Midori (violinist)

Midori
Midori at the White House in 2021
Midori at the White House in 2021
Background information
Birth nameMidori Goto
Also known asMidori (formerly styled as Mi Dori)
Born (1971-10-25) October 25, 1971 (age 53)
Hirakata, Osaka, Japan
GenresClassical
OccupationMusician
InstrumentViolin
Years active1982–present
Websitegotomidori.com

Midori Goto (五嶋 みどり, Gotō Midori, born October 25, 1971),[1][2] who performs under the mononym Midori, is a Japanese-born American violinist. She made her debut with the New York Philharmonic at age 11 as a surprise guest soloist at the New Year's Eve Gala in 1982. In 1986 her performance at the Tanglewood Music Festival with Leonard Bernstein conducting his own composition made the front-page headlines in The New York Times.[3][4] Midori became a celebrated child prodigy, and one of the world's preeminent violinists as an adult.[5][6][7]

Midori has been honored as an educator and for her community engagement endeavors. When she was 21, she established her foundation Midori and Friends to bring music education to young people in underserved communities in New York City and Japan, which has evolved into four distinct organizations with worldwide impact. In 2007, Midori was appointed as a UN Messenger of Peace. In 2018, she joined the violin faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music. She is also on the faculty of the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music serving as Distinguished Professor and Judge Widney Professor of Music. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2012.[8][9]

  1. ^ McPherson, Angus (June 24, 2016). "Midori Gotō: We don't always need words in order to make friends". Limelight. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  2. ^ "Midori Gotō". Morningside Music Bridge. Guest Faculty. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference nyt-Schwarz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT Girl14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Brookes, Stephen (March 23, 2012). "Violinist Midori coming to Alexandria to perform — and to teach young musicians". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Earls was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference lat-Perlmutter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "MIDORI". Hollywood Bowl. Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. Archived from the original on January 28, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  9. ^ "Midori to join Curtis Institute of Music violin faculty in 2018". The Strad. June 26, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.