Graceful Melodic Invention

Violinist Aya Muraki is a Juilliard graduate on her way to becoming a stellar musician. She will make a special appearance with the Edison Symphony Orchestra at the Middlesex County College performing arts center March 1.

By: Susan Van Dongen

"Violinist
Violinist Aya Muraki spent her adolescent years balancing her academic work at Hopewell Valley public schools with musical pursuits at Juilliard’s pre-college division, where she studied with Masao Kawasaki.


   Princeton author Barbara Lourie Sand’s Teaching Genius (Amadeus, 2000) profiled Dorothy DeLay, the renowned violin instructor at the Juilliard School of Music who mentored Itzhak Perlman, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Sarah Chang and Midori, among many others.
   Even if they aren’t household names, there are many other extraordinary students who have passed through this legendary school. Violinist Aya Muraki, who grew up in Hopewell, is one such Juilliard graduate on her way to becoming a stellar musician.
   Ms. Muraki, 23, moved with her parents from Chicago to central New Jersey when she was 11, and spent her adolescent years balancing her academic work at Hopewell Valley public schools with musical pursuits at Juilliard’s pre-college division, where she studied with Masao Kawasaki. This is the rigorous "basic training division" of the conservatory, where only the supremely talented and disciplined make it and the "merely gifted" rotate into other courses of study.
   "I look back at my time at Juilliard fondly," Ms. Muraki says. "I’m greatly appreciative of the music education I received there. Though at times the competition was overwhelming, looking back I recognize how this same competition encouraged significant development."
   Currently studying at the Hochschule fur Musik in Cologne, Germany, Ms. Muraki will return to the United States for a special appearance with the Edison Symphony Orchestra March 1 at the performing arts center at Middlesex County College in Edison. Conducted by Judith Morse, the group will perform works by Beethoven, Manuel DeFalla and Aram Khachaturian. This is Ms. Muraki’s first time as a soloist with the Edison Symphony. She’ll be playing the "Tzigane for Violin and Orchestra" by Maurice Ravel and the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso for violin and orchestra in A minor by Camille St. Saens.
   "It’ll be a kind of homecoming, considering that I’ve been studying and performing in Europe for the past five years," she says.
   Like many up-and-coming musicians, composers and conductors, Ms. Muraki opted to leave the United States to live and study in Europe. She misses her family, but is pleased with her decision to put down roots where masters like Beethoven and Mozart once lived and created.
   "Having studied at Juilliard since my early teens, I needed to spread my wings and immerse myself in the roots of classical music in Europe," Ms. Muraki says. "It’s not enough to just read about European culture. It’s an indispensable musical opportunity to live and study there, and it’s helped me learn greater depths and dimensions of my art. All of this is reflected in my playing."
   Ms. Muraki began taking violin lessons when she was 5. She says her parents aren’t especially musical, but have great appreciation for classical music and encouraged her when she first showed interest. A few years later, she began more formal studies with Charles Forough, followed by her years at Juilliard with Mr. Kawasaki.
   She says the intense musical discipline didn’t effect her life negatively or hamper her grades in school.
   "I was able to balance my academic studies with my musical pursuits without compromising one over the other," Ms. Muraki says. "My intent, however, was to concentrate on my musical education. That’s why I chose to graduate from high school early to attend Juilliard."
   As for a social life, Ms. Muraki says she didn’t take the "normal teen-age route" but focused instead on spending her time with musical studies and activities — which she doesn’t regret.
   "I was pursuing what I most enjoy in life," she says. "My motivation has always been to make and enjoy good music, whether as a soloist or chamber musician."
   Since making her solo orchestral debut at the age of 10 with the Chicago Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Ms. Muraki has appeared regularly as a soloist in recitals and with chamber and symphony orchestras across the United States, throughout Europe and Japan. She’s performed with numerous orchestras, including the Trenton Symphony, the Juilliard Symphony and, most recently, the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra in France and the Verbier Orchestra in Switzerland.
   Ms. Muraki has participated in the Aspen (Colo.) and Bowdoin (Maine) summer festivals, as well as the Braunschweig Music Festival in Germany and several prestigious festivals in Switzerland. In 2001, she graduated with highest honors from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, where she studied with Igor Oistrakh — the son of the great solo violinist David Oistrakh. Ms. Muraki is currently studying with Charles-Andre Linale.
   Among her numerous awards are first place in the Society of American Musician’s Young Artist’s Competition, as well as top honors in the St. Paul Musical Arts competition and the Anna B. Stokes competition.
   In Edison, Ms. Muraki will be playing music by Ravel and Saint-Saens, French composers known for their graceful melodic invention, beautiful harmonies and chords as well as elegance of form and line. She reserves her highest admiration for the "great Germans," however.
   "My interest in musical composition isn’t limited to a certain period or style," she says. "I always seem to come back to the foundations of classical music — Bach, Beethoven and Mozart — which helps me to better understand contemporary repertoire and classical music in general."
   Unlike many young women violinists such as Midori and Leilah Josefewicz, Ms. Muraki isn’t beset with the idea of launching a glamorous solo performance and recording career.
   "That’s not my primary goal," she says. "I’m dedicated to making the best music possible and communicating my passion for music. I’m open to any new opportunities that will fulfill my enjoyment of performance."
Aya Muraki performs with the Edison Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Judith Morse, at the performing arts center at Middlesex County College, 2600 Woodbridge Ave., Edison, March 1, 8 p.m. Tickets cost $25, students $20. For information, call (908) 753-2787. On the Web: www.edisonarts.org