Expand / Collapse search
☰

Troy teen puts on evening concerts while paddling through area lakes

Published  August 18, 2020 10:00am EDT
Troy
FOX 2 Detroit

TROY, Mich. - A lakeside audience was treated to an impromptu concert last week when Kaori Marikawa floated down a Troy lake playing her violin.

As her mom powered the paddleboat, neighbors lined the lake to listen to her play.

Talented Troy teen performs violin concerts on the water

It's a Tuesday evening in Troy - and Kaori Marikawa has a captive audience. As her mother powers the paddleboat, neighbors lined the lake to listen to her play.

"What is she playing?" a few kids were asked. "The violin," they responded.

"And how does it sound?" they're asked again. "Beautiful."

Marikawa is no stranger to performance arts. The first chair violinist for the Oakland Youth Orchestra, the 18-year-old has dedicated 12 years to learning the instrument.

Now, the many neighbors along the Emerald Lakes Village Community get to enjoy the show for two hours every night.

"The pandemic is really hard for everybody," she said. "Music lifted up my spirits and I really enjoy sharing music and I think I should spread a little hope and love to everybody else."

The unorthodox concerts started after she played for a neighbor's family gathering and they offered their paddleboat for her to play on the water.

"So I started playing on one lake and two other neighbors started offering their boats and I also started playing on other lakes," she said.

Now, people come from neighboring lakes just to listen to her play. 

"It's unique to have this on our lakes," said John Martin. "It's really something special."

It's special to Marikawa, too. She believes in service to her community, she hopes to one day work for the United Nations - where she did an internship a couple of years ago.

"I really learned to become more humanitarian, caring and I was very inspired by those U-N officers to serve the community and the world," she said.

If you'd like to watch Marikawa play, she performs on six lakes - Pebble, Emerald, Sandshores, Walker, Andale, and Crystal - which are all located between John R and Rochester Roads. Here's her evening schedule:

  • Pebble Lake from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Sunday and Wednesday 
  • Walker Lake from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Monday
  • Emerald Lake from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Saturday 
  • Sandshores Lake from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday 
  • Andale Lake from 7:30 to 8 p.m. on Friday 
  • Crystal Lake from 8:10 to 8:50 p.m. on Friday