A Far Cry joins forces with Midori, Derek Bermel, and Project STEP to record “Spring Cadenzas”

It all started when…

During the lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic, world-renowned violinist and educator Midori wanted to create a project for youth to keep them inspired and motivated, and to keep them actively playing.

Many students were at home in isolation, perhaps recording some material that was to be put together later, but Midori wanted to create an opportunity to make music together safely yet in real time.

In the fall of 2020, she reached out to composer Derek Bermel about writing a piece that she could perform remotely with youth orchestras. He wrote the piece initially to embrace the online latency as part of the aesthetic. As he progressed through the piece, he also wrote separate movements for just strings and just winds as more youth orchestras were able to gather by instrument families.

Although there were several variations of each movement, he eventually fully orchestrated the entire work. Thus, Spring Cadenzas project was born!

Fast forward to today…

Midori and Derek will join forces with A Far Cry and Project STEP in September 2024 to make a recording of Spring Cadenzas, with Midori as the soloist and Criers and Project STEP students making up the orchestra. The purpose of the project is to create a highly accessible and inclusive educational tool (including video tutorials and resources) for music students of all levels and public school teachers and youth symphony directors around the globe. Help us bring this project to life by clicking the button directly below!