Meet Ayano Ninomiya, violinist.
Ayano joins our violin faculty as part of our 2025 season.
1. Tell us a bit about your upbringing and first exposure to music.
I didn’t grow up in a musical household. I attended public school in first grade and was introduced to their string instruments rental and lesson program. My friends wanted to do it, so I wanted to as well, even though I had no idea what studying a string instrument would entail! I had to beg my parents for the cost of joining the program, which they did reluctantly.
2. Did you have any “ah-ha!” moments in your education that led you to become a professional violinist?
I wouldn’t say there was a specific “ah-ha” moment but more of a gradual growth into becoming a musician. I do remember a “wow” moment in middle school when I was very moved by the Dichterliebe song cycle by Robert Schumann. I read each poem by Heinrich Heine and realized that Schumann was expressing the text through subtle musical choices and composition – wow.
3. Who were your most influential teachers?
I am so lucky that I had amazing teachers all the way through. The most influential ones? I would say Marylou Speaker Churchill, Hyo Kang, Miriam Fried, Robert Mann, and Robert Levin.
4. Have you ever had something unexpected happen during a performance?
I was once on stage performing a Haydn string quartet (with the Ying Quartet) and came to a fermata that I must have come to with a lot of energy – because all of a sudden, I felt my bow leave my hand, and I saw it flying in a large arc over the heads of my colleagues, in slow motion. The bow landed with a clatter (in the silence of the fermata) several feet away from David Ying, the cellist. I was so surprised, I couldn’t move. Dave stood up, calmly walked over to my bow, picked it up, made sure it was intact, handed it to me, and we continued right where we left off!
5. What do you do to relax when you are not practicing or performing?
I do some slow yoga and recently have begun to do some Tai Chi. I like to read and go on walks or hikes with my family.
6. What are your favorite foods?
I like all food, but I especially like spicy Asian food – Korean, Szechuan, Thai, and Indian!