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Orchestra students at Morton High School listened to the music and the life story of violin prodigy Saeka Matsuyama last week.
Matsuyama was a guest performer with the Peoria Symphony last weekend and gave the orchestra students a short performance. It was an opportunity for the music students to not only hear a professional perform but also to learn about the hard work and life story of a professional musician.
“It was inspiring,” Kristen Schmidt, orchestra director at MHS, said.
Her students were both excited and impressed when they heard Matsuyama play for them.
Matsuyama started playing the violin when she was 2 years old and came to the United States at the age of 9 to enroll in the pre-college program at the Juilliard School in New York City. She has earned a bachelor of music and master of music degrees as well as an artist diploma from the Juilliard School. She has won many awards and performs around the world.
She not only played for the students but answered questions, too, about her experiences as a child prodigy.
“I’m definitely not a genius in any other field,” she told the students.
Her sense of humor was evident when she told the students she doesn’t even know how to drive and was curious about the driver’s education car that was parked at the school.
Her visit to MHS was arranged by the Peoria Symphony as a way to have guest musicians share their experiences in schools.
Orchestra students at Morton High School listened to the music and the life story of violin prodigy Saeka Matsuyama last week.
Matsuyama was a guest performer with the Peoria Symphony last weekend and gave the orchestra students a short performance. It was an opportunity for the music students to not only hear a professional perform but also to learn about the hard work and life story of a professional musician.
“It was inspiring,” Kristen Schmidt, orchestra director at MHS, said.
Her students were both excited and impressed when they heard Matsuyama play for them.
Matsuyama started playing the violin when she was 2 years old and came to the United States at the age of 9 to enroll in the pre-college program at the Juilliard School in New York City. She has earned a bachelor of music and master of music degrees as well as an artist diploma from the Juilliard School. She has won many awards and performs around the world.
She not only played for the students but answered questions, too, about her experiences as a child prodigy.
“I’m definitely not a genius in any other field,” she told the students.
Her sense of humor was evident when she told the students she doesn’t even know how to drive and was curious about the driver’s education car that was parked at the school.
Her visit to MHS was arranged by the Peoria Symphony as a way to have guest musicians share their experiences in schools.
