached with curiosity on their faces, and it was great to see their faces change when they realized how to make a sound, either by plucking a string or using the bow, or even knocking on the wood.

One of the most interesting moments was when we played a concert for a school of visually-impaired children in Jakarta. I remember thinking, mid-way through our concert, that our normal perceptions of sound were so different for these children. For them, sound and touch were everything, and my interaction with them became much more physical and tactile, rather than trying to use gestures. We let them hold our instruments, and I guided them as they held my viola and bow, letting them feel the wood and contours of the instrument.

What were the highlights of the Japan portion of the program? Was it helpful for you to recall your Indonesian experience for Japanese audiences? How did you respond to them? Was Japan different from what you expected?

Martin: For me, the rehearsals and concerts in Japan were a time where I was able to meet up with Midori, Carmen and other people from ICEP and be able to rehearse together again and to discuss and relive various moments from our Indonesian trip. It also gave me the opportunity to meet our new violinist, Sini, and to relive the music with her.

I found it very therapeutic to be given so many opportunities to discuss and relay my experiences in Indonesia. At the end of the Indonesian trip, I had experienced so many new things in such a short period that there was not enough time to filter everything and understand what had just happened. Having the opportunity to meet again six months later allowed me to process everything that I had experienced and to feel confident enough to be able to accurately talk about it to new audiences.

I found that the audiences in Japan all responded incredibly well to our experiences and also to the work we had done in Indonesia. I believe that, as a group, we had developed and become more comfortable with each other as a direct result of our experiences in Indonesia.

Carmen: The Japan portion of the ICEP was fascinating because Midori showed us aspects of Japanese society from very upper class audiences to parts of society that are often considered taboo. In Indonesia, the strata of people we played for seemed to span economic lines, whereas in Japan, not only did we see audiences across economic lines, but also audiences across layers of Japanese social etiquette and decorum. For instance, we performed at a center for neglected children, where the kids could have easily become forgotten by Japanese society because they came from single mothers or had been abandoned by their families. The following day, we performed at a youth orchestra academy that was clearly filled with children who came from wealthy, doting families. I did not expect to see this contrast in Japan, which I had always imagined to be a very balanced and homogenous society.

A highlight for me was visiting the public schools in Osaka. We would give individual presentations to the young kids (age 4-6) classes, and I enjoyed playing music for the little ones. Additionally, we gave a concert for the whole school. The Japanese children were very orderly when it came to lining up to play our instruments and, once they discovered how a sound was made, those same looks of amazement appeared on their faces as they did on those of the Indonesians. In general, both the Indonesian and Japanese children always expressed a great curiosity about us as people, asking us questions such as "What is your favorite food?" and "What is your favorite insect?"

Sini: The Japan part was the only portion of the program to me, so some of the highlights for me were the general meat of the program: playing to lots of different audiences in unusual places, meeting people and getting immersed in a different culture, working with Midori and the quartet, going to institutions and places I would never go to otherwise.

Japan was less foreign in crude ways than I had expected and more different in subtle ways than I had expected. I guess the most notable thing was that it was easier than I thought to understand people; less seemed to be lost in translation than I had expected.

Please describe what took place and how you experienced at least two venues?

Martin: One venue in Japan that I will always remember is a juvenile correctional institution for girls who had been convicted for various crimes and had to be rehabilitated before re-entering society. For me, this audience was very striking as it gave a face to a sector of society with which I had no previous contact or experience. Seeing, up close, the faces of people who have been forgotten by society really moved me and reinforced why I chose to do outreach work. It was amazing to see, with some of the younger girls, physical traits of their past lives, including scars and/or gang tattoos, juxtaposed with the sterile setting of the facility and the uniformity of their surroundings and how they were made to dress/wear their hair etc.

Another venue that I found very moving was shelter for foreign women who were victims of domestic violence, situated in the Tokyo countryside. This center was established and run by an elderly woman and operates solely on the basis of donations. The tireless work of the founder and that of her many helpers had helped numerous women who otherwise would have had no viable option.

Again, seeing the contrast of both venues really sums up how vital programs such as ICEP are in reaching out to people and helping them educate and better themselves for a brighter future.

Carmen: One venue that affected me was a girls' correctional institution. We made a musical presentation for about 50 teenagers, all of whom had been placed in the institution because of past criminal activity. Many of these girls came from troubled backgrounds and this was reflected in some of the crimes they had committed. The original plan was for each of us to play a movement from solo Bach and then we would do some movements from our quartets; finally, the girls would sing a few songs for us as a musical exchange.

We arrived and got ready for the presentation and all seemed well for me until the girls entered the room and sat down to hear us. The first person to play Bach was Sini and, as she was playing, I looked out into the audience and suddenly felt a pang of sadness. There was something in the room's atmosphere, as I looked into those girls' faces and wondered what each of them must have gone through, that created a collective sorrow which seemed to envelope me. My reaction to this feeling, completely unexpectedly, was to start crying. Additionally, since everyone was playing Bach, the contemplative and often sad nature of each movement only added to my tears. It was again a surprising way for me to react and caught me completely off guard but it was another example of the emotional effect that these visits had on me.

In all of the places we visited, it was very easy to get a sense of the atmosphere and to see how loving and safe each environment was for the children. One place we visited outside Tokyo was Nonohana-no-ie, a center for children who are victims of domestic violence. Here the atmosphere seemed very warm and happy, even though the children had been neglected by their families or in some cases abused.

We made a presentation about Indonesia to the children, and then we played some movements from our quartets, including Eine kleine Nachmusik. They loved the music and, afterwards, Martin played some Bach and the kids stood around him, fascinated. It was very humbling to meet the owners of the center and to learn about how they took care of the children -- in many ways, the entire center was like a big family, allowing the children to grow up responsibly and yet still enjoy their childhood.

Sini: Perhaps the most memorable experience was playing in a correctional institution. We played a music program, talked about teamwork and answered some questions. The students sang and danced for us. I guess what was most memorable was the disciplined atmosphere and the air surrounding the students, the way hardship could be sensed and seen. The way it felt to hear Bach in that environment. The world they were living in.

A very different type of community engagement was working with a community youth orchestra. We played a piece for them, they played a symphony movement for us and we each spoke to them about ideas we had to improve their playing. After that we merged with the orchestra sections and rehearsed the piece with them. Playing some Haydn with them was really fun. Youth orchestras are often great communities and this seemed to be the case here also.

What did you learn from your ICEP experience about the Indonesian and Japanese music and traditions that you encountered? Will this play a part in your future performances for Western audiences?

Martin: I feel incredibly honoured to be able to participate in a program that stresses the role of education before everything else. One unique feature of the ICEP program is the opportunity for each member of the ICEP quartet to engage in this cultural exchange and to learn a lot about the cultures and the countries that the program visits. Traveling to, and learning about, Indonesian and Japanese cultures helped me realise that within both culturally rich countries there is a deep tradition of music and art which must be preserved and supported.

Meeting so many different professionals working in Indonesia and Japan, including musicians and artists, helped me to further understand two cultures I had had very little exposure to. I am now able to pass on these experiences to my own students and to audiences that I play for.

Carmen: From both the Indonesia and Japan portions of the ICEP we learned about traditional music from each culture. In Yogjakarta we visited an arts university, the Institut Seni Indonesia. When we were there, we met with Traditional Music faculty who gave us a presentation on Javanese gamelan. They performed for us, then answered our questions, and then they let us play the instruments. In Japan, we had a private session with the Koto player Kazue Sawai and her students in Tokyo. They gave us a performance of both old and contemporary Japanese pieces, and then allowed us to have a lesson playing "Sakura" on the koto, which was quite difficult.

In both cases, it was amazing to learn about the differences between our musical cultures. Learning about the different music notation for both gamelan and koto, for instance, was astonishing, as was learning how to play each instrument. Despite seeing the differences, in many ways these exchanges put western classical music in perspective. Classical music is similar to these traditional musics in that we also have a unique notation system, a long historical tradition going back centuries, and our music and the way it is taught depends on how we pass it on from one generation to another. Seeing these similarities helped give me a greater perspective on the kind of work that I do.

Hearing Javanese gamelan and Japanese koto for the first time - each performed by masters of their instrument -- also gave me an insightful perspective on performance and listening. For someone who didn't know what this music was like, I was still entranced by the complete involvement of the performers and how they demanded that you listen to them simply based on their concentration and "performance aura" and attention to the music. It made me think about myself as a performer and how I could demand that same kind of involvement from Western audiences. I will definitely try to incorporate their experience of performance behaviour and comportment in the future.

