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October 3, 2007

UMBC Faculty Violinist Airi Yoshioka Honored with Robert Sherman Award for Music Education and Community Outreach

CONTACT:
Mike Lurie

Office: 410-455-6380
Cellphone: 443-695-0262
mlurie@umbc.edu

Oct. 3, 2007


BALTIMOREAiri Yoshioka, a violinist and assistant professor in the music department at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), has been awarded the McGraw-Hill Companies’ Robert Sherman Award for Music Education and Community Outreach. The award comes with $10,000 and an airing of her live performances, scheduled to air at 9 p.m. Oct. 3 on The McGraw-Hill Young Artists Showcase, the weekly program on prominent New York City classical music radio station WQXR (96.3-FM).

The Robert Sherman Award recognizes and assists a recent Juilliard graduate who is “deeply involved in music education and community outreach and who has demonstrated outstanding musicianship.”

“This is wonderful recognition for UMBC and the work Airi has been doing in the methodology known as arts in education, which musicians have lauded for its ability to connect listeners to music in powerful ways,” said Linda Dusman, chair of the music department.

Yoshioka has performed throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Canada as a recitalist, soloist and chamber musician. An enthusiastic performer of new music, she was an original member and concertmaster of The New Juilliard Ensemble.

She has taught music at New York City public schools through the Morse Fellowship program and has performed in hospitals, hospices and nursing homes as a recipient of the Community Service Fellowship.

In October 2004, she organized Art Reach! The event was a three-day symposium on effectiveness of arts outreach. The highly successful occasion brought together teachers, teaching artists, administrators and community leaders from Maryland.

Countless artists have been heard on The McGraw-Hill Young Artists Showcase, including violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and pianist Orli Shaham. Robert Shaw, the broadcaster, writer and teacher who is the award’s namesake, recently marked his 50th anniversary on WQXR and is the program's longtime host. Founded in 1936, WQXR was the nation's first commercial classical music radio station.

Posted by mlurie at October 3, 2007 11:51 AM