It’s been rather eventful.
On Friday, May 5th, I gave my “Sound Communication” workshop as a part of Stanford’s annual one-day TEACH Conference: IDEAL (Inclusion, Diversity, Equality in a Learning Environment)Belonging and Wellness. It was a day of information exchange with lots of inspiration, encouragement and feeling of collegial comraderies and alliance.
I also felt really grateful for the receptive and eager participants for my workshop, “Sound Communication: How Musicality can Enhance your Teaching.”
The next day, I gave a lecture-performance at the Little Tokyo Library branch as a part of LA Public Library’s AAPI Heritage Month events. It was on why and how Japan was so eager to embrace Western Classical Music after its re-opening to international trade and diplomatic relations in the 1860’s, and Japanese first violinist/pianist/composer who went to study in the U.S. and Europe in 1889, Koda Nobu.
And last Wednesday, on the 10th, I performed a part of my “Listening to Nature” program at the Music at Noon concert series.
Pasadena Presbyterian Church and its Friends of Music have been presenting its weekly Music at Noon program at no cost to the audience members since 1985. To get to play Ravel in the magnificent acoustic was a real joy and a privilege. I play for this series twice every season, and look forward to my next appearance.
This coming Tuesday, I will be giving a presentation to the older adult communities at the Villa Gardens and Pasadena Village about how to incorporate music in your daily lives as a practice to enhance your quality of life and physical, social and cognitive well-being.
I am so grateful for all the opportunities to perform and to present as Dr. Pianist, promoting the power of music to heal and unite us.
The workshop at Stanford was a very special gift for the music faculty there. What you teach us here is something that would also be of great interest to those with aging parents or who care for those with memory loss and related conditions. I hope you will be able to do these workshops across southern California. The University of Redlands has an excellent school of music and may be very receptive to your programs–and concerts. They also partner with ESRI, Environmental Systems Research Institute (GIS mapping software company) to present community forums and guest speakers on all kinds of educational topics. Listening to Nature is very important and needs to be taught at an early age, when children are able to see, hear, and imagine more freely. Thank you for all you are doing to bring about greater understanding and healing through music. Your playing here and throughout is just extraordinary and beautiful!
Thank you for your kind words, Pamela! I would be eager to present these concepts and programs to any community that would appreciate them. If you can get me in touch with some of these programs, I would appreciate the introduction!
Makiko