Please join us on Saturday, October 10 at 3:00 pm for a special performance by Boston violinist Keila Wakao and two of her fellow students at the New England Conservatory, cellist Ethan Murphy and pianist Janice Lu.
After the renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma heard Keila Wakao and Janice Lu perform at Tanglewood last year, he invited the two artists to join him on a concert tour of Taiwan and Japan in late October 2026. Today’s concert was arranged to help Keila and Janice prepare for the tour, with Ethan Murphy standing in for Mr. Ma.
Program
| Composer | Work | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Dmitri Shostakovich | Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67 | 1944 |
About the Artists
Keila Wakao
Born in 2006 in Boston, MA, Japanese-American violinist Keila Wakao has gained international recognition as one of the leading young artists of her generation. Praised for her “crystalline sound” (The Boston Musical Intelligencer) and the “special energy she brings to the stage,” she captivates audiences with her exceptional musicality, technical command, and expressive depth beyond her years.
Keila began playing the violin at age three. At six, she became a student of former Boston Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Joseph Silverstein, and from ages nine to eighteen studied with Donald Weilerstein. She has also worked with Itzhak Perlman and participated in the Perlman Music Program from 2018 to 2022. She is currently a second-year undergraduate student of Miriam Fried at the New England Conservatory as a Starling Foundation Full Scholarship recipient.
Keila performs on the 1690 Cremona “Theodor” Stradivarius violin, on loan from the Ryuji Ueno Foundation and Rare Violins In Consortium, Artists and Benefactors Collaborative.
Janice Lu
Born in Taiwan in 1996, pianist Yun Janice Lu made her orchestral debut with the Taiwan Youth Orchestra. She has appeared in recitals as soloist in Kaohsiung City Music Hall and Jhih-De Hall in Taiwan, Europe, and North America.
An avid chamber musician, Janice has appeared at numerous music festivals, including Walnut Hill Music Festival, Academie Internationale d’Ete de Nice, PianoTexas Festival, PianoFest in the Hamptons, Music Academy of the West, Taos Chamber Music Festival, and Four Season Chamber Music Festival. At the renowned Music@Menlo Chamber Music Festival in California, she studied with Clive Greensmith of the Tokyo String Quartet and with Gilbert Kalish, Glenn Dicterow, Erin Keefe, Paul Neubauer, and Wu Han.
Janice obtained her Bachelor of Music degree at California State University Fullerton School of Music under the tutelage of Ning An. Janice earned a Master of Music degree at the Yale School of Music, where she studied with Wei-Yi Yang. While at Yale, Janice was awarded the Elizabeth Parisot Prize for outstanding pianists.
Janice is currently working on her doctorate at the New England Conservatory, where she studies with Alessio Bax and Alexander Korsantia.
Ethan Murphy
21-year-old Ethan Murphy began studying the cello at the age of five under Susan Moses and currently studies at the New England Conservatory as a pupil of Paul Katz. Ethan’s awards include Third Prize in the David Popper International Cello Competition and First Prizes in the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra Young Artist Competition, Louisville Orchestra Young Artist Competition, Muncie Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, and New World Symphony Competition.
Ethan has performed as a soloist with the Louisville Orchestra, Muncie Symphony Orchestra, New World Youth Orchestra, Orchestra Indiana, and the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, and has performed in masterclasses with Frans Helmerson, Zlatomir Fung, and Lynn Harrell.
About the Concert
The performance begins at 3:00 pm. If you like, come an hour earlier for our pre-concert discussion (afternoon concerts only). After the performance, you’ll have an opportunity to meet the artist(s) and learn about their backgrounds and career plans.
The address of the venue is 103 North Road, Wakefield, Rhode Island 02879. Driving time from Providence, Newport, Westerly, and southeastern Connecticut is under an hour, and Amtrak’s Kingston Station is only five miles away.
The suggested contribution for this concert is $50 per person, collected at the door. We accept cash, personal checks, and cards. Checks should be payable to “Core Memory Music”. All contributions go directly to our performing artists. To make your contribution in advance, click here.
Children under 18 are welcome to join us free of charge.
If you’d like to attend this concert, send us an email with the full name of each person in your party and we’ll confirm your reservation. If you can’t attend the concert, we invite you to listen to the audio livestream (no reservation required).