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For the Hiraga/Wyrick family, it’s been a while since they’ve been together. San Francisco Symphony violinist Amy Hiraga and associate principal cellist Peter Wyrick have been on tour in Europe for three weeks, while elder daughter Mayumi, 20, has been completing her second year as a student of Nicholas Kitchen at the New England Conservatory of Music, and younger daughter Mariko, 18, has been at home, graduating from high school and getting ready to start at Juilliard, where she’ll study with Joel Krosnick, in the fall. When most families get together after being apart like this, they celebrate with a dinner. When the four members of this family reunite this week, they’ll celebrate by giving a concert.
The event is the Wyrick Family Concert at Holy Names University, the final program in the MasterGuild Series. The program is an interesting combination, with a potpourri of pieces in the first half and then Schubert’s Quintet with Two Cellos in the second half. The family is joined by Nancy Ellis on viola and Roy Bogas on piano.
To anyone who knows the family, it’s probably not a surprise that the two girls are following in their parents’ footsteps. They grew up surrounded by music and musicians; family legend has it that the first question Mariko asked a guest at a dinner party was “What do you play?” They were, as Wyrick says, “bitten by the music bug pretty early,” with Mayumi starting violin at age 4 and Mariko starting cello at 6. Their talent was obvious from the beginning.
Playing together has also been something they’ve done from the beginning. Wyrick did the same with his family, and he continued the tradition, which is a nice reminder that the kind of music in the upcoming concert was typically written to be played, by small groups or family musicians, in home settings. Family concerts in a public setting aren’t new for the Wyrick family; they’ve played in orchestras together, and this will be the third time they’ve done the Schubert Quintet as a family.
The girls also grew up understanding the advantages and disadvantages of being musicians. They have the love of music and playing, especially in chamber music settings, but they also know the necessity of things like daily practice, which Wyrick frankly admits can be “a pain.” Having professional musicians as parents can also be a drawback in other ways. Wonderful as their playing was for their ages and experience, they were, Wyrick says, “never as good and never the stars.”
These days, though, Wyrick says the dynamic is changing from parent-teacher/daughter-student to something more collegial. He points out that this collegial approach is especially necessary when playing in a small chamber group, where no one is the “leader.” Both he and Hiraga feel excited and eager to see how it goes, as they step away from the parental role and into that of fellow musicians with their offspring.
The daughters’ ability level is rapidly changing, as well. Wyrick admits that he and Hiraga have the experience, but no longer have the student chops. He is in awe of how well the girls play. They even sometimes give their parents a look of “Well, that’s not bad” when they play. The dynamic is definitely changing, and only for the better.
He’s also glad that the girls get a chance to experience what it’s like to be a professional and to prepare a program in a short time, as opposed to the longer time frame that’s common for students. Both parents look forward to hearing Mayumi play again; it’s been a long time. Plus, they still need to congratulate Mariko in person on her high school graduation.
Yet even with the bustle of readying a program in such a short time, for the family, the concert is a nice start to the summer.