Sini: We visited the studio of the koto master Kazue Sawai. It was very interesting; the koto is a very expressive instrument. [While] the experience [is unlikely to] play an active part in my future performances, it will hopefully stay as a passive richness that can contribute to imagination and understanding.

Have you done community engagement work prior to participating in the ICEP? If so, how was ICEP different?

Martin: For my whole career as a musician, I have always been interested in outreach work and believe that it is an integral part of being a performer. My participation in the ICEP Indonesia program was my first experience of international outreach work and the first time I had worked with a professional foundation such as Music Sharing.

For me, the ICEP program is unique as there are so many levels and components factored into the program, which is something that exists nowhere else: the opportunity to work with Midori Goto in a chamber music setting is something unbelievable in itself; add to that the opportunity to travel internationally, be it to Japan or Indonesia, to work on great chamber music with the aim of helping under-privileged children. These make the ICEP program one of the leading programs of its kind in the world.

Another unique component of the ICEP program is its emphasis on education, not only for the audiences but also for members of the ICEP quartet. The opportunity to engage in a cultural exchange with the visited countries by learning about the music of their cultures and by seeing up close how their instruments are played is something unique to this program.

Carmen: I had done some community engagement work before joining the ICEP but not on the scale that we experienced in Indonesia. I had played concerts in senior residences and I had also played in some provincial schools when I lived in the Philippines for a year after university. In all of these cases, it was a very "once in a while" experience. ICEP was different in that community engagement work was the focus of our project and we were able to do it on a daily basis. Both the international scale and the diversity of the institutions were also different from the previous work I had done. It was very hard work and demanded complete involvement from all of us. I also learned that there are countless other institutions out there other than senior residences and schools and we should seek them out!

Sini: I have played concerts in hospitals and homes for the elderly through a foundation in Germany. ICEP was much more intensive. There was more interaction with the people we were playing for. Speaking and, for example, introducing my instrument was a part of the concerts. The settings were exotic for me and classical music wasn't as familiar to the people we played for as it is to the average person in Germany.

Do you intend to change aspects of your own work as a result of your ICEP experience? If yes, what is that? If not, did the ICEP experience inspire you to do (more) community engagement work in the future?

Martin: Through my participation in the ICEP program and through the experiences which I have had as a result I have had to reassess many things including why I make music and how I can better deliver my message as an artist. I originally applied for the ICEP program because I have always had a desire to establish a similar program in regional Australia, although I had no idea how to go about it. Having seen how professional foundations such as Music Sharing work and the principles they involve in all their activities, namely that of education, I feel I have a much better understanding of how to approach outreach work successfully and I definitely hope to be able to offer a similar program in the not too distant future.

Carmen: ICEP has definitely changed many things about my own work, the most important one being how I currently view the classical music industry. It is very easy to become one-track minded in this industry, always becoming focused on one's career and thinking there is one prescribed path to success. ICEP helped me focus on looking outside this insular world and especially seeing that there are audiences out there who need music more than ever (it can often be as essential as food & clothing). I hope to take part in future community engagement programmes and, with the experience I've gained, try to do a similar project in the Philippines, if possible.

Sini: The experience inspired me to do more community engagement in the future and have more own initiative. I leaned that the interaction part is important - I would increase communication and engagement between musician and listeners in my own work. Interaction should be more direct to reach people better.

What did you learn about yourself from your ICEP experiences?

Martin: My time as a participant of the ICEP program helped me not only to help others but to also help myself. Through the experiences of traveling to remote locations and through our involvement in cultural exchanges, I was helped to re-asses my own views and reasons in doing music.

The unique opportunities of playing for blind children or for victims of crime or natural disaster affected me in ways I did not think possible. Playing for people who have nothing really helped redefine what I have as a relatively "fortunate" Westerner and whether I am doing all I can to help others.

The concept of music as en educational tool and healer was something that really struck me during my travels in Indonesia and Japan. Seeing the power of music firsthand really affected my own motivation in wanting to become a performer and helped me realise that I could do so much more in helping other people with my talents. Every day, I wake up and feel motivated that what I am doing is a good thing, and that ultimately my reason for becoming a musician is to help other people and this is a direct result of my participation in the ICEP program.

Carmen: In many ways, our concerts in Indonesia and Japan were some of the most emotionally fulfilling experiences I have had, not only because they made me feel joyous, but also because they exposed me to great sadness.

It was important to feel everything in between that scale. I realized that the ICEP was also not only for us to share our music with others, but also for us to absorb everything in return.

I was also very happy to see the great diversity there is in this world; all aspects of people, life, and society compressed into a few weeks for us, and I feel very blessed to have experienced it.

Sini: This is a tough question. I became more aware of [aspects of my life and career] that can be improved, perhaps.

What is the most import experience that you had in this program?

Martin: For me, the most important experience I had in this program, was the opportunity to help people. As a musician, I find it easy to sometimes become preoccupied with the small things that come with the job and lose perspective of the bigger picture.

Through my participation in the ICEP program, I feel I was granted scope, to be able to re-assess a lot of my own motivations in being a musician. The structure of the program is such that, I was able to meet other professionals involved in outreach work who have similar goals to me, and see how they were able to overcome professional barriers. The time in Indonesia and Japan, helped me at a time where I was suffering professional-related "tiredness". Today, I am able to draw great inspiration from the tireless work and efforts of Midori and everyone working at the Music Sharing Foundation, and it was an honour and a privilege to be able to work along side them for a short time.

Carmen: Before joining this project, I would often feel inadequate about my contributions to society (how does spending hours in a practise room help others? How does playing in concerts help others? Isn't that a very selfish thing?!). Why don't I become a doctor, or philanthropist, or even politician? With the ICEP, Midori has opened up the realm of possibility for me and shown me what actually can be done as a musician. Music does have a healing process, it can act as some kind of agent for social change, it can help bring goodness into this world. In this way, I have taken away an experience of what music can do outside the traditional concert hall, and really use it as a way to connect people and heal the soul. In this respect, it makes me feel quite powerful.

Sini: Perhaps most important was getting me to think more about what the inner value of music education actually is, the general influence and power of music. For example we went to a school for disabled children, and they had a Music Sharing-sponsored program where each pupil played an instrument on his or her own level, sometimes somewhat dependent on the disability. Their music education, where students get acquainted with an instrument to some extent, is very different to the type of education a professional musician goes through. It got me to think more about education, why each type is important, the value of performance, and ultimately, the value of music itself.






ON THE ROAD WITH MIDORI IN MOBILE, ALABAMA

October 2009

Moni Simeonov studies with Midori at the Thornton School of Music at USC. In Spring 2009, he traveled with Midori to Mobile, Alabama to assist and participate in her Orchestra Residency there. Moni contributed an essay about his experience: click here




INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM 2008 INDONESIA

During the second half of December 2008, a period referred to in some parts of the world as "the holiday season", Midori and three young string players, selected by audition, rehearsed in Japan before heading to Indonesia for an unforgettable visit. There, over a period of nine days, they made music for and with young people in schools, shelters, hospitals, rehabilitation centers and boarding houses as part of the International Community Engagement Program (ICEP), an initiative of Music Sharing, Midori's not-for-profit organization based in Japan.

In 2006, ICEP sent a string quartet to Vietnam and in 2007, to Cambodia. In 2008, the ICEP quartet visited Indonesia. 2008 was also the Golden Year of Friendship between Indonesia and Japan.

Among the goals of the International Community Engagement Program are to:
- Offer children, especially those in difficult circumstances, the opportunity to experience the beauty and the joy of music;
- Give the participating young musicians of the quartet an opportunity to broaden their horizons, especially with regard to community engagement;
- Promote international exchange, not only between Japan and the visited country but also between the home countries of the participating artists and the visited country;
- Inspire cultural understanding and establish friendships with the goal of creating a more peaceful world.


The ICEP quartet for Indonesia consisted of Midori, Tee Khoon Tang (violin), Carmen Flores (viola) and Martin Smith (cello).

When they first arrived in Jakarta, the ICEP quartet met with Mr. Michio Kojima of the education section of UNICEF's Indonesia Office. Mr. Kojima gave them an informative and helpful briefing on the situation of children in Indonesia.

The ICEP quartet repertoire for Indonesia included works by Schubert (Quartettsatz in C minor, D. 703), Haydn (String Quartet in C major, Op. 54, No. 2), Debussy (String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10), Mozart (Serenade No. 13 for Strings in G major, K. 525, Eine kleine Nachtmusik) and Tchaikovsky (Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker Suite) as well as Oborotsukiyo by the Japanese composer Teiichi Okano (1878-1941) and Lontano, a string quartet by the Indonesian pianist and composer Ananda Sukarlan (b. 1968) specially commissioned by Music Sharing.

