Violinist Midori by Katelyn

Midori Goto

Year of Birth: 1971

Birthplace: Osaka , Japan

Instrument: Violin

Type of Violin: 1734 Guarnerius del Gesu

Bows used: Two Dominique Peccatte, and one Francois Peccatte

Facts and Information:

Midori’s big break occurred in 1982, when she was 11 years old. Zubin Mehta hear her playing and was so impressed by her talent, that he arranged for her to be a surprise soloist for the New York Philharmonic’s New Year’s Eve concert. She received a standing ovation, marking the start of her career.

Midori studied and received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Gender Studies at the Gallatin School of New York University in 2000. She continued her studies to receive a Master’s degree in Psychology in 2005.


Links:

Midori’s Main Website

http://www.gotomidori.com/index.html

Wikipedia Website

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midori_Got%C5%8D

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW9So5ky-38

Cellist Alisa Welierstein by Linda

Alisa Weilerstien
Full Name: Alisa Weilerstien
Birthday: 1982 (No Specific Date found)
State of Origin: Rochester, New York, USA
Genre: Classical or Contemporary

What are they known for?: She has played in many of the top orchestras at only the age of 27.

Biography: Alisa Weilerstien lived in a musical family: her dad Donald, a violinist, and her mother Vivian, a pianist. She first picked up the cello at age four and then discovered that she had real natural talent for the instrument. She hit a slight bump in her life when at age 9 she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. At age 13 she made her debut with the Cleveland Orchestra in October of 1995. Alisa Weilerstien studied cello in the Cleveland Institute of Music in the youth program.
Since her graduation from the youth program, she was invited back in August 2009 to teach young cellists, coming two days per semester. She continued to play cello until she graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Russian History in 2004. Weilerstien has played with many orchestras such as the Boston Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, and the Barcelona Symphony. She also does solo works and plays with her parents as the Weilerstien Trio. Other than music Alisa Weilerstein is an advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Program.

Links:
http://www.alisaweilerstein.com/index.php
http://www.instantencore.com/contributor/contributor.aspx?CId=5081295
http://www.stringsmagazine.com/article/default.aspx?articleid=25174

CD’s Currently in Print: -DEBUT - Alisa Weilerstein & Vivian Hornik Weilerstein
Works for Cello and Piano (2000)
-Janáček & Schumann Trios (2009)
-Dvorak Trios (2006)

Video Links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8FqVLEiqVw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT5IUQynPkg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOPIeYFsNyo

Other Info:

Tour Schedule: June to August 2010

May 31-June 13
Charleston, SC
Dock Street Theater
Spoleto Festival USA
Chamber music concerts every day at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Artists and repertoire to be announced from the stage.

June 15
Washington, DC
Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
Washington Performing Arts Society
Recital with Inon Barnatan.

July 10
Bad Kissingen, Germany
Bad Kissingen Festival
Gulbenkian Orchestra with conductor Lawrence Foster

July 18
Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Schleswig-Holstein Festival
Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra with conductor Christoph Eschenbach

July 31- August 8
Amsterdam, Holland
Delft Chamber Music Festival

August 13
Lenox, MA
Tanglewood, Koussevitzky Music Shed
Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya
Osvaldo Golijov Mariel

August 17
Aspen, CO
Aspen Music Festival
Recital with Jamey Haddad (percussion), Keita Ogawa (percussion) and Michael Ward-Bergeman (hyper-accordion)

August 27
London, UK
BBC Proms (debut)
Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vanska

August 29
Edinburgh, Scotland
Edinburgh International Festival (debut)
Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vanska
Elgar Cello Concerto

August 30-September 12
Jerusalem, Israel
Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival

Violist Martha Mooke by Zevon

Martha Mooke

Name: Ms. Martha Mooke, Electro-Acoustic Violist, Composer, Producer, Innovator and Clinician

Born: US

State/Country of Origin: New York City, NY

Genre of Music: Classical music training with extended techniques, digital effects processing and improvisation (Contemporary)

Known for: Playing electrical five stringed viola/violin

Biography: Martha Mooke plays the electric five string viola/violin. She has a musical voice by synthesizing her classical music training with extended techniques, digital effects processing and improvisation. She’s a Yamaha Performing Artist, and lead clinics on electric strings and the use of electronics, extended techniques and improvisation. Besides her works for solo and ensemble electric strings, she has composed music for theater. She’s in the Scorchio Quartet and has performed with David Bowie, Philip Glass, Patti Smith, Michael Stipe, David Byrne, Iggy Pop, Regina Spektor, Moby, Lou Reed, Trey Anastasio, Ziggy Marley, Rufus Wainwright, Kronos Quartet., Paul McCartney, Bon Jovi Enya, Andrea Bocelli, Luciano Pavarotti, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Chocolate Genius, Al DiMeola, John Cale, Anthony Braxton, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s

Music Produced:
SOLO ELECTRIC 5-STRING VIOLIN OR VIOLA-...as the Phoenix, Awaken, Drifting, Fanfare, News, Raindance, Terminal Baggage, Virtual Corridors, Winds of Arden, STRING QUARTET or ENSEMBLE- Avatar for String ORCHESTRA, Circa 5, Quantum for Quartet, Random Acts, Tanzmetric Modulation, Enharmonic Vision (Album)

Video Links:
http://www.marthamooke.com/Symphony%20Space%202009.htm
http://www.marthamooke.com/Virtual%20Corridors%20Video.htm
http://www.marthamooke.com/E-chi.htm

Sound Bites:
http://www.marthamooke.com/Drifting.mp3
http://www.marthamooke.com/viola%20xtreme.mp3
http://www.marthamooke.com/WINDS_20OF_20ARDEN.MP3


