IRIS Orchestra and Scheidt School of Music Announce 2009/10 Concert and Masterclass Series

For release: September 22, 2009
For press information, contact Carol Morse (901) 678-2279

The IRIS Orchestra and the U of M's Scheidt School of Music will present the Orchestra's 2009/10 guest artists in masterclasses. The classes offer students the opportunity to play for artists who will coach them and make suggestions to improve their performance.

The  first masterclass will be taught by violinist Midori on October 2, 2009 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Harris Concert Hall at the University of Memphis. The public is invited to observe the classes at no cost. For more information, call (901) 678-5400.
The IRIS Orchestra will feature Midori in a concert at the Germantown Performing Arts Centre on October 3, 2009 at 8 p.m. For ticket information, call (901) 751-7500.

Midori Gotō, usually called simply Midori, was first taught the violin by her mother. She gave her first public performance at the age of seven, playing a piece from the 24 Caprices of Paganini. In 1982 Midori and her mother moved to New York City where she started violin studies under the renowned instructor Dorothy DeLay at the Juilliard Pre-College. As her audition piece Midori performed the 13-minute-long Chaconne by Bach, generally considered one of the most difficult solo violin pieces ever written. In the same year, she made her concert debut at the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, a conductor with whom she would record many concertos.

When Midori was 15 years old, she decided to leave the Juilliard Pre-College. About 5 years later in 1992, she formed Midori & Friends, a non-profit organization that aims to bring quality music education to inner-city children in New York City. In 2001 Midori received the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize, an award issued to outstanding musicians. The award allowed her to start a foundation program called Partners in Performance. Midori also founded the community-based University Residencies Program and the Orchestra Residencies Program

In 2000, Midori graduated from New York University`s Gallatin School where she studied Psychology, subsequently earning a Master's Degree in Psychology from NYU a few years later. Midori has been appointed to the Jascha Heifetz Chair in Music at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music, where she currently chairs the Strings Department. Previously, she was on the faculty at Manhattan School of Music. Midori is also a board member of the American String Teachers Association.

2009/10 Masterclass Schedule

November 13, 2009,10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Jeremy Denk, piano

January 7, 2010, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Dawn Upshaw, soprano

February 24, 2010, 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Michael Stern, conductor

March 18, 2010, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Elizabeth Hainen, harp

March 19, 2010, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Jennifer Koh, violin