Joy Luck Trio -- Groundbreaking Pipa-Erhu-Piano Trio

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Welcome to another episode of the PianoPod, everyone.
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This season, we are exploring creativity and
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connection, highlighting artists who are reshaping
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what it means to perform, create, and inspire
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through piano in the modern era. Some episodes
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introduce a great artist. Others introduce the
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beginning of something new. Today's episode is
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one of those moments. Donna Wang Friedman needs
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no introduction to our listeners. A returning
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guest and longtime friend of the show, Donna
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has built a multifaceted career as pianist, producer,
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filmmaker, and creative force behind numerous
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cross -disciplinary projects. Now she returns
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with an exciting new venture, Joy Lactrio. Joining
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her are two internationally celebrated artists.
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Gao Hong is one of the world's leading pipa virtuosos,
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acclaimed as a performer, composer, educator,
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and recipient of multiple major honors, including
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McKnight Artist Fellowships. Her work has brought
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the ancient Chinese lute to concert stages and
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collaborations around the globe. Karen Han Otteson
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is a world -renowned Erhu Virtuoso, composer
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and vocalist whose playing has been featured
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in major film scores, including The Last Emperor,
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Memoirs of a Geisha, Mulan, Kung Fu Panda, Star
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Trek, and many more. Together, these three Chinese
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-American artists are creating a rare chamber
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ensemble for piano, pipa, and erhu, rooted in
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heritage and shaped by contemporary expression.
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In this episode, we explore how the trio first
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came together, the rich histories of the pipa
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and erhu, what these instruments can express
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beyond language, and why this collaboration feels
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so meaningful at this moment in their lives.
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We also talk about identity, belonging, representation,
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reinvention, and how music can honor the past
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while creating something entirely new. Before
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we begin, Thank you for supporting The Piano
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Pod. Your listening, sharing, and encouragement
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help sustain this growing community of artists
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and thinkers. If you are watching on YouTube,
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please like, subscribe, and share. If you are
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listening on podcast platforms, please follow
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the show and leave a rating or review. Here's
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Season 6 of The Piano Pod with Joy Luck Trio.
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Please enjoy the show. You are listening to The
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Piano Pod, where we talk to the brightest minds
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in the industry about how they are bringing the
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piano into the future and thriving in a complex,
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ever -evolving world. Welcome to The Piano Pod,
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Joy Luck Trio. Thank you all for being here.
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Yay! Donna? You are a familiar face and familiar
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voice to our audience. And you joined us in season
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two. And since then, you've been such a generous
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supporter of the show. And you were also part
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of our live event in October, which meant a great
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deal to me. So it is wonderful to have you back.
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And this time with your incredible. trio partners.
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I would love for you to briefly introduce your
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colleagues to our listeners, their names, where
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they are joining us from, and the instruments
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they bring to this incredible ensemble. First
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of all, thank you so much, Yukimi, for inviting
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us back, inviting me back, and for everything
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that you do. for musicians. You highlight not
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just their artistry, but their stories. And you
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know what that means to me. That's everything.
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And this is really what Joy Luck Trio is about.
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Because we are three Asian American, Chinese
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American women. And we play three different instruments.
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Gao Hong is a virtuoso pipa player. And she will
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explain more about that later, for those of you
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who may not be, you know, knowing this. And Karen
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Han is a master erhu virtuosa. And that, again,
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she will explain. But I will say that my father's
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favorite instrument was the erhu. He loved it
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so much. And so the three of us together, since
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I'm a pianist, we come from different parts of
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China. different stories and different backgrounds,
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but our shared passion for the music. And it's
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not any kind of music in particular. What we
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do and what we want to do is share our traditional
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instruments, our traditional Chinese stories,
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folktales, our own stories of heritage. And we
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want to combine it with Western music. So it
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is East... meets Wes in a very new, fresh way.
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I don't think there is or ever has been an ensemble
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of this nature, and so I think that our sound,
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it's going to be very different, but I think
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it's going to be surprisingly beautiful to everyone,
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whether or not you've ever heard these incredible
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engines before, because My colleagues, their
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heart and soul, like mine, are in the music.