Between the 21st and 30th of December, the ICEP quartet took part in 11 Lecture Concerts in Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Sumatra. The selected venues, each of which held between 70 and 350 people, included schools for poor children, orphanages, rehabilitation and music therapy centres, a hospital for heart disease and institutions for the visually impaired and for the disabled.

At each venue there was interaction with the students and teachers/administrators including Question/Answer and instrument experience sessions, during which students were able to touch the instruments. In turn, many of the students performed traditional music and dances for the ICEP quartet. In Yogyakarta, after coaching a student quartet at the Institute Seni Indonesia (ISI), the ICEP quartet attempted to play Gamelan instruments.

At Sekolah Dasar Negri 2 Pakem (National Second Elementary School), the audience filled the venue, leaving a "playing space" in front of a blackboard. Those who could not fit into the classroom observed the proceedings through the windows and doors. The students seemed shy at first but they were fascinated to hear the live classical music performed so close by. When the ISI student quartet, who joined the ICEP quartet for three events, played Indonesian folk songs, the students shouted with joy.

Harapan Kita Hospital (for Heart Disease) offers medical treatment to patients of all ages. The ICEP quartet gave two short concerts in the reception area. Between the concerts, quartet members visited hospital rooms. At the request of the hospital, the ICEP quartet also gave concerts in two Intensive Care Units. Both ICU rooms housed newborn babies and the numerical values on the machines attached to them changed in response to the music.

Tan Miyat offers education and training for visually impaired people from seven to 35 years of age. There are training facilities and dormitories located in attractive premises such as parks. The institution invited families, guests and members of the media to attend the ICEP concert. People at this institution have learned to play the traditional instrument Ankrong and played Bengawan Solo with the ICEP quartet.

Midori and the other members of the ICEP quartet also performed four concert programs of a more traditional nature:

- At the Official Residence of the Japanese Ambassador in Jakarta, the ICEP quartet performed for governmental VIPs, ambassadors to Indonesia, students from the Yayasan Music School and Japanese citizens living in Jakarta.

- At the Institute Seni Indonesia (a university for the arts), the ICEP quartet performed works by Mozart, Sukarlan and Haydn, after which a student quartet from the school performed pieces by Smetana and Mozart. The student quartet joined the ICEP quartet the following day for three Lecture Concerts in Yogyakarta. On these visits, each quartet performed in turn and at the end, they performed Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik together. Midori and the other ICEP quartet members coached individual students and quartets at the Institute Seni Indonesia prior to these joint appearances.

- At the private Yayasan Music School, a school established in 1983 and located outside Jakarta, the ICEP quartet performed, as did the schoolmaster and a traditional Indonesian music group.

- At Grha Bimasena, the ICEP quartet performed a charity concert to raise funds to further music education in Indonesia. Held at the Mineral Substance and Energy Workers Club, the concert was attended, among others, by the Energy and Mineral Resources Minister of Indonesia, Mr. Purnomo Yusgiantoro.

The ICEP quartet was fortunate to have the opportunity to explore Medan City and to tour Candi Prambanan, under restoration following serious damage from a big earthquake in 2006. There they were treated to a performance of Ramayana, a traditional dance, by male and female dancers in ancient Javanese royal costumes.

In all, the ICEP quartet performed for approximately 2070 people - children, parents, teachers, carers, patients, doctors, administrators and ambassadors in 11 lecture concerts and four additional concerts.

What were the results of the ICEP experience? The exchange of performances, ideas and friendship amongst all the participants was most enriching. Instructors and musicians in Indonesia expressed their desire to familiarize themselves better with Western music and education. Music Sharing hopes that the impetus of the ICEP visit - and the funds raised at the charity concert given in Jakarta by the ICEP quartet - will both enhance music education in that country and stimulate further cultural exchanges between Japan and Indonesia.



* * * * *



A First Concert by Participants in MUSIC SHARING's
Musical Instrument Guidance Support Program

March 2009

On March 8, students from three schools for the disabled who participate in MUSIC SHARING's Musical Instrument Guidance Support Program performed a concert in Tokyo. Each school offered a 20-minute performance and all the participants played Ravel's Boléro together. Midori and pianist Özgür Aydin played three short works after the students' performances. The audience was filled with families, teachers and supporters of Music Sharing.

The initiative that came to be known as the Musical Instrument Guidance Support Program began at the beginning of the Japanese school year in April 2006. Through this comprehensive program, young and paraprofessional-level musicians give children with disabilities weekly lessons at their regular school on instruments of their choice. The instruments range from percussion (timpani, Marimba and others) and band instruments (saxophone, flute, clarinet, and trumpet) to string instruments (violin and cello). The aim of this program is to improve understanding and provide the students with the opportunity for new self-expression and realization. In the spring of 2008, MUSIC SHARING named the program the Musical Instrument Guidance Support Program.

To date, MUSIC SHARING has successfully obtained instrument donations and loans through corporations and individuals. Some of the donated instruments have been adjusted to meet the special needs of the individual students in the cooperating schools.

As part of the Musical Instrument Guidance Support Program, Midori and her pianist visit the music students and their classmates in their schools.

It is Midori's dream to bring together all the children in this special program to create an orchestra and a band. The March 2009 collaborative concert was the first step toward realizing this dream.



     
       
    PROJECT  WEBSITES  
    Orchestra Residencies Program (ORP)  
    Partners in Performance (PiP)  
       
    Other Projects  
    International Community Engagement Program 2006  
    Music Sharing 2006  
    Music Sharing 2005  
    Music Sharing 2004  
    Music Sharing 2003  
    Music Sharing 2002  
       
   





























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































* ICEP 2009 Photos *


Special Kindergarten No. 10 For Children with Spastic Palsy


National Orphanage


Education Center


Mongeni Complex School


No. 116 School for the Blind


No. 84 School

Photos: T. Oda





Photos: T. Oda


























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Enjoying children's playing at Sekolah Dasar (2008.12.22)

Playing at ICU of Harapan Hospital (2008.12.28)

Touching the violin at Tan Miyat(2008.12.29)

At the Official Residence of the Japanese Ambassador in Jakarta (2008.12.22)

Advising ISI Quartet (2008.12.23)

Session at Yayasan Music School (2008.12.27)

Grha Bimasena (2008.12.28)
Photos: T. Oda
 
     
   
All the participants played Ravel's Bolero together at the concert.
 
   
After the concert, Midori with students.
(photo: T. Oda)
 
 


MIDORI AND CHARLES ABRAMOVIC GIVE A PiP CONCERT IN RENO, NEVADA

November 2008

As a recipient of a concert sponsored by Partners in Performance, The University of Nevada, Reno Performing Arts Series hosted a sold-out recital featuring Midori and pianist Charles Abramovic and a community masterclass by Midori on November 15, 2008.

The impact of this performance in our community has yet to be fully felt, but early feedback from our audiences included statements such as "Wow, I have never heard anybody talk to me like that through an instrument. I could hear every nuance of the music as if the composer was talking to me," or "This concert has changed how I will listen to music from now on." Having access to this level of performance has shifted our audience members' ears and will allow them to continue enjoying and expanding their enjoyment of chamber music.

In addition to audience growth, the Performing Arts Series experienced an increase in season ticket sales which we attribute to Midori and Charles being on the series. The patrons who joined us because of the recital will also be introduced to a wide variety of chamber music, from jazz to classical, with a little improv theatre added into the mix. We hope that their experience with the series will compel them to join us again next year.

Midori's masterclass featured two graduate students from the University's Orchestral Studies Program in front of an audience of approximately 85.  Gordon Tsai played a movement from the Mozart Concerto in D, and Emily Cox played a movement from the Prokofiev Concerto No. 2.  Each student received approximately 20 minutes of coaching from Midori, who brought an inspiring energy to the masterclass. The students were taken beyond technical restrictions to a level of musicality that allowed them to soar. Audience members were taken with Midori's ability and desire to have every note serve the music and assist the musician with communicating their musical message.

With the assistance we receive from Partners in Performance, along with the proceeds from the November 15 recital, we will continue to bring a chamber music groups on the series for the 2009-2010 series and beyond.  This funding is particularly important to us as our state and university are going through difficult budget times.


Cathy J. Chapman Walters
Director, Performing Arts Programs
University of Nevada - Reno


     
 
     
  MUSIC SHARING GOES TO CAMBODIA

Music Sharing has announced the names of the young musicians who will accompany Midori to Cambodia in December for the 2007 International Community Engagement Program (ICEP) in Cambodia.
Please click here for details: http://www.musicsharing.jp/e_cambodia.html

To view photos of the 2006 International Community Engagement Program in Vietnam, please click here.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
       
       
       

     
         
         
  MIDORI'S MUSIC SHARING PROGRAM GOES INTERNATIONAL

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.
       
