Join us as we welcome violinist Noelle Midori Takebe Naito for an evening of music. Noelle will perform the program she has prepared for the 2026 Long-Thibaud International Competition, one of the world’s most prestigious violin competitions.
Noelle has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Cadogan Hall in London, and Hamarikyu Asahi Hall in Tokyo. She has toured internationally with LGT Young Soloists and appeared as a soloist with the Kansas City Symphony. She is now studying with Ben Sayevich in Kansas City.
Admission is free, but seating is limited, so please reserve your spot in advance
The Program
Eugène Ysaÿe: Caprice d’après l’étude en forme de valse de Saint-Saëns, Op.52
J.S. Bach: Violin Sonata No.2 in A Minor, BWV 1003III. AndanteIV. Allegro
Niccolò Paganini: Caprice for Solo Violin, Op.1, No.15
Eugène Ysaÿe: Violin Sonata in D minor, Op.27, No.3 “Ballade”
***** Intermission *****
Mozart: Adagio in E Major, K. 261
Francis Poulenc: Violin Sonata, FP 119I. Allegro con fuocoII. IntermezzoIII. Presto Tragico
Maurice Ravel: Tzigane
Japanese-American violinist Noelle Midori Takebe Naito is establishing herself as a compelling young artist on the international stage. Since making her orchestral debut at age nine with the Kostroma Symphony Orchestra, she has appeared as a soloist with ensembles including the United States Army Orchestra and the Flint Symphony Orchestra and has performed at venues throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Cadogan Hall in London, the Franz Liszt House in Weimar, the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C., Hamarikyu Asahi Hall in Tokyo, and the German Consulate in New York City.
Noelle is a member of LGT Young Soloists, with whom she has toured internationally across North America, Asia, and Australia. Recent appearances have included performances in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Sydney, Bangkok, Singapore, and Hong Kong. She has also performed with the Kansas City Symphony and appeared as a featured artist in recital and chamber music engagements throughout the United States and abroad.
In 2026, Noelle was selected to participate in the Long-Thibaud International Competition in Paris. Her previous honors include prizes at the William C. Byrd Young Artist Competition and the United States Army Orchestra Young Artist Competition, as well as the Anna Y. Tringas Award for Violin and the Sidney D. and Nina Josephs Chamber Music Prize from the Cleveland Institute of Music. She has also been featured on WFMT Chicago’s “Introductions” as both a soloist and chamber musician.
Her musical development has included studies and performances at the Heifetz International Music Institute, Aspen Music Festival and School, Taipei Music Academy and Festival, and the Écoles d’Art Américaines de Fontainebleau. In 2019, she was selected as a Student Artist for the Starling-DeLay Symposium at The Juilliard School, where she performed in masterclasses for Midori and Kathleen Winkler.
Noelle is currently pursuing a Graduate Diploma where she studies with Ben Sayevich. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where her principal mentors included Jaime Laredo, Malcolm Lowe, Jan Sloman, and Stephen Rose.