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They put everything, their feelings, their emotions,
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their stories, everything goes through and into
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the music to the audience. So I'm really excited.
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Wonderful. So Karen and Gao, welcome to the PianoPod.
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It's truly an honor to have you here. And I've
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been learning about your careers and listening
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to your recordings and soundtracks from films
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and everything. And I'm very much looking forward
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to discovering even more about your artistry
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and these beautiful instruments. But how did
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the three of you first come together? Well, I'm
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going to step in because Karen, I just was going
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over our Facebook. That's how we met. Well, the
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two of them, they will tell their story. But
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Karen sent me a Facebook Messenger back in 2024,
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congratulating me on my film, Never Fade Away.
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Her husband is in the film world. I mean, he's
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really, he's won three Academy Awards. He's an
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audio engineer, recording genius. And anyway,
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so she sent this to me because we are Facebook
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friends. congratulated me. And it was really
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fortuitous because I was just thinking about
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trying to collaborate more with different instrumentation.
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So then I started thinking about that. And then
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I started seeing Gao Hong. I mean, she is the
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most prolific musician I've ever seen. She's
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everywhere. She does everything. And I was listening
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to her music and the two of them. I mean, I was
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just amazed by their artistry and the beauty
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with which they present their music. And so I
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reached out to Gao Hong and then I said, you
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know, I'm such a fan and I'm a fan of, I don't
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know if you know Karen Han, but, you know, I
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would love the three of us to do something. And
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then Gao Hong tells me that they've known each
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other. Right. For years. And then we just started
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having these wonderful conversations and very
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lively, very funny, very charming and very, you
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know, we're really aligned on the same page.
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And that's how we started out. I'll let them
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tell you about their stories. Sure. So either
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Karen or Gao, you want to add something to that?
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I think Donna is the firecracker in our three
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groups. And she is the soul of the gel and putting
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all three of us together. And Gao Hong and I,
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we were back in the college schoolmates at the
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Conservatory of Music in Beijing. But she was
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in her area, and I was in West Coast. So we basically
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didn't get a chance to collaborate since we moved
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to the States. And when Donna gave me this great
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idea, and I said, that is fabulous. And then
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three of us, it seems like we come from different
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area. but we are somehow it's in one tune that
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we are all Asian like Donna said and we love,
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love what we do. Go home. Yeah, absolutely. I
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wanted to emphasize that we really respect each
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other. I so admire those two as absolutely my
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idols. And Donna, I saw her at the movie. I saw
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her play with so much passion and caring for
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me. When I first went to Central Conservatory,
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I was a freshman of undergraduate. And she was
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the first, the very first only field to the master
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degree of the Erhu. I would look up her and say,
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oh my gosh, she's amazing. That's how I always
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know. And I saw her performance. She did so many
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incredible performances. While I was in school,
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I watched her. She didn't know because even though
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my age is a little different, I may be older
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than Karen because I... Yeah, I think I worked
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four years as a teacher at the Hebei Arts School
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at the PPAP. Then I went to the Central Conservatory.
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So I think we may either were, I'm older than
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you, either were the same age. But at that time,
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I would look up her like, oh my gosh, she is
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an angel. And Donna's personality just absolutely
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adore. I love that so much. I've been telling
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many people, I say, three of us is three different
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characters. But Donna is the one to hold it together.
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yeah her um for everything what she she does
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is always part of the art that's exactly what
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i like too so and so is the caring when she played
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the arhu that's my dream come true because i
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love arhu so much and i think the arhu people
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at the piano can create such beautiful I can
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hear it in my mind. That's why I'm so, so excited.
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It's such a great honor to have this opportunity
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to work with two incredible first -class, world
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-class musicians. Well, thank you. I look forward
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to it, too. So let's focus closely on these Chinese
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traditional instruments, pipa and... and the
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voices that give this ensemble its unique identity.
