Anne Akiko Meyers

I had the pleasure of seeing Anne Akiko Meyers in concert two times on last Saturday. Many people do know that I’m related to Anne and have followed her career from the beginning. It was a personal pleasure to be able to see and hear the performance which for many reasons was a first. This was the first time that the Pasadena Symphony had played in Ambassador Auditorium. It was the first time that Anne had the opportunity to play her newly acquired violin in public. It proved that her talent is not in what violin she is playing but in how she plays the instrument. She had posession of this renowned instrument for only a couple of days before she came to Los Angeles. This meant that the only time that she had to become acquainted with the handling of the instrument was at a rehearsal on Thursday. I have a feeling that it may be a couple of concerts before she is completely comfortable playing this violin. That is not a complaint but it gives her and the audience a chance to see her growth with a new voice. Anne was kept very busy not just playing but in giving autographs during intermission of the concert. I had the opportunity to speak to Anne but would have liked to spend more time with her and her new daughter. I do know how exhausting the performance was for her and to see all of the energy that she had at intermission was invigorating to me.
It was great to have a semi family reunion, too. There were many relatives present and we managed to talk for a little bit. As with many families, we have talked in the past about how we often only see each other at sad occasions and it was so nice that this was such a great occasion. I have noticed that in Anne’s publicity, little is mentioned of her mother or father. I do appreciate that she may just be protecting their privacy. Let me just say that my cousin was such a typical parent Saturday. It was fun to watch him take pictures of her and to hear his exuberance about her performance. Incidentally I must indicate that I agreed with him completely that her performance was extraordinary, especially in the evening show.

Well Anne, it was great attending such a great concert and getting to see you play in such an intimate venue. It is much smaller venue, then the last time I saw you, which was at the Hollywood Bowl.