FELIX MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY (1809-1847) Violin Concerto, CHACONNE

"Would you like to fill in for Joseph Lin at our upcoming concert?"
I received one email from Mr. Nishiwaki on a hot summer day in 2021. I had never expected
that I would be performing on a stage that I was looking forward to seeing from the audience...
- My first encounter with Mr. Nishiwaki was in May 2021, at the lecture concert series
that I organized with my publisher. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, I was not able to greet him
in person - but he left a message, along with CDs and tickets of his orchestra. The ticket said:
"Beethoven Concerto with Joseph Lin" - oh wait, I must go. He is one of my favorite chamber
coaches from my Juilliard time. I told Mr. Nishiwaki that I would be in the audience.
In the middle of the hot summer, I was preparing for the online version of Summer in
JAPAN, an English summer camp with Harvard students that I have been co-organizing since
2013. I, panicking with the amount of work and the time difference that I had to manage
between different continents, happened to see a notification popped up on my screen. "Joseph
Lin cannot come to Japan due to travel restrictions. Could you fill in for him?"
I, panicking even more, read the email carefully and realized this was a chance for me to not only
free up my musician spirit that had been sinking due to the pandemic, but also to show my gratitude
and respect for my chamber coach Joseph Lin and the Juilliard community that trained me to be
a professional violinist. I said yes, with the condition that they change the piece from Beethoven
Concerto to Mendelssohn Concerto (the performance was coming up within a month at that point
and I did not have courage to tackle that "grandioso" piece in such a short period of time).
The amount of joy and experience I had gained from this concert was beyond explanation
- the difficulty of conducting and performing at the same time, the freedom spirit that this
orchestra (with visually unique arrangements) has, and the pure excitement to share music with
a lot of people on stage gave me such a great insight on music making on such a deep level.
The pandemic has changed many people's lives, including mine, but I have to say that I was
fortunate to receive this opportunity because the concert reminded me of why I play the violin
for life.
December 16, 2021 Sumire Hirotsuru