Violinist Midori Receives Brandeis Creative Arts Award

Midori has won the award recognizing excellence in the arts by distinguished American artists

Established in 1956, the Brandeis Creative Arts Award recognizes excellence in the arts industry and the lives and works of distinguished, active American artists.

Midori has been selected as the award’s 2023/24 recipient for her contributions to the music industry and her humanitarian work across non-profit organizations. 

Making her debut at age 11 with the New York Philharmonic at the invitation of Zubin Mehta, Midori has since performed with world-renowned orchestras and musicians.

She recently celebrated her 40th anniversary season with Warner Classics’ release of the complete Beethoven sonatas for piano and violin with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and a Beethoven Trios concert tour across three continents.

Her 2023/24 season began with performances at the Santander International Festival, followed by fall tours of Europe and North America with Festival Strings Lucerne. Other highlights include performances with the National Repertory Orchestra, WDR Symphony in Germany, Sofia Philharmonic, Seoul’s KBS Symphony, and Luxembourg Philharmonic.

Midori is founder of the New York City-based Midori & Friends, the Japan-based MUSIC SHARING, the Orchestra Residencies Program (ORP), and Partners in Performance (PiP). 

Among her awards include the United Nations Messenger of Peace, the 2021 Kennedy Center Honors, and honorary doctorates from Smith College, Yale University, Longy School of Music, and Shenandoah University. 

She is currently the chair of violin studies at the Curtis Institute of Music and was recently appointed artistic director of Ravinia Steans Music Institute’s Piano and Strings program. She plays the 1734 “ex-Huberman” Guarnerius del Gesù violin.

“Midori was selected because of her visionary artistry exhibited over decades of performances in the world’s great concert halls and cultural centers,” said Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra’s director and chair of the award’s planning committee, Neal Hampton. 

“Equally important is her impressive work through her non-profit organizations, including Midori and Friends, dedicated to enriching the lives of children by providing tuition-free music education programs in NYC, and Partners in Performance, which brings chamber music to small communities throughout the country,” Hampton added. “A United Nations Messenger of Peace, and a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2021, Midori’s dedication to building connections between music and the human experience makes her one of the most vital artists of our time.”

Past recipients of the award have included Aaron Copland, Gunther Schuller, Mark Rothko, Georgia O’Keeffe, Sam Shepard, and Twyla Tharp.