Some of my friends asked me to put all of my recent online publications/recordings in one place – so here it is!
YouTube
I am working on becoming a YouTuber. (I am almost there – and you can help me get to my goal!! Here is how.) While waiting for the microphones to arrive (it did a few days ago!), I have been uploading some of my older recordings. You can check them all out when you go to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/MakikoHirata Here are some of the highlights from my recent uploads:
This took a while to edit…my VERY old recordings from age 3-17, put together in a sequence of short clips.
From an audition recording in 2005.
From Kabir Sehgal’s Quarantine Concert Series #76, aired on May 17th. The entire show can be watched here.
A short clip from a Juilliard Pre-College Faculty Recital with André Emelianoff, a wonderful cellist who passed away a few weeks ago.
Two pieces by Debussy from a performance in 2012.
Podcast Appearances
Japanese-American Cultural & Community Center has a new podcast series called “Little Tokyo Little Podcast.” They’ve put this together especially for isolated seniors quarantine, who may not have internet access, and have language barriers. Each episode is available in English, Japanese, Korean and Spanish, and you can phone in to listen – Or, if you have internet, you can access it from this link. I’ve been a part of it from its planning stages, recording its original intro music (composed by me!), and playing the Rajio Taiso, a traditional Japanese exercise music. On June 12, I was also the featured local musician. Given the BLM movement and everything else that has been happening around the world, I offered my https://www.jaccc.org/little-podcast-english/05. The section that features me starts at 9:57.
Small Business Japan connects entrepreneurs with special interests in the US-Japan relationship. I was featured on the 54th episode of its podcast: “Entrepreneurship in the Arts and the Way of the Pianist with Makiko Hirata.” Josh Smith, the host, and I talked about various topics ranging from monetizing the arts, and what it means to be a Japanese female classical pianist.
Publications
The monthly Colburn Alumni Newsletter featured me in their “Alumni Spotlight” section entitled “Pianist Makiko Hirata Offers a Chance to Heal.”
I have been contributing a biweekly column, “The Way of the Pianist” to Nikkan San, a Japanese daily newspaper distributed to the Japanese communities throughout the West Coast since the beginning of last year. I translate each of these articles to English, and publish them on my blog, here.
My YouTube Channel Viewing Hours are UP! – Thank you!!
Since June 12th, we lost 2 subscribers…BUT gained 8 viewing hours!! Thank you 🙂