In the 29th season of her performing career, the violinist Midori will pursue a typically ambitious schedule of concertizing, teaching, and community engagement which will bring her to dozens of cities throughout Europe, South America, North America and Asia. She will collaborate in concerto appearances with such conductors as Andris Nelsons, Vasily Petrenko, John Storgårds, Christoph Eschenbach and Jun Märkl. She will play twice with Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra - first in a series of concerts at their home base in Minneapolis, and later in the season in a brief tour of major venues in Florida. She will do four recital tours with her pianist, Özgür Aydin. She will conduct Orchestra Residencies Programs in Alexandria, VA and Eugene, OR; she will play at New York City schools as part of her Midori & Friends program, and her Partners in Performance recitals will take place in Morehead, KY and Melbourne, FL this season. She will also lead an International Orchestra Residencies Program in Lima, Peru. Among the first concerts of the year will be her appearance as soloist at a private fundraising event with Carl St.Clair and the Symphony Orchestra of the University of Southern California, where she is Jascha Heifetz Chair and Chair of the Strings Department at the University's Thornton School of Music.

 

Since her debut at the age of 11 with the New York Philharmonic over 28 years ago, the violinist Midori has established a record of achievement which sets her apart as a master musician, an innovator, and a champion of the developmental potential of children. Named a Messenger of Peace by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2007, she has created a new model for young artists who seek to balance the joys and demands of a performing career at the highest level with a hands-on investment in the power of music to change lives.

 

In 1992 Midori founded Midori & Friends, a non-profit organization in New York which brings music education programs to thousands of underserved children each year. Two other organizations, Music Sharing, based in Japan, and Partners in Performance, based in the U.S., also bring music closer to the lives of people who may not otherwise have involvement with the arts. Her commitment to community collaboration and outreach extends beyond these organizations to her work with young violinists in master classes all over the world, and to her Orchestra Residencies Program in the U.S.

 

Midori's two most recent recordings are an album of sonatas by J.S.Bach (Unaccompanied No.2) and Béla Bartók (No.1, for Violin & Piano); and The Essential Midori, a 2-CD compilation. Like most of her recordings, both are issued by Sony Masterworks. Midori's violin is the 1734 Guarnerius del Gesu "ex-Huberman."

 

Midori's Dates in the U.S. 2011-2012

August 2011

 24 La Jolla, CA Chamber music w/R.Kirshbaum, C.Wu, H.Baillie, P.Myers Glière, Schumann, Schubert 7:30

 

September 2011

15 Los Angeles, CA USC Symphony / C.St.Clair (private event) Beethoven 6:30

30 Lexington, KY Lexington Philharmonic / S.Terrell Beethoven 7:30

 

October 2011

16 Bellingham, WA Whatcom Symphony / R. Briggs Britten 3:00

24 Chicago, IL Merit School Benefit recital w / Ö.Aydin (private event)

25 Springfield, OH Recital w / Ö.Aydin Mozart, Shostakovich, Schumann, Schubert

27 Kansas City, MO Recital w / Ö.Aydin Mozart, Shostakovich, Schumann, Schubert

29 New York, NY Recital w / Ö.Aydin Mozart, Shostakovich, Schumann, Schubert

 

November 2011

 03-05 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota Orchestra / O.Vänskä Sibelius (3rd: 11am)

11-13 Madison, WI Madison Symphony / J.Demain Shostakovich 1 (11th:7:30; 13th:2:30)

 

December 2011

 01-03 Washington, D.C. National Symphony / C.Eschenbach Britten (1st:7:00)

 

February 2011

 11 Tucson, AZ Tucson Symphony / G.Hanson Brahms

 

March 2011

 06-11 Florida Tour with Minnesota Orchestra / O.Vänskä Sibelius

06 Sarasota

07 Fort Myers

10 Miami

11 West Palm Beach

23-24 Cincinnati, OH Cincinnati Symphony / P.Steinberg Beethoven (23rd: 11am)

27-01 April Alexandria, VA Alexandria Symphony & youth symphonies / K.Kluge Mendelssohn ORP

 

April 2012

 01 Alexandria, VA Alexandria Symphony / K.Kluge Mendelssohn ORP

24-29 Eugene, OR Eugene Symphony & youth symphonies / D.Rachev Sibelius ORP

 

May 2012

5 Morehead, KY Recital w / C.Abramovic rep tba PiP

7 Melbourne, FL Recital w / C.Abramovic rep tba PiP 7:30

Schedule subject to change without notice. All concerts at 8pm unless noted otherwise.

 

 For more information about Midori, visit GoToMidori.com. 

 

* * * * *