I feel so lucky and grateful. I am writing this today as a thank-you card, addressed to my friends, to my readers, and more broadly to the world. My guess is that it will be a couple of years until performance arts resume its regular activities in full force. I miss my audience, and performing live. But even in the midst of all of this, I can continue to create and deliver my music, with the love, help and support from my friends and followers, who care about what I do.
I have friends who watch my YouTube videos repeatedly and email me their thoughts on each of my blog post. I have others, who have my videos set up on automatic replay throughout the day in order to help my channel reach the 4,000 viewing hours required to monetize on my YouTube channel. I have friends sharing my videos with their circle of friends via email, social media, etc. I have a distant friend, a samba singer I admire, who recently shared one of my most recent videos on her social media page, commenting on how she never thought that Bach could be this fun!
Excited about the videos I am making, and the idea of promoting music as a much-needed healing agent, my trusted friends give me feedback on my choice of words, camera angles, my facial expressions, my attire, possibility for other series, ways to reach a greater number of audiences, etc. etc. Their constructive criticisms are always accompanied by words of appreciation and encouragement, making me excited about how I can do more, and be more.
My friend of over two decades now from my days in NY is a piano technician. He sent me a picture of a package addressed to me early yesterday morning. Asking him what’s inside, I felt like a child again looking at beautiful wrapped gifts under a Christmas tree. …It was a tuning hammer! I had complained to him about my worries about getting my piano tuned: The potential of spreading the virus, the addition to the list of expense when my concerts are now all cancelled, etc. etc. The hammer on its way does make me happy – but what makes me choke up is him caring, taking the time, wearing the gloves and the mask to go to the post office – in, of all places, Manhattan – so that I can at least fix some of the worst notes for the time being. So that I can be happier about the videos I am sending out to the world.
I have others who come to my rescue. As soon as I did my first live-streaming concert, my close friend introduced me to the host of a nightly Quarantine Concert Series, Kabir Sehgal, who has hosted American Idol winners and Billboard chart artists. When it turned out that I did not have enough time, or the funds, to purchase the proper audio setup for the show, a recording engineer in the neighborhood let me borrow his high end equipement. He came over to deliver the machines, and spent an hour setting it up for me, wearing a mask. Geared up properly, the show became a success with 21K+ views. I was able to communicate about my faith in the power of music to heal, and unite us all – how music is an overlooked resource that can help us reduce our stress, manage our pain, and see how what we share is greater than our differences, encouraging empathy.
In order to purchase a proper set of microphones, I had my friends donate funds and equipment to me, often without a warning or right of refusal. I have been receiving funds through PayPal, Patreon, and just checks in the mail. My friends in the field of audio technology gave me their invaluable insights, sharing their expert knowledge, spending a lot of time listening to me organize my priorities, budget, piano, the acoustics of the room, etc. etc. My recording engineer in Bronx, NY, who has produced most of my solo albums, spent countless hours in discussion with me, researching the market, watching my videos, etc. to consider my best combination of purchases.
Thank you for reading this. Thank you for following, for your interest, for caring, for sharing my vision, and being a part of my journey. Thank you for your faith in me, and my mission.
Are you living in the East or near the West Coast.
I recommend Rainshadow Recording in the State of Washington, just a pleasant ferry ride from Seattle. Yes, I might consider sending a check through the mail to you, because I am not too swift with doing that on-line. I still remember you very fondly and gratefully. Our daughter is co-program director of the Houston Tuesday Music Club and plans speakers for each meeting with her co-director and often pianist in Sonatas for Piano and Violin. If you ever plan to come this way, let us know. What you are doing is the “Cutting Edge” of a partnership between hospitals and musicians with the goal of providing music as therapy. Methodist Hospital, in our world famous Medical Center here, provides a piano and spacious area in the lobby for performances.
Hello – Thank you so much for your comment! I am based in Southern California at the moment, but lived in Houston until 2017. I work as a consultant to Houston Methodist Hostpital’s Center for Performing Arts Medicine. A paper I co-authored with a fMRI researcher there was published at the end of last year. I have also played at the Crain Garden Concert series numerous times, and I do plan to go back there as soon as we are all safe. I would love to meet you and your daughter then, and if she has a need for a speaker or a duo-pianist, I’d be delighted! Please let me know. Makiko