 
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  MUSIC SHARING 2006
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.
     
 
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CONTEMPORARY MUSIC PROGRAM
click the title to read Midori's program notes

Judith Weir: Music for 247 Strings (1981)
Isang Yun: Sonata for Violin and Piano (1991)
Alexander Goehr: Suite for Violin and Piano, Op. 70 (2000)
György Kurtág: Tre pezzi per violino e pianoforte, Op. 14e (1979)
Witold Lutosławski: Partita (1984)




TOUR SCHEDULE

Wed. April 19
7:30 pm
Buffalo, N.Y.
Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall
http://www.slee.buffalo.edu
Fri. April 21
8:00 pm
Middletown, CT
Crowell Concert Hall, Wesleyan University
http://www.wesleyan.edu/cfa
Sat. April 22
8:00 pm
Philadelphia, PA
Perlman Theatre, Kimmel Center
http://www.kimmelcenter.org
Sun. April 23
7:00 pm
Stony Brook, N.Y.
Staller Center for the Arts, Stony Brook University
http://www.staller.sunysb.edu
Tue. April 25
7:30 pm
New York City, N.Y.
Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall
http://www.carnegiehall.org/jsps/intro.jsp
Thu. April 27
8:00 pm
San Francisco, CA
Herbst Theatre
http://www.performances.org
Note: San Francisco Performances will host a full day of outreach activities with Midori on Saturday April 15th. Please click here for details
Fri. April 28
8:00 pm
Santa Cruz, CA
UCSC Concert Hall
http://artslectures.ucsc.edu
 

   CONTEMPORARY MUSIC PROGRAM
            
- NEWSLETTERS -

Click each Newsletter to read the contents.

 Reviews, Articles & Feedback (May 4th)  


 Newsletter Vol.4 (April 14th)

   • Making New Work Happen: 21st      Century Patron Saints!
     by Victoria Roth

    Midori on the Music of Isang Yun
   
 European Techniques, Korean      Sources and Character: Gasa and the      Violin Sonata of Isang Yun

     by Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer
    20th-Century Timeline: an Eclectic      Overview

 Newsletter Vol.3 (April 3rd)
   
 Midori on Meeting Alexander Goehr
   • Breathing and Construction
     by Alexander Goehr
   • Excerpt from an Interview with      Alexander Goehr
   • Midori on György Kurtág's Tre Pezzi
   • György Kurtág: Miniatures for Piano,      Strings
     by Anthony Burton
   • Interview with Robert McDonald
(Part 3)
   
• Links to Publishers and Societies

 Newsletter Vol.2 (March 20th)
  
 
• Midori on Judith Weir
   • 247 Word about New Music
     by Judith Weir
   • Excerpt from an Interview with Judith      Weir
   • Midori on Witold Lutosławski
   • Lutosławski and his Relationship      with the US
     by
Lech Dzierzanowski
   • Interview with Robert McDonald (Part 2)


 Newsletter Vol.1 (March 11th)
   • Interview with Robert McDonald (Part 1)
   • Present for the Future: A Journey      Through the Music of the 20th      Century
     by Lucien LaMotte
   • Scenes from Rehearsals
   • Biographies of the Composers
   • Suggested Listening


Readers are invited to submit questions, about contemporary music in general or Midori's all-contemporary program in particular. Time and space permitting, Midori will answer some of the questions on these Newsletter web pages.
Please address your questions to
violin@gotomidori.com

 
 
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UNIVERSITY RESIDENCIES PROGRAM
AN OVERVIEW

Midori established the University Residencies Program (URP) in an effort to create enduring ties among visiting performers, university students and faculty, and the surrounding communities. Guest artists visit each school for a total of two weeks, spread over two academic years, giving two recitals and participating in a variety of activities, both musical and nonmusical. URP aims to support the university's orchestral and chamber music programs, and aspires to facilitate collaborations of the music programs with non-music departments at the school.

The residency fee is determined specifically for each location and includes all public and private performance fees.

Students — both music and non-music majors — are active participants during the residency, and assist in planning and coordinating some events. Music-related activities may include masterclasses, chamber music collaborations, open rehearsals, and discussion of many topics, ranging from practice tips to career choices to instrument maintenance. Students will engage in active music making with the artist, which may lead to a public performance. The guest artist may also perform with the University orchestra during the second year of the residency.

Outside of the music department, activities for the artist may include visiting classes in subjects of special interest, and giving lectures. Informal and non-academic activities among the artists and students are also encouraged, and all activities are open to discussion and suggestion. Artists are open to a wide range of suggested activities with preference given to those entailing direct student involvement and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

The inaugural University Residencies Program took place at North Park University in Chicago, which completed the 2-week cycle in November 2004. Detailed descriptions of the NPU residency can be found elsewhere in the Projects section of this website, and at www.northpark.edu/acad/music/. The University of Wisconsin-Madison held Week 1 of URP in November 2004, and Midori will return with pianist Robert McDonald in April 2006 for Week 2. Smith College in Massachusetts will begin its URP in Spring 2006, with Midori and pianist Charles Abramovic.

For further information about the University Residencies Program, please contact:

Kelly Gehrs, URP Project Coordinator
33 West 19th Street (Suite 305)
New York, NY 10011
Tel: +1 646 619-1181
e-mail: kagehrs@earthlink.net

     
 
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MUSIC SHARING 2005

Music Sharing is a non-profit organization in Japan, founded by Midori, dedicated to outreach activities of Western classical and traditional Japanese music in settings including public schools, children's hospitals, and special institutions. Music Sharing events encourage the collaboration of all participants. While Midori performs classical music concerts, her colleagues visit the same schools and institutions at other times of the year to present programs of traditional Japanese music. In 2004, Music Sharing added a program for future teachers and young musicians starting out their careers.

Each year during the early summer, Midori and her pianist-partner Koji Oikawa participate in the Classical Lecture Concert Program. Over more than 15 activity days, Midori and Koji dedicate themselves to bringing high-quality performances to children around the country. Midori's 2005 Music Sharing Tour began on May 30th in Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital city, which has a 1200-year history and is filled with over 3000 temples and shrines. The children enjoyed music by Bach, Mozart, Sarasate, Kreisler, Carl Engel, and Einojuhani Rautavaara, performed by Midori and Koji, interspersed with lively talk about the composers and the works.

Midori and Koji also presented Lecture Concerts at three elementary schools in Hiroshima, a city deep in prayer for world peace as it marked the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombing this year. Although outside there were heavy squall-like rain showers, Midori and Koji's performance pushed the sound of the rain far into the background as their beautiful music filled the gymnasium with excitement and enthusiasm.

From May to July, Music Sharing offered the Lecture Concert Program to 15 elementary schools, four special institutions for mentally/physically handicapped children and a special education institution. During this period, Midori and Koji visited 13 cities all over Japan and gave 24 concerts, the largest number of concerts in one summer since the program began 13 years ago. In 2005 alone, more than 4300 children attended the Lecture Concerts. In the autumn, a group of musicians will perform traditional Japanese music for the same children through the Traditional Music Lecture Program.

During the tour, Midori and Koji also visited two junior orchestras and a high school orchestra under the Orchestra Visit Program. Each orchestra gave a wonderful performance of works they had been preparing for months, and, in exchange, Midori and Koji gave a short performance. About 200 younger musicians participated in the program and they were all thrilled and fascinated by Midori and Koji's tales of their past experiences as well as their suggestions and advice on making music.

The College Program, the latest addition to Music Sharing's educational programs, offered a rare opportunity to 60 college students, all taking teacher training courses, and seven full-time teachers currently teaching at elementary schools, to exchange views and opinions on issues surrounding the current educational situation and future projection. The current as well as 'future' teachers all shared a desire to make school an interesting and inspiring place for children, providing them with opportunities to use and explore their powers of imagination and encouraging them to think for themselves. The 'future' teachers spoke of their dreams and plans while those already in the profession offered practical advice as well as new challenges for the future. The program was presented in collaboration with the Educational Department/Faculty from two universities, and both Midori and Koji attended the discussion, offering their views and sharing their experiences.

For this year's Special Concerts, the final concerts in a series that will cease after 2005, Midori and Koji were joined by eight junior and school orchestras (four orchestras each in Tokyo and Osaka). In Tokyo, Midori and the Tama Youth Orchestra played Summer from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, and the Sendai Sacred Heart Junior High School Orchestra performed the third movement of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 with Koji Oikawa. In Osaka, Midori was accompanied in the same repertoire by the Senri International School Orchestra and Koji by the Doshisha Junior High School Orchestra. All the orchestras made amazing progress throughout the rehearsals, and the halls were brimming with excitement and expectation of family and friends of the orchestra members. The weekend of rehearsal and concert became an unforgettable experience for the young musicians.

