Midori will be given the Crystal Award at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on 25 January 2012. The award recognises the violinist's 20 years of community engagement work. Previous recipients of the award, given to artists who have used their art and influence to contribute to international society, include Yo-Yo Ma and José Antonio Abreu, the founder of Venezuela's El Sistema music education movement.

Midori founded Midori & Friends in 1992 to provide music education programmes to underserved New York City children. The organisation serves more than 15,000 children each year in 40 public schools. Midori's other community music programme, Music Sharing, offers instrumental lessons to disabled children, and visits by musicians to children in hospitals, shelters and orphanages in Japan.  Since 2007, Midori, together with young artists selected through auditions, has also visited communities in Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia and Laos where children have limited access to live music.

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