Yamaha Corporation Of America Winter Namm 2012 Press

CORPORATE
POPULAR YAMAHA JUNIOR ORIGINAL CONCERT SERIES RETURNS TO NAMM
—Talented Young Musicians Take to the Stage at Annual Winter NAMM Crowd Favorite —
ANAHEIM, Calif.—The Yamaha Music Education System will present its perennially
captivating Junior Original Concert (JOC) on Thursday, January 19. For the first time, the young
musicians will perform at two NAMM venues: 8:30 a.m. at the NAMMU Dealer Breakfast in the
Pacific Ballroom, Hilton Anaheim Hotel and 1:00 p.m. at the Yamaha Booth, Keyboard Division
area, Marquis Ballroom at the Anaheim Marriott Hotel. All NAMM attendees are invited to
enjoy the free 1 p.m. concert event, which will feature young talented Yamaha Music School
students performing their own original compositions.
Nine-year-old Alexander Hurvitz, a student at Harmony Music World, Fullerton, Calif., will
perform his original piano solo composition, “Pushy Cat and Nutty Squirrels.” Chloe Li, also age
9 and a JSAC student at the Irvine Yamaha Music Center, will play the Clavinova CVP-509 in
her original ensemble composition, “First Flight.” Chloe will play along with percussionists
Dominic Primo, Sarah Chen and Lauren Chen, as well as her sister Claire Li, who will be
performing on a second CVP-509. Sharon Hurvitz, age 13, a JSAC Graduate and student at
Harmony Music World in Fullerton, Calif., will perform her original composition, “Winter
Rhapsody,” on the piano, accompanied by violinist Avi Nagin and Cellist Natalie Helm.
The Yamaha Music Education System offers six music courses for children between the
ages of three and ten. Classes are held weekly, covering everything from listening skills to
keyboard performance. The program began in the mid-1950s in Japan under the direction of Mr.
Genichi Kawakami, President of Nippon-Gakki Company, Ltd. (today’s Yamaha Corporation).
Mr. Kawakami believed his company was responsible not only for making a quality product, but
also for teaching customers how to use it. Consequently, he established the non-profit Yamaha
Music Foundation (YMF) in 1966 for the purpose of developing and promoting music education
and music popularization activities internationally.
YMF guides the worldwide development of the Yamaha Music Education System and
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