Clinic Work:
Beijing 2008 International Congress on Women in Music,
American String Teachers Association, National Conference Music Educators,
National Conference NY State School,
Music Association Annual Conference,
NJ String Teachers Conference/ASTA,
Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic,
International Association of Jazz Educators Conference,
Rockland County Music Teachers Association,
Fresh Air Fund, Colleges & Universities (Hartt School of Music, Lehman College, SUNY Albany, Purchase College),


Links/Research:
http://www.marthamooke.com/map%20site.htm
http://www.kalvos.org/mookema.html
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Martha-Mooke/41884892596?filter=1

Violinist Joshua Bell by Molly

Joshua Bell

http://www.joshuabell.com (has a fan page and bio page and all!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnOPu0_YWhw (video of him playing in a subway station)

Joshua Bell was born December 16, 1967
Bell and his two sisters grew up on a farm in Bloomington, Indiana. As a child,
he indulged in many passions outside of music, becoming an avid computer game player
and a competitive athlete. Joshua bell took to playing violin more and more until his debut with the Philadelphia orchestra.
Joshua Bell made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1985 with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra!
Joshua Bell currently plays on the famous GIBSON STRADIVARIUS!

Violinist Vadim Repin by Eugenia

Repin was born in 1971, in Novosibirsk, Siberia. He began playing on the violin at five years, and after only six months completed his first public appearance. He studied with Zakhar Bron, in his hometown. At seven years he gave his first performance with an orchestra and at eleven years he had his St. Petersburg recital debut. In 1989, his worldwide acknowledgment happened when he attended and won as the youngest-ever winner of the world’s most prestigious and demanding violin competition, the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels.
Ever since, Repin had opportunities to perform with the world’s greatest orchestras and conductors. He is invited regularly to be a guest at festivals such as the Hollywood Bowl, Tanglewood, Ravivinia, Verbier the BBC Proms, and etc. Upon going to the “Carte blanche” to the Louvre in Paris, he got to record a live concert, what is now a prize-winning recording of music performed with colleagues including the gypsy violinist Roby Lakatos. He has played many chamber performers including Mamaisky Argeritha, Yuri Bashmet, Evgeny Kissin, Nikolai Lugasnsky, Micha Mischa Maisha Maisky and Mikhail Pletnev.

Repin’s genres are Russian music and French music. He mostly plays the great Russian violin concertos, and of course some 20th century and contemporary music too. The new music he also plays are work done by John Adams and Sofia gubaidulina.

Repin is most known for winning the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels at the age of seventeen.

The violin that Repin performs on is the magnificent Stradivarius ‘Ruby’ 1708.

“Vadim Repin’s artistry combining fiery passion with impeccable technique, poetry and sensitivity. “Simply the best, the most perfect violinist I have heard” exclaimed Yehudi Menuhin. “The greatest living violinist” proclaimed Berlin Tagesspiegel last year.

Recorded CDs
Tchaikovsky/Rachmaninov: Piano Trios
DG 477 8099
[Oct, 2009]
Rachmaninov: Trio élégiaque No.1 in g and: Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in a, Op.50
Universal Music (DG)
UCCG-1442
[Nov 26, 2008] (Japan)
Deutsche Grammophon No. 4777470
[Jan 31, 2009] (Europe)
Brahms: Violin Concerto in D, Op. 77 and Double Concerto in a, Op. 102

Websites
For CDs:
http://www.osk.3web.ne.jp/~wistaria/disc.htm

For webs:
http://www.productions-sarfati.com/pages/biographies.php?niveau=0&cat=12&lang=2&page=49
www.vadimrepin.com
http://nyphil.org/attend/guests/index.cfm?page=profile&personNum=685

For videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt6nzIy66eQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH2IK0UWhgI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9GpI1q86V8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a67hxiFxMVA&feature=PlayList&p=DB64FD5B5E0A567E&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=34

Violist Kim Kashkashian by Kiara

Name: Kim Kashkashian
Date born: August 31st, 1952
State/country of origin: Detroit Michigan
what genre does this artist play in: Ranges from Bach to Contemporary music.
What are they know for: making the Viola in the latter of the twenty first century

A brief biography: Kim Kashkashian is a violist of the Armenian decent, she is a chamber music and viola soloist who has been featured in over 30 albums and with all the repertoire that she has, she constantly is exploring the versatility of her instrument.
Kim has won the second prize at the Lionel Tertis International viola competition and the 1980 ARD international Music Competition in Munich. She has also worked along the sides of Gidon Kremer, Yo-Yo Ma, the Vienna Philharmonic and Nicolaus Harnoncourt. She also played the viola in the soundtrack for the film Ulysses’ Gaze, along with Eleni Karaindrou. Kim Kashkashian’s albums have won awards, notably the 1999 Edison Prize and the Cannes Prize for chamber music in 2000. Kim has taught at Freiburg in Berlin, and now she is currently teaching at the New England Conservatory

Albums: Neharot, Hayren: Music of Komitas and Tigran Mansurian, and Berio: Voci
Video Links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL7nu-SUvDQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XDqBv7566A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XDqBv7566A

Violinist Rachel Podger, by Lacey

Rachel Podger

Here's a Link that leads to her biography. http://www.answers.com/topic/rachel-podger-classical-musician
Explaining her German and English background and the teachers who she worked with. And also how she wouldn't take no for an answer in studying Boroque at school. She formed her own music group and won a competition and a heritage festival and in 1997 became Concert Mistress of The English Concert, one of London's leading orchestra.

Here is a video link of her playing the Bach Double with Andrew Manze: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIOh5Iq683o

Here is an interview/recording of the Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tScWu5YnF7o
Explaining the difficulty of the piece and the process it took to establish not only notes and rhythms, but the many moods and shifts of the music.