Music Sharing's Programs are designed to stimulate children's emotional development, broaden their horizons and encourage the process of self-discovery. This year, as always, we felt privileged to witness the amazing power and infinite possibility of children through our programs.

The following comment (from a teacher of the elementary school in Kyoto) captures the spirit of our programs:

The air of expectation and excitement surrounded the children, and the wonderful performance and the talk by the two artists made all of us spellbound. Our school does not usually offer any specific programs to cultivate aesthetics among the children, but we believe that we have always done our best to bring up children with a heart to choose and accept what is genuine and good. The Lecture Concert demonstrated to us our children's pure spirit and enthusiasm.

Toshio Hashimoto, Director
Music Sharing

 
Lecture Concert in Kyoto
 
 

Orchestra Visit Program
 

College Program
 
 
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TOTAL EXPERIENCE
& ASIAN TOUR - JUNE 2005

In June 2005, Midori spent two weeks touring Asia with pianist Peter Vinograde. During this period she gave five recitals and a series of masterclasses, and participated in the second Total Experience project with university students in Japan.

The first concert of the tour took place at Macao Cultural Center's Grand Auditorium on June 21. Midori and Peter flew from New York to Hong Kong and then took a ferry to Macao, where they arrived in heavy rain and thunder. Fortunately, there were clear skies by the time of the concert. Afterwards, the artists rushed to the port to catch the last ferry back to Hong Kong.

The following day, Midori and Peter performed at the Hong Kong Cultural Center to a sold-out crowd. There was an air of excitement and expectation in the hall that remained after the performance as hundreds of audience members waited to meet the artists in the lobby.

The next stop on the tour was Singapore, where Midori and Peter gave a concert as well as violin/piano masterclasses. Midori's much awaited debut on the Singapore concert stage was warmly received, and the Esplanade Concert Hall was filled with an enthusiastic audience. Again, Midori and Peter appeared in the lobby following their performance, to meet and speak with audience members.

The following day, the violin and piano masterclasses were held in the Esplanade's Recital Studio with its beautiful acoustics. Five violin students and two piano students received lessons from Midori and Peter respectively in the packed studio, as musicians, parents, and teachers all listened attentively. After the masterclasses, Midori and Peter took an overnight flight from Singapore, arriving in Tokyo in the early hours of June 26.

Since September 2004, students of Arts Management at Niigata University and Showa Music University have worked on an experimental project that evolved from the Total Experience Project (2002). Based at the two universities, the project aims to encourage students to devise and experiment with ways of improving the quality of the concert-listening experience for all participants (artists, presenters and audience). This year, under the theme Wa (link, relationship, circle), students planned and produced events including a series of free afternoon concerts in the city center, cello and conducting masterclass for the local residents, open lectures at the university and mini-festivals of student and local amateur artists. As the project progressed, the tie between the university and the local community strengthened, and it is hoped that, eventually, the new ideas and methods springing out of this project will help to revitalize the current classical music scene. Midori met students and teachers at both universities to discuss the progress of the project and some of the issues surrounding the concert-making process. Midori and Peter also gave recitals on both university campuses.

Wakako Hanada
OFFICE GOTO Co.

   
 
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May-July 2004

MUSIC SHARING 2004

Although Midori's 2004 tour of Music Sharing, her government-authorized non-profit organization, was plagued by exceptionally hot weather, it was nevertheless a great success. The tour began in mid May, usually a temperate month in Japan, but this year already summer-like. It ended at the beginning of July in the midst of record-breaking summer heat.

Through this year's Lecture Concert program, Midori and her pianist-partner Koji Oikawa visited 12 elementary schools and four special education institutions, presenting live classical music to and animated talks with over 3500 children around the country.

On the tiny island of Ishigaki in the East China Sea, over 1200 miles from Tokyo, Midori and Koji performed at a special institution for mentally handicapped children. At the elementary school in Kobe City, which served as a shelter for people who lost their homes in the 1995 Kobe earthquake, they were met with many brilliant smiles. Midori and Koji also performed for students at the small elementary school in the east end of Shikoku Island, near the beautiful Shimanto River, where fireflies can still be seen fluttering around the banks at night. Their program included works by Mozart, Wieniawski, Prokofiev, Bach, Dvo-aacute;k and Liszt.

Both artists enjoyed meeting many younger musicians of youth/junior orchestras in a variety of locations in Japan through the Orchestra Visits program, which took place in the same period as the Lecture Concerts. More than 500 members of 10 youth/junior orchestras enjoyed the exchanges of musical performances and ideas with Midori and Koji. "I was deeply moved by Midori's playing. When Midori talked to us, she would give us very detailed answers. It was the most precious and memorable experience I have ever had," said Kyoko Horiuchi, a 13 year-old violinist in the Hikone Joy Junior Orchestra.

This year, Music Sharing piloted a new program, in collaboration with the Education departments of several Japanese universities. Targeting teacher trainees, particularly in the area of music education, the program encourages the examination of current educational situations, and discussion of students' anticipated roles in the field. Midori shared her knowledge and experiences of education in the US and Japan with 200 students from four universities. In continuing to carry out trial programs, Music Sharing aims to make the College Program a fully-fledged division of Music Sharing in the next few years.

In Special Concerts for children and their families in Tokyo and Osaka, two distinguished performers of traditional Japanese music, Ms. Kazue Sawai, a renowned player of the Koto (a string instrument of Chinese origin) and Mr. Ko Ishikawa, an Imperial Court Music player, performed with colleagues and invited the audiences to savor an entirely different world, that of ancient Japan, when people led easier lives with no anxiety about time. Midori and Koji played Suk's Burleska, Milhaud's Le Printemps, and Sinding's dramatic Suite in the Old Style.

This coming November, the Traditional Japanese Music Lecture Concert by Ms. Sawai and her ensemble and Mr. Ishikawa with his colleagues will officially launch the Koto Program and the Gagaku Program respectively at the 12 elementary schools and 4 institutions throughout Japan where Midori and Koji Oikawa gave their Lecture Concerts this summer.

Toshio Hashimoto, Director
Music Sharing

 

Lecture Concert program
 
 

Orchestra Visits program
 

College Program
 

Special Concerts
 
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CONTEMPORARY MUSIC PROJECT 2004-2005

Between December 22 2004 and January 12 2005, Midori and pianist Robert McDonald toured Japan with two recital programs. One program consisted entirely of works composed since 1979.

All-contemporary Program:
Judith Weir: Music for 247 Strings (1981)
Isang Yun: Violin Sonata No.1 (1991)
Alexander Goehr: Suite for Violin and Piano Op.70 (2000)
György Kurtág: Tre Pezzi Op.14e (1979)
Witold Lutoslwski: Partita for Violin and Piano (1984)

The five works above represent the rich variety of styles that contemporary music offers and were selected and put together from the vast literature written during Midori's lifetime.

Midori has always taken a proactive role in incorporating lesser-known works in her recital programs and has also championed the music of living composers. The Contemporary Music Project is one of her ongoing efforts to examine musical works with her audiences and encourage a more substantive approach to listening. She believes that music matures as it is performed and critiqued and that this is a crucial component of the life of musical works.

To enable audiences to become more familiar with the repertoire prior to the concerts, several approaches were taken:

Free Program Guide DVD
A Program Guide DVD was produced featuring specially shot interviews with Judith Weir and Alexander Goehr. Additionally, a filmed interview with György Kurtág was extracted from a documentary program. The DVD also included biographical data on all five composers as well as descriptions of the individual works and sound samples. Those who purchased tickets to the contemporary recitals were invited to apply for the DVDs, which were sent to them free of charge.

All-Day Event
An All-Day Event was held on December 26, 2004 at Tokyo Opera City's Large Rehearsal Studio. Several hundred people applied to attend, of whom 160 were chosen by lottery.

The Event opened with a 90-minute introductory lecture on contemporary music by Prof. Akira Nishimura, composer and lecturer at the Tokyo College of Music. Prof. Nishimura used printed chronological tables of 20th-century music history and numerous sound samples to guide the attendees through recent developments in contemporary music.

This was followed in the afternoon by a work-by-work commentary and analysis of the pieces on Midori's contemporary program presented by Prof. Shin-ichiro Okabe, musicologist and lecturer at the Department of Art Studies, Meiji Gakuin University, in collaboration with Midori and pianist Robert McDonald.

