Girls Who Rocked the World

Midori Goto

1971– VIOLINIST JAPAN AND UNITED STATES

As musicians we’re trained to be self critical so we can get better. But fundamentally we love music. It’s a love that drives us to practice and keep working at it. It’s something I love so much and gives me so much joy.

—MIDORI GOTO

Fourteen-year-old Midori stood at the front of the stage near famous composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. Surrounded by the musicians of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, she was the featured violin soloist for a concert at the Tanglewood Music Festival. The festival was held outdoors, and the summer night was hot and humid. Despite the less-than-ideal playing conditions, Midori had already been sensational through four movements of Bernstein’s difficult Serenade for Violin, String Orchestra, Harp, and Percussion. As the fifth and final movement began, Midori continued to impress the audience with playing that the New York Times would later call “technically near-perfect,” an amazing feat given the challenge of the piece.

Then, partway through the last movement, Midori faced an incident that every violinist dreads: a string broke on her violin. Handling the situation with her typical calmness, she turned to the concertmaster (the person who leads the violin section and serves as assistant to the conductor) and borrowed his violin. Though the concertmaster’s violin was noticeably larger than Midori’s and very different from the instrument she was used to, she played on in the Serenade with only a very brief pause.

Crisis seemed to be averted, and the orchestra continued its performance. Just moments later, though, the unthinkable happened: another string broke! Again Midori exchanged violins, this time getting yet another unfamiliar instrument that was larger than her own. Unfazed by these setbacks that could fluster even the most experienced musician, Midori continued to play seamlessly through the final note. When the music ended, the audience and Midori’s fellow performers erupted into a loud, cheering ovation for the young violinist. They may not have known it at the time, but they had just seen one of the most famous performances ever given by this musician who would go on to become a worldwide sensation.

Midori Goto—who is known professionally by the one-word name Midori—was born in Osaka, Japan, on October 25, 1971. Even as a toddler, Midori knew that she wanted to play the violin, and her first instrument was a gift that she asked for on her third birthday. By the age of four, Midori was studying music with her mother, who was also a violinist.

In the early 1980s, Midori and her mother moved to the United States, and Midori began training with renowned teacher Dorothy DeLay at the world-famous Juilliard School of Music. When Midori was just eleven, she made her concert debut at the New York Philharmonic’s New Year’s Eve Gala. She wasn’t originally on the program, but the orchestra’s music director was so impressed with her talent that he included her as a guest soloist at the last minute. Her legendary performance at Tanglewood happened just a few years later. Midori has since performed thousands of concerts all around the world, sometimes up to one hundred in a year! She also started recording music at the age of fourteen, and she now has more than a dozen albums to her credit.

When she was fifteen, Midori left Juilliard and started to study the violin on her own. Her independent explorations into music helped her develop a unique approach and perspective as a violinist. About this time in her life, Midori said, “It all started to come together: the knowledge of history and culture and theory, the experience of playing in concerts, as well as personal experiences. . . . It made me really think for myself; that’s what was so good about it. I had to be my own teacher, to develop my ears, to be very critical.”32

Midori continued to grow as a musician throughout her career, and her success carries on today. In addition to performing, she now teaches and is currently the Jascha Heifetz Chair in Violin at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. She also spends much of her time working with community organizations. “I was always interested in education,” Midori said. “Not just receiving, but also helping others and being part of the community.”³³ In 1992 she founded Midori & Friends, with the goal of encouraging children to engage with music. Based in New York City, this nonprofit foundation works with public schools and gives students the opportunity to explore music through concerts, workshops, and other activities. In her native Japan, Midori started a similar organization called Music Sharing. She has also founded groups that support youth orchestras and help bring world-class music to small communities. In 2007 Midori’s community engagement activities were recognized on a global level when she was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. As a peace messenger, Midori has helped bring attention to the UN’s work toward improving people’s lives around the world.

You might think that a young person with as much talent as Midori would have focused almost solely on music-related activities, but Midori has always nurtured other interests too. As a teen, she was fascinated by history and archeology. She has always liked to read, and she also enjoys writing and theater. In college, Midori majored in psychology and gender studies, and she earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree.

As a young girl, Midori’s wide-ranging interests not only gave her a well-rounded background to bring to her music, but they also ensured that she didn’t feel stuck with going into one specific field. A couple of days after her performance on that summer night at Tanglewood, after proving herself to be one of the most talented young musicians in the world, fourteen-year-old Midori spoke to a reporter about her plans. “I’m not sure yet what I want to do,” she said. “I think I’ll be a writer, or an archaeologist—or maybe a violinist.”34 While any one of those options would likely have led to a rewarding career, thousands of music lovers around the world are lucky that she chose the last.

HOW WILL YOU ROCK THE WORLD?

I will rock the world by playing in an orchestra or band. I already play the clarinet in several bands and have played the piano at the New York Botanical Gardens and at Carnegie Hall three times.!

TERLENDA CRAWFORD AGE 12