Renowned violinist Midori, who was performing by the age of 7, is one of the world’s few musicians recognizable by her first name. (For the record, her last name is Goto.) As a 14-year-old, she became an instant legend, The New York Times recounted, “when she took the stage at Tanglewood to perform Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade under his baton and soldiered through two broken strings to a stunning finale.” She has been an international star ever since, always expanding her repertoire by commissioning and performing new works. In the midst of a full touring, recording and teaching schedule, she graduated from New York University with a bachelor of arts in psychology and gender studies in 2000 and a master of arts in psychology in 2005.

Midori joined USC in 2004 as the holder of the Jascha Heifetz Chair in Violin and since arriving has had an active presence on campus. She performs with students and oversees the Midori Center for Community Engagement while keeping up with private studio teaching for a handful of violinists at USC and a worldwide concert schedule.

AE: How did you become involved in music at such a young age?

MG: The instrument was a regular presence in my life from the very beginning, as my mother is a violinist, and her students were always around our house. My inclination toward the violin came quite naturally in a typical child’s way of wanting to emulate her mother.

AE: What can you tell me about your violin?

MG: It is an Italian 1734 Guarnerius del Gesu ex.-Hubermann violin that I have played for eight years. It is on a lifetime loan from the Hayashibara Foundation.

AE: You have a 100-plus concert schedule a year. What kind of adjustments do you have to make to keep such a busy schedule, both on and off stage?

MG: I fly to every concert outside of the Los Angeles area, so I’m pretty much traveling a part of the week every week. I try to come back to L.A. at least once a week, even if it’s only for 24 hours to give lessons. I don’t like to be away from my students.

AE: Over the past several semesters, you performed with a number of undergraduate and graduate student-based quartets. By playing the second violin part in these quartets, it seems that you’re trying to create an environment in which your students become equal partners. Is playing with students different from playing with professionals?

MG: With students, making music together can mean an important shared process of learning. I keep the same group, most of the time, for two semesters. I usually have two groups per semester, an undergrad group and a graduate group. My own chamber music learning experience took place, for the most part, at the esteemed Marlboro Music Festival. There, the older musicians almost always take the supportive role to the younger musicians, letting them take lead parts.

AE: Tell me more about your teaching philosophy.

MG: My teaching philosophy – if one could call it such – revolves around three basic elements: health, honesty and dignity. These are the pillars of ethics by which my students are encouraged to pursue their studies. To try to achieve the first two is quite a challenge, and the third is to accept the issues at stake with dignity.

AE: Last year, you created the Midori Center for Community Engagement at USC. What is the purpose of that center?

MG: The Midori Center for Community Engagement is a resource, research and training center related to working with the community through music. The training component is designed to guide young musicians toward truly engaging audiences through their art. To be a musician today requires skills, of which performing is only one, and the center aims to formally train and prepare musicians for such responsibilities expected in their future careers.

AE: “Bridging Music and Youth,” the center’s first seminar last June, centered on improving the musical health of schools. What is your assessment of our nation’s current musical health?

MG: The seminar focused on preparing professional musicians for working with young children, and some of the topics included how to develop presentations, what to expect from children of various ages, possible speaking points and so on. I believe that it is important and necessary for artists to actively advocate for the arts beyond the concert hall. Statistics and scores can seem like weighty matters now, but we all need to encourage a well-rounded development of our young people, and that requires us to see beyond the numbers.

As for the musical health in this country, I would say that there is need for more support from all levels. We all – from musicians to audiences to educators – need to be creative and proactive in our efforts to sustain music’s vitality over the long term.


AE: For a while, you taught simultaneously at the Manhattan School of Music and USC. What made you decide to teach full-time at USC?

MG: The most important reason is that I wanted to work at a school where Robert Cutietta is the dean. He is a fantastic leader and visionary, and I continue to be motivated to be in the school where he is. Equally important is the department. Our string department is imbued with a wonderfully warm and caring atmosphere, which is felt by students. In addition, I like the university setting with a wider range of interests and resources than a conservatory.

AE: What is the best part about your move to Los Angeles? Was it hard leaving New York after 24 years?

MG: Now I am now able to have all my students in one place. I feel that my home is where my students are. I don’t miss living in New York, although my mother still lives there.