The last part of the day consisted of an Open Masterclass led by Midori. Five students from Japan, the United States, and Korea, were selected through tape auditions. Each chose a work from Midori's contemporary program and received a public 45-minute lesson. The scores of the works were projected on an overhead screen to enable the audience to follow the music.

The All-Day Event was accompanied by an exhibition in which attendees were invited to look through scores, books and CDs related to the five composers, documentary programs about some of the composers were shown on a television screen and a listening space was provided so attendees could sample works by the composers. The YAMAHA Music Store also set up a temporary sales counter where scores were available for purchase.

The All-Day Event attracted a great deal of media coverage, including national newspapers and magazines as well as radio programs. NHK taped the All-Day Event as well as the Tokyo recital.

Exhibition
Midori and Robert McDonald performed their all-contemporary recital program in four Japanese cities: Mibu, Osaka, Sapporo, and Tokyo. At each concert venue, an exhibition space was set up in the lobby inviting audience members to browse through scores, CDs, and books during the interval.

In summary, the Contemporary Music Project brought together people who might not ordinarily have chosen to attend such an adventurous program. Many concert goers who said they had previously considered contemporary music as something "to be endured," came out of the concerts deeply moved, spoke with Midori afterwards, and wrote to her through her website to tell her how the experience had changed their outlook toward and appreciation of contemporary music.

Some of the comments may be read below:
"For me, the music of Bach, Mozart and other Romantic composers has always felt closer to my heart (than contemporary music). But, at the same time, I was curious to know why many musicians seemed to be able to feel sympathy with contemporary music, and your wonderful project gave me the chance to find out. Through the Special One-Day Event, I learned that there are many ways to approach and appreciate contemporary music."

"I did not know much about music...which music was more popular, or what kind of composers there were or what a sonata meant, and I was a little afraid that the lectures might be too difficult for me to understand. However, even someone like me, who knew next to nothing about classical music, found the Event very interesting. There is some music that you like intuitively, and with a little knowledge, the interest and appreciation of the music can grow very much."

"Listening to your Masterclass taught me how difficult it really is to play music exactly as it is written. The depth into which you read each score, and your effort to get close to the composer's thoughts behind the work are impressive and moving."

"I very much enjoyed the concert on January 12. I was not too keen on contemporary music, but the Program Guide DVD and the Special One-Day Event helped make the concert a highly memorable experience. [...] The many [reservations] I had about contemporary music seem to have disappeared. It is wonderful to be able to feel close to the music of composers who are living (or have lived) in the same era as myself."

Those involved in the Contemporary Music Project would like to express their sincere gratitude to all who supported the idea and particularly All Nippon Airline (ANA) for tour and project sponsorship. Thank you also to the composers, their publishers, the International Isang Yun Society, Judit Kele, Les Films d'ici, and Digital Classics Distribution.

 


Audience at All Day Event


 

Masterclass
 

Exhibition in the lobby of Symphony Hall, Osaka
 

Midori warms up before concert in Tokyo Opera City
 
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NORTH PARK UNIVERSITY TAKES MIDORI TO ITS HEART AS HER UNIVERSITY RESIDENCIES PROGRAM IS LAUNCHED

After many months of planning, the first University Residencies Program (URP) took place in November 2003, with Midori and pianist Jonathan Feldman spending a week at North Park University in Chicago. The residency was designed in close cooperation among Midori, the faculty and the students of the school. The goals of URP are to encourage an active involvement in music for both music and non-music students, and to give a deeper experience of musical collaboration to university-level musicians. Together with an aspiration for high-quality performance, emphasis is placed on planning, process and dialogue. Through URP, the students have direct access and contact with both the artist and the human being.

At first glance, realization of these goals might seem unattainable, or that it would be "too good to be true," in the words of Tom Zelle, North Park's Orchestra Director. However, with dedication and creativity, it certainly proved possible. From the very first stages of planning, attention to the practical and the specific is necessary in order to make the residency a success.

North Park University was recommended to Midori by her manager Byron Gustafson, an NPU alumnus. It was an ideal choice of venue for the inauguration of URP, as it is a small university, and therefore easier to create and evaluate our plans. Most of the music school was involved in the project at some stage of the residency, as were some non-music students and faculty.

The pinnacle of this first week was to be a concert of collaboration among the students and the professional musicians, and would include chamber music, vocal recitals and instrumental duets. NPU students and Midori would perform the Shostakovich String Quartet No.8; and before each movement, chairs would change so more students could participate. Jonathan Feldman would accompany singers in recital, as well as play Poulenc's Sonata for Piano for Four Hands with its movements divided between two students. Midori and Jonathan would each play a sonata with a cello student: Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Cello (mvmts. III, IV) and Brahms' Sonata for Piano and Cello in F major, Op.99, respectively. The final event of the week would be a formal recital given by Midori and Jonathan Feldman, the proceeds of which would be donated to NPU's Urban Outreach program. Several blocks of time were set for open rehearsals, so that students and faculty could come to hear the music. Some of the activities were not music-exclusive, such as classroom discussions and a chapel service.

After two days of pre-residency rehearsal, and a pizza party, which helped break the ice between the students and "the Artist," Midori arrived at NPU on Monday, November 10, and immediately launched into rehearsal. She then visited a 3-D art design class in which the students were constructing musical instruments, and she talked with them about the logistics of the violin body. She returned to further rehearsal of the Shostakovich, with barely enough time for dinner.

Tuesday the 11th was the first day of Jonathan's involvement in the residency, and both he and Midori had a busy day. Morning was spent in rehearsal with students, then lunch with music majors, followed by more rehearsal. Midori visited a feminism class, while Jonathan continued to rehearse with cellist Wei Yu. The sun had set long before Midori and Jonathan began rehearsal finally for their own recital on Friday.

The next day, Midori performed at the university chapel and spoke on the topic "What is community?", which was followed by a discussion on the same theme over lunch with students. The afternoon held more rehearsals for Thursday's concert. Jonathan gave a masterclass to vocalists, and Midori met with a local arts commission. A chocolate fondue party with the music students followed, and Midori and Jonathan spent the rest of the evening rehearsing.

Thursday, the day of the collaborative concert, arrived with even more activities. Midori spent the morning at an elementary school on Chicago's south side, where she talked with the children and played the violin for them. Meanwhile, Jonathan coached vocalists and pianists on accompaniment, and rehearsed the Poulenc sonata with the two pianists who would perform with him that night.

A few hours in the afternoon were spent in rehearsal, suspended by a discussion with the entire music school to make preliminary plans for the next half of the residency and to review what had happened so far. The students had many valuable suggestions and comments, as did the faculty -- the main complaint was time management. It was difficult for the students and faculty to balance their usual classes and their schoolwork with preparation for and participation in the project. And the suggestion was made that a greater variety of instruments should be involved, not only strings and piano.

As the evening performance approached, energy, excitement and nerves all ran high. The university's chapel was nearly full, as parents and friends had traveled from as far away as Canada to witness this unique event. The concert went off without a hitch, finishing with thunderous applause and standing ovations. It was unforgettable for all who played, heard and felt the music that night -- every note may not have been absolutely perfect, but the concert achieved something much deeper than that.

As most of the exhilarated performers went off to restaurants to celebrate with friends and family, Midori and Jonathan spoke at a press conference of NPU journalism students. The class's assignment was to write an article about this newsworthy campus event, and there were many questions for Midori and Jonathan. A hugely successful evening finally came to an end.

The last day of the residency was another busy one for Midori and Jonathan, but a sort of 'reward' day for the students. Midori was interviewed on a local arts television show in the early morning, before sitting in on 'North Park Dialogue,' the introductory class mandatory for freshmen. Jonathan gave piano lessons in the morning, and the rest of the day was spent in rehearsal for that night's formal recital. The students attended some of the rehearsal, and they would just be able to sit back and enjoy the music that night. The recital program featured sonatas by Hindemith, Brahms, Bach and Saint-Saëns. The chapel was almost full that night, and the Urban Outreach program received a healthy amount from ticket sales. After the recital Midori and Jonathan attended a lovely reception at the home of Dr. David Horner, the University President, bringing a full inaugural residency week to a close.

Kelly Gehrs
URP Project Coordinator

 
Posing with NPU music students after a chocolate fondue party

 
     
 
     
 
     

Performers gather on stage after the exhilarating concert on November 13 in which student musicians and singers collaborated with Midori and Jonathan Feldman.
 
     

Sitting in on the 3-D Art Design class in which students constructed musical instruments
 
     
 
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MUSIC SHARING 2003

Music Sharing, a government-authorized non-profit organization, made its first step in the field of music education in Japan this summer since taking over from the Midori Foundation Tokyo Branch.

