Courtesy of Erin Nishi

This Friday, violinist Tobias Liu ’26 and violist Erin Nishi ’25 will perform Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with the Yale Symphony Orchestra — a piece the ensemble will perform in Greece for their spring tour. 

Friday’s program opens with Carlos Simon’s “Holy Dance” from “Four Black American Dances,” followed by the Mozart and Brahms’ Fourth Symphony in the second half. “Four Black American Dancers” reflects Simon’s engagement with Black musical traditions through contemporary classical music. 

“We just had our first rehearsals this week, and Tobias and Erin sound amazing,” said Keeley Brooks ’25, president of YSO. “I think the orchestra is really excited to get to play with them on Friday, and on tour as well.” 

Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante was written for violin, viola and orchestra and has remained one of the most celebrated fusions between symphony and concerto.

According to Liu, the piece is special because it is not merely an arrangement for two solo parts and an orchestra accompaniment; it fosters a “passionate” dialogue between violinist, violist and orchestra. 

“The piece is able to capture such a deep range of emotions in the way that’s almost more like his operas — really pushing the boundaries of what the concerto was at the time,” Liu said. “Mozart really takes the piece away from a pure virtuosic show-off to a way of storytelling that is evident in the piece.” 

While Nishi and Liu first performed the concerto together last year for the annual William Waite Concerto Competition, their connection with the piece and to each other spans many years. 

Despite playing viola in the concerto, Nishi’s primary instrument is not viola. Over the past month, she has juggled preparations for her upcoming viola performances alongside auditions for master’s programs on the violin. 

“I definitely think that playing viola makes my violin playing better: it teaches me to listen for a bigger sound and a warmer sound,” she said. “It makes me use the violin in a way that’s not for granted, making me think about the constraints and balances of the instrument, and how to listen.”

Nishi first picked up the viola for her first-year class, “The Performance of Chamber Music,” when there was a shortage of violists. She was first introduced to the Mozart piece when she was invited to perform it with the Berkeley College Orchestra that same year.

As a first year in YSO, Nishi grew close to Liu’s sister, Phoebe Liu ’23, a former managing editor at the News, her stand partner who became a mentor for her musical journey at Yale. 

“She left a super strong impression on me because she was super kind and welcoming,” said Nishi. “Tobias is the same way.” 

Liu called Nishi his mentor and described her as someone to look up to at both a musical and personal level. Rehearsing for a duet performance in Woolsey and preparing for the upcoming tour, Nishi and Liu have been rehearsing together frequently. 

Throughout his time at Yale, Liu said that he has grappled with the challenge of finding time to rehearse while managing a rigorous academic course load. 

“Sometimes in music, you can spend eight hours in the practice room and feel like you get worse. One of the strategies my teacher taught me was to force yourself to set aside at least one hour every day and commit to that hour regardless of what else is going on in my life,” he said. 

Recently, said Nishi, the group has been doing a lot of slow intonation work, which “lets their musical preferences come out” and allows them to listen to each other more closely. 

While the soloists have been working particularly intensely, the entire orchestra has been rehearsing to prepare an extensive amount of repertoire for the upcoming tour.

After the competition last year, the programming committee and Boughton decided to take two separate programs, including the three pieces at Friday’s concert. 

The first program, which they will perform in Skopje and Volos, consists of Richard Strauss’ “Don Juan,” the Sinfonia Concertante, John Williams’ “Star Wars,” Aaron Copland’s “Billy the Kid” and encores by Simon, Duke Ellington and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. 

The second program, to be performed in Thessaloniki, Giannitsa and Athens, includes Korngold’s “Sea Hawk Overture,” Simon’s “Four Black American Dances – Waltz,” Duke Ellington’s “River Suite” and the Brahms symphony from Friday’s concert. 

According to Boughton, the repertoire is a diverse mixture of American and European music. 

“As an ambassador of Yale and an American university, I think it’s important to take American music, and I’m interested to see how that’s received in Greece,” he said. 

The orchestra’s goal of bringing American music to more audiences seems to be working. On Wednesday morning, the orchestra received news that the concert in Giannitsa was sold out. 

The performance is set to be displayed on a large screen in the city square. Proceeds from the ticket sales will be used to buy a new piano for the local music school. The orchestra also plans to invite over 150 school children to attend the dress rehearsal of the concert. 

In addition to playing at larger music venues, the orchestra will perform at least three outreach concerts, including one for children. 

“It’s great for the Yale students because they will get to learn more about Greek culture and get to know people, rather than just performing in big concert halls and staying in hotels and visiting tourist sights,” Boughton said. 

YSO returns from tour on March 21.