Editor's note: Midori Goto has canceled her appearances and concerts in Rochester this summer based on her doctor's advice.
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Midori Goto had a meteoric rise to the top at a young age and has stayed there.
Midori, as she is usually known, is regarded as one of the best violinists in the world. She's been thought of that way since she was oh, about 11 years old. That's when Midori, now 43, made her debut with the New York Philharmonic.
Midori was planning to come to Rochester from May 7-10, to offer classes, work with music students and perform concerts with the Rochester Symphony Orchestra (May 9) and with Southeastern Minnesota Youth Orchestras (May 10).
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Midori was born in Osaka, Japan, and started learning to play the violin when she received a 1/16-size violin for her third birthday. Her first teacher was her mother, Setsu Goto. In 1982, Midori and her mother moved to New York City, where she began studying at Juilliard Pre-College and the Aspen Music Festival and School. Her concert debut with the New York Philharmonic came on New Year's Eve 1982.
She already was well on her way to worldwide recognition, and in coming years, her legend only grew. At age 14 in 1986 at Tanglewood, she used three violins, due to broken E strings, to complete Leonard Bernstein's "Serenade." A year later, having learned everything Juilliard could teach her, she left the pre-college program.
She did enter college later, though, and in 2000, while conquering the music world, Midori earned bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology from New York University.
Midori lives in Los Angeles, where she is a professor at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music.
