World-famous violinist Midori will accompany the Arkansas Youth Symphony String Quartet for two separate events at the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS). The events will be on Friday, April 12, 3:45 p.m. at the Children’s Library and Learning Center, 4800 W. 10th Street, and Saturday, April 13, 3:30 p.m. at the Terry Library, 2015 Napa Valley Drive.

The Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra (ASYO) was chosen as one of two recipients for Midori’s Orchestra Residency Programs for the 2012-2013 season.  The programs are designed to support and encourage youth orchestras in the United States. Through the week-long residency, Midori collaborates in a wide range of activities with both the youth orchestras and their partner professional organizations.

In the 2012-2013 season, violinist Midori will celebrate the 30th anniversary of her performing career.

She made her debut at age 11 as a surprise guest soloist with the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta in 1982. Today, Midori is recognized as an extraordinary performer, a devoted and gifted educator, and an innovative community engagement activist.

The ASYO began as a dream of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s founders in the 1960s and today continues to attract Arkansas’s leading student-musicians. Ranging in age from 9-18 years and traveling from over thirty-seven communities throughout the state, the ASYO has grown to over 200 members. The Arkansas Youth Symphony String Quartet formed eight years ago in 2005.