The Music Sharing tour for 2003 began with two Special Concerts for children and their families in Tokyo (June 29 at Tokyo Opera City Takemitsu Memorial and July 6 at NHK Osaka Hall). This year's Special Concerts were full of variety. To mark the start of a new program (Hogaku Lecture Concerts - Lecture Concerts on traditional Japanese music, presented by performers of traditional Japanese instruments), Midori introduced two distinguished performers of traditional Japanese music: Ms. Kazue Sawai (koto) and Mr. Ko Ishikawa (sho). In between Midori's performance of Paganini's La Campanella, Grieg's Violin Sonata No.3, Amy Beach's Romance and Sarasate's Zapateado with Koji Oikawa, Ms. Sawai and Mr. Ishikawa performed compositions most popular and important among the literature of traditional Japanese music.

Those who attended the concert were also given chances to try various traditional instruments. The lobby and balconies of the concert halls were turned into a music fair, with several koto and gagaku instruments on display and professional helpers at hand to assist in trying them out. Doors opened an hour before the concert to allow children and their parents plenty of time to enjoy the displays and trials, and the sounds of instruments mixed with laughter echoed around the concert halls.

Ms. Sawai and Mr. Ishikawa, with their colleagues, then went on to give three Hogaku Lecture Concerts each (as a pilot program) in elementary schools in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. The 60-minute program included performances, talk and instrument demonstration as well as a trial and question time. Everything from music, instruments to the performers' costumes (Gagaku) were new to most children (as well as to most of the teachers), and they all appeared transfixed by the solemn and sublime sound world. The Hogaku Lecture Concerts will join the official program of Music Sharing from next year.

Midori herself had a busy schedule of Lecture Concerts and Orchestra Visits. During the weeks of June and July, Midori and her pianist-partner Koji Oikawa visited 11 elementary schools, five institutions and a hospital, presenting live music and talks to over 4000 children. During the Lecture Concerts this year, children took part in simple rhythm games (the rhythm message game - a game of speed and accuracy in which a short rhythmic pattern is passed on by tapping another person's shoulder, and the rhythm ensemble game - adding layers of rhythmic patterns to make a rhythmic ensemble. By adding pitches to the rhythm, children can learn the basic music constructs). This was done in an attempt to encourage more active participation in the Lecture Concerts, and the idea succeeded in bringing out more enthusiastic responses from the children.

The Orchestra Visits program took them to eight youth/junior orchestras throughout Japan, in which they met more than 700 young musicians. In return for the performance by Midori and Koji Oikawa, each orchestra gave its own lively and passionate performance. These musical exchanges were followed by discussions in which members of the orchestras asked questions about practice methods and approaches to music making, among other subjects.

Long letters and e-mails are already arriving from children describing their excitement and impression of the concerts and programs.

Toshio Hashimoto, Director
Music Sharing

 
  Gagaku performers wearing medieval Japanese costumes
 
     
  Children trying "koto" at Special Concert in Osaka  
     
  Touching the "ex-Huberman" to feel its sound vibrations at Lecture Concert  
     
  Midori praises younger musicians for their passionate performance  

   
 
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"ON LOCATION" IN LOS ANGELES
MIDORI STRETCHES THE DEFINITION OF 'RESIDENCY'

Midori's On Location residency with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in November 2002 was the orchestra's third such experiment but, in the words of the Orchestra's Executive Director, Deborah Borda, "Midori helped to expand our vision of what was possible."

The residency was planned over a period of more than two years during which Midori, Ms. Borda and Ed Yim, the Orchestra's Director of Artistic Planning sought ways to reach out to the Los Angeles's different constituencies while reflecting Midori's own broad interests. Midori recalls, "When I first met with two key administrators from the Orchestra to exchange ideas of what we might achieve with a mini-residency, On Location was little more than a title. In fact, to me, it sounded a bit 'Hollywood-ish' and without much substance. (How wrong that turned out to be!) I knew what I did NOT want the residency to be: a school concert like my work with Midori & Friends yet, unlike Midori & Friends, without substantial preparation or follow-up - and calling this 'music education'."

At the core of the eventual ten-day residency were two subscription programs during which Midori performed the Sibelius and Barber concertos three and four times respectively for LAPO audiences. The other activities filling her residency were somewhat more unusual. They included:

- a benefit chamber music concert at the Colburn School with members of the LAPO and the American Youth Symphony in support of the LAPO's Education Department;
- a neighborhood concert with the LAPO at the Wilshire United Methodist Church during which she took part in performances of the first movement of the Brahms Sextet, Op. 18, and the Barber Concerto;
- an interview and discussion with Los Angeles administrators and educators at the Music Center;
- a master class at the University of Southern California for violin students;
- a visit to Hamilton Academy, a magnet school, where Midori played the Mozart Duo in Bb and answered questions from the teenaged students;
- an event for LAPO donors during which Midori performed the Dvo-aacute;k Terzetto and was interviewed by Ms. Borda;
- a post concert discussion with the LAPO's Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, who quizzed Midori on stage about various aspects of her life and career.

Robert Woodward, the violist who performed the Dvo-aacute;k Terzetto with Midori, later described the rehearsals and two performances as "the highpoint of my chamber music experience. I remember that the first rehearsal went on for four hours with only a four-minute break. At the end my head felt like putty but afterwards Midori went on to another rehearsal. Her endurance is amazing. The other rehearsals were not as long, three hours or less, but just as determined. I didn't think I had the quality of performance in me that Midori patiently coaxed out of me. It was not patience in a condescending way but rather the singular belief in doing the best possible performance, there being no point in doing anything less. So I was treated as an equal, although of course my playing wasn't! Playing music with Midori was an elevating experience."

For her part, Midori fondly remembers performing with the young artists: "I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the young artists. At times in rehearsal, I felt I was pushing them to their absolute max. We would work out a passage and they were ready to go on to the next one but I would say, 'let's do it again'. They must have thought me so demanding but I don't mind taking time to make things 'right'. And they came along with me the whole way. I send them my thanks for their patience."

And on the Community Concert: "It vibrated with raw excitement. Such community events are very touching. It seems as though the less traditional concert setting empowered all of us to be touched by the music. It was wonderful to be a part of the experience - and also to help prepare the program booklet."

In the days and weeks following Midori's "On Location" residency, the LAPO received a large number of letters from subscribers, educators and Hamilton Academy students. The audience members expressed their pleasure in getting to know a longtime guest artist better as a person, the educators were impressed that someone of Midori's stature would take them time to speak with them so knowledgeably and forcefully about music education and the students from Hamilton Academy were inspired by Midori's performance as well as by the stories she told that demonstrated to them that she might be a very famous musician but she is also a down-to-earth young woman.

 
      Midori with LAPO Executive Director, Deborah Borda and Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen  
     
Photo:Bob Millard
 
         
   
      At the Wilshire United Methodist Church, Midori and Esa-Pekka Salonen take part in a Neighborhood Concert    
     
Photo:Bob Millard
 
         
   
      Midori greets a young fan backstage  
     
Photo:Bob Millard
 
         
 
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MUSIC SHARING - MIDORI'S NEW ORGANIZATION
IN JAPAN

Cutbacks in the teaching of arts subjects in schools are very worrying to all of us who care about the emotional and developmental health of children and equally about the health of the arts community. Through her organization, Midori & Friends Tokyo Office, Midori has been performing in schools and hospitals throughout Japan for the past decade but last year she came to the conclusion that a different type of structure - specifically one with non-profit status - was required to respond more effectively to the needs of a changing society.

Midori therefore established MUSIC SHARING, an organization focused on children and developing their skills of self-expression and communication. With Midori as its president, MUSIC SHARING was granted non-profit status by the Japanese government in September 2002.

MUSIC SHARING believes that music of the highest calibre, experienced firsthand, gives children an enhanced sense of aesthetics and culture, awareness of their own creative powers and of their environment. To this end, MUSIC SHARING aims:

--to make both classical and traditional Japanese music accessible to children without diluting them or dumbing them down;
--to become a leader in the field of classical and traditional Japanese music education, encouraging both the availability of live performances and active participation by the children;
--to focus on children's unique and rightful artistic development in a wholesome and holistic manner;
-- to support the health of music education;
-- to conceptualize and re-evaluate programs on an ongoing basis.


MUSIC SHARING worked together with Midori & Friends Tokyo Office in planning for the June 2003 programs. MUSIC SHARING assumes full responsibility for the programs in 2004 and for expanding access to these programs. Among the programs planned for 2003 are:

--Lecture Concerts: 60-minutes of live classical music and related talks by Midori and pianist Koji Oikawa provided free to schools, hospitals, and special institutions, aimed at children between the ages of 10 and 12;

--Orchestra Visits: Midori and Koji Oikawa to visit youth orchestras and ensembles, encouraging the exchange of music and ideas with the students;

--Music Sharing Concerts: to be held in Tokyo and Osaka, designed to provide music of the highest quality, both classical and traditional Japanese, to children and their parents at low cost, together with the opportunity to try out a variety of musical instruments.

