Aiko Goto is excited to be going home. The violinist has been a member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra since 1998 and it has been a while since she and her fellow musicians have visited Japan.
"We haven't played there since 2011," she says. "When I go back to Japan to visit family and play music festivals, my friends and family keep asking me, 'When is the ACO coming back to play for us?'"
The orchestra isn't just headed back for a pair of performances, though. Goto and some of her colleagues — principal violinist Helena Rathbone, principal cellist Timo-Veikko Valve and principal double bassist Maxime Bibeau — will also be conducting a workshop at one of Goto's old schools.