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Partners in Performance was founded with the monetary award that Midori received as part of the coveted Avery Fisher Prize in 2001. Initiated in the wake of Arts Council funding cutbacks across the United States, Partners in Performance aims to stimulate local interest in recitals and chamber music, specifically in smaller outlying communities without the financial resources of major urban centers, and to support classical music presenters in these communities by offering affordable concerts by major artists. Through Partners in Performance, high profile artists—including Midori—can donate their services for concerts to galvanize community attention and offer support to smaller-scale arts presenters.

Partners in Performance provides a concert for the benefit of the chosen presenting organization, whose financial obligation consists of a token administrative fee paid to PiP—drastically less than an artist's usual fee—in addition to locally-incurred costs directly connected to the presentation. The presenter keeps all proceeds from ticket sales, to be used at its discretion to fund projects, programs or equipment. In addition, the presenter is strongly encouraged to apply for grants and sponsorships in connection with the PiP concert, to stimulate further funding. An essential element of Partners in Performance is the opportunity for the artists to engage with the audience after the performance and with interested parties in the community. This can take the form of a question and answer session, an open interview or a reception following the concert.

Applications are reviewed annually by a small committee. Budget and geography factor into, but do not dictate, the selection process, as do ideas for how the applicant intends to use profits from the PiP concert. Income from tickets sales must be used to fund a particular project tied to classical music or for a specific, PiP-approved operating expense. Funds raised from a PiP concert must be used to bring exposure and awareness of the arts to the community at least in part through bringing established classical music artists to and into the community.