--Pilot Program: Lecture Concerts of traditional Japanese music (Koto and Sho) to be presented in selected schools.


MUSIC SHARING operates solely on the basis of charitable contribution. Through individual, foundation, and corporate gifts, we hope to bring the joy of music to as many children as possible, in Japan initially, but also in other Asian countries.

       
 
Photo:K.Miura
 
     
 
Photo:K.Miura
 
     
 
Photo:K.Miura
 
     
 
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SUMMER 2002:
MIDORI'S TOTAL EXPERIENCE RECITAL SERIES MAKES ITS DEBUT IN JAPAN

Midori frequently tours Japan but during the summer of 2002, the start of her 20th anniversary season, she spent more time in her native country – and took part in more diverse projects - than usual.

Midori and her piano partner of many years, Robert McDonald, kicked off their Asian tour with recitals in seven Japanese cities. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Midori & Friends (Tokyo Office) Midori gave special concerts in Tokyo and Osaka. Tokyo’s NHK Hall, for example, was the site of a gala concert in which Midori performed the Barber and Tchaikovsky violin concertos in a single evening with the NHK Symphony Orchestra conducted by Claus Peter Flor. The event, titled Concert with Youth, was televised nationally several times. Together with pianist Koji Oikawa, Midori also gave a series of performances in elementary schools, children’s hospitals and special institutions, something she has done annually for the past ten years. New in 2002 was the Junior Orchestra Visitation Program where Koji and Midori shared music and camaraderie with aspiring amateur musicians.

Without question, however, Midori’s most unusual appearances in Japan last summer were what she calls Total Experience Recitals, held in 13 towns or villages, each one conceived independently and taking a unique form.

The inspiration for the Total Experience project was a visit to the theatre during which Midori felt surrounded by and immersed in the theme of the play, experiencing it through all her senses. She wondered whether this experience could be applied to the presentation of classical music. “

I wrote a paper about what I called "Total Experience",” she said, “for my class at Gallatin [The Gallatin School at New York University, where Midori studied for her Bachelor's degree and is currently working toward her Master's] and we decided to try it out in a series of recitals in Japan in the summer of 2002.”

My objective,” she continued, “was to challenge the generic concert presentation style by working closely with individual venues to create a concert that would be a personal experience for all involved: the audience, the performers, the presenters and the local community. Another objective for the Total Experience project was to engage as many as possible of the senses of those taking part in the hope that the memory of the theme-related activities would remain in the minds of everyone involved for a long time afterwards.” Pianist Cullan Bryant was Midori’s partner for the Total Experience concerts.

The theme for this first series of Total Experience Recitals was "Relationship and Interconnectedness" ("kizuna" in Japanese). The sponsor was the Sony Music Foundation which, in the summer of 2001, invited applications from public halls around Japan to become Partner-Presenters of the Total Experience Project. Each applicant organization was asked to prepare a strategy that would incorporate the theme of ‘kizuna’ in a community project involving local citizens and local industry. Local artists in all media were encouraged to take part and to interpret the theme according to their particular discipline. In considering the merits of the 150 applications, preference was given to smaller venues away from the major cosmopolitan areas. Of these, thirteen organizations (partner-presenters) were chosen. All the venues had a limited capacity of several hundred seats maximum.

At each venue local residents became volunteer staff and worked alongside hall staff and promoters, involving themselves in every stage of organizing the event, from planning and publicity to presentation.

One element of the Total Experience project was the opportunity - indeed the necessity - for audiences to determine the programme for the second half of the concert from alternatives provided by Midori. Some presenters set up listening spaces within the community in the weeks before the recitals where local residents could listen to recordings of the pieces and vote for their preferences. Others organized lectures by musicologists. The result was that the program selected felt more familiar to audiences because they had listened to all the works and made personal choices as to what they wanted to hear Midori perform. The composers ranged from Beethoven and Dvo-aacute;k to Szymanowski, Messiaen, Ravel, Saint-Saëns and Sarasate.

Here are examples of how three organizations used their opportunities of Total Experience recitals:

Ooizumi town, with a 14% Brazilian population that is not as integrated into the community as it might be, was celebrating its 45th anniversary and chose to incorporate Midori’s recital into its anniversary events. Ooizumi aimed to bring together a broad cross-section of its residents, including the Brazilians, for the events of the weekend leading up to and including Midori’s recital and to strengthen interest in the violin and in classical music in the town. They set up a Midori section in the Ooizumi library filled with her recordings, books about her and other Midori-related material. They also created a mixed youth choir with Japanese and Brazilian children and put together a festival of Brazilian culture that included Brazilian cuisine and dance for the benefit of the Japanese population. As a result of the varied activities – and, of course, Midori’s recital itself - many overseas residents who had never set foot in the concert hall before came to visit, mingled with their Japanese neighbors and enjoyed themselves. With the money from ticket sales, the town bought textbooks for the town’s Portuguese-speaking Brazilian school and instruments for violin classes.

Hinokimi Sogo Bunka Center is in the Kumamoto Prefecture, which is also home to a rare Astronomical Observatory that was celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2002, just like Midori. The Total Experience Project was planned and managed jointly by the concert hall and the observatory. The concert hall lobby was designed to suggest the sky at night with planets and stars. The Observatory also organized an accompanying exhibition of photographs and films about the universe and the planets. The goal was to encourage the townspeople to re-examine their relationship to the vast universe and to nurture the sense of “living together” on the Earth and sharing with others the beautiful experience of listening to music.

Kaminoyama Echo Hall in Yamagata prefecture took a completely different approach to the Total Experience project, aiming to synthesize Western classical music with Japanese aesthetics. They did this by creating a traditional Japanese tearoom in the lobby leading to the concert hall and by presenting a typically Japanese concept of hospitality to all visitors. With home-made bamboo vases and with photographs on the walls, they succeeded in creating a relaxing and somewhat nostalgic atmosphere in an otherwise rather cold and impersonal concert hall.

After each recital a tea – or juice - party was held for the promoters, the volunteers and the performers, an opportunity for all involved to meet and talk informally. One volunteer said, “What I was most pleased about in joining this volunteer group is that I was able to meet and talk to people of different ages and occupations and I enjoyed working with them.” Another said, “It is a real pity that all our work and fun will end with Midori’s recital. Everyone is saying that we should all meet together and start something new after this.”

Mr. Ida of the Kyoto Chutan Cultural Hall said, “In the beginning, the volunteer staff and the Hall staff did not know each other at all and it was difficult to communicate with one another. … However more positive and challenging voices increased with the number of meetings and I could sense that the mood of the staff was gradually changing. The Hall staff, myself included, now believe that a similar method of event planning should be adopted from now on, where there are opportunities for people to join forces and work together.”

Cullan Bryant, who accompanied Midori in the Total Experience recitals, kept a journal during the tour. In one entry he wrote, “The spirit of the theme of this tour comes alive in the concert hall: The lobby has been lined with photographs of local foliage, flowers, and insects made by a local staff person, and each has been beautifully framed with large easel-like bamboo frames. The staff here collected all of the bamboo from surrounding forest and hand-crafted it. As well, there are floor lamps of bamboo with shades made of fine paper. People are all embracing the idea of active participation in the artistic process.”

In Midori’s own words, “All the staff members were as excited as I was as we watched this simple concept develop into an experience that made an impact on each participant. Every day there was something new to be understood or solved but the challenges were stimulating and with all the participants so motivated to work things out in the best possible way, the entire period was incredibly invigorating. Despite the fact that there were fourteen concerts in sixteen days in thirteen different venues, despite having to get up at 6:30 a.m., having gone to bed at 2:00 a.m., miraculously this did not seem to take a toll. I loved every minute of it. In fact, the Total Experience tour was one of the most exciting and energizing sixteen days of my professional life.”

Midori invited a friend and colleague, Duffie Adelson, Executive Director of the Merit School of Music in Chicago, to be present for part of the Total Experience project tour.

Ms. Adelson's own account of her trip can be read here
       
 
RECITAL:
  Robert McDonald and Midori at rehearsal in Fukuoka  
     
  TOTAL EXPERIENCE:  
  Volunteer at work  
     
  Beautifully decorated lobby in Kaminoyama  
     
  Bonfire welcoming the guests at Kaminoyama  
     
  Audience experiencing the "stage" in Fukuroi  
     
  Cullan Bryant with volunteers at tea party in Fukuroi  
     
     
 
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