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So, Gao, let's start with you. You are widely
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recognized as one of the foremost pipa virtuosos
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in the world. For listeners who may not know,
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you know, this instrument yet, what does the
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pipa look like and how is it constructed and
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played? Okay, the pipa actually, thanks for your
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compliment. So the pipa actually, the four strings,
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originally came from the Barbados, Middle East,
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through the Silk Road, and they became the oud,
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and they went to the east. became a sitar, pipa
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went to the west, became a lute and guitar. So
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we're kind of the roots of the Barbados in the
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Middle East. And later we developed, it's about
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2000 years old. And the pipa is kind of like
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a plucked because we're same as the lute and
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the guitar family. So you can imagine sounds
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like that. um guitar or mandolin or other thing
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you were thinking but The difference is we will
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have five fake news that also we can tell stories
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because the Chinese music always telling stories.
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So you can imagine something like flowing water,
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bubbly water, horse trotting, horseman, and geese
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talking. So it's literally you can speak Chinese
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into like Karen's erhu, the same thing. So if
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you want to I can send you the clip of one of
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our viral video. It's a 6 .1 million views now.
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So that's the one thing I always do is to before
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either any concert, small concert, big concert,
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I always introduce what Pipa was. So that video
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will be very helpful. My name is Gao Hong. I'm
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a Chinese pipa player and composer. I come from
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Minnesota in the USA, and I play the Chinese
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lute called pipa, P -I -P -A. Everybody thinks
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of the Chinese pipa like a guitar because it
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sounds like a guitar or banjo or mandolin. Actually,
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Chinese pipa... It's none of above, it's between.
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When you play the guitar, you pluck your string
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like this. But the Chinese pipa play opposite
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way. We flip out, start index finger, middle
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finger, ring finger, pinky and thumb like this.
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That's how you play the Chinese pipa. Also, Chinese
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music always tell you stories. Example, I will
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make sounds like flowing water. Or like Chinese
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people talking. 你好吗? 很高兴见到你。 How are you? Nice
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to meet you. 很高兴见到你。 Or I can make people laughing.
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Yeah, but you know, it sounds, although it's
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plucking, it doesn't sound like it's been plucked,
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you know, because it's so fast and then it just
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becomes like really, like a creature. You know
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what I mean? It's incredible. I think it's due
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to your performance too, but you know, it's,
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it's very, very fascinating instrument. Thank
00:16:06.210 --> 00:16:09.830
you. It's a terminal, the terminal just for years.
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That's how we do it. I've been playing for 53
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years. Oh my goodness. Wow. Lifetime. Wow. So
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same question to you, Karen, you know, you're
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also one of the leading erhu. for virtuals of
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your generation and for listeners who may not
00:16:27.659 --> 00:16:29.919
know. So tell us about the instrument, please.
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Yes. Like Gao Hu mentioned, my instrument is
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also originally from the northern China, like
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Hu, we would say like a Mongolian area. So the
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original name is Hu Qing, not Arhu. It is about
00:16:56.539 --> 00:17:02.639
less than pipa. We probably have 1 ,600 years
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history and with two strings. Originally, from
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the Tang Dynasty, Song Dynasty, they have those
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poems and they mention about this instrument.
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The funny part is when I was in school, I dig
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it into this instrument. Originally, it's also
00:17:26.950 --> 00:17:31.309
plug instrument. So you don't use a bow, but
00:17:31.309 --> 00:17:35.190
you use your finger plug. However, gradually
00:17:35.190 --> 00:17:40.670
they developed, use the horse hair, similar like
00:17:40.670 --> 00:17:44.309
a violin, viola, cello. And we use the horse
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hair and bamboo as the bow. and originally the
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string was a silk made by silk so it is impossible
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to collaborate with our greatest Donna because
00:18:01.970 --> 00:18:08.509
she is in tune with and you too so gradually
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when the people are like connected with western
00:18:13.490 --> 00:18:17.869
instrument we are changed the silk string to
00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:23.240
the metal string and now we use metal string
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and my instrument is is two strings um no fretboard
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and basically it's really asking people just
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do your um your your ear and your practice to
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make it tuning right wow yeah and in very beginning
00:18:47.849 --> 00:18:53.710
Arhu is like the poor time that people are starting
00:18:53.710 --> 00:18:58.130
play in the street and standing, you know, put
00:18:58.130 --> 00:19:01.890
the Arhu standing and walking around making like
00:19:01.890 --> 00:19:06.650
street musicians. And until like a hundred years
00:19:06.650 --> 00:19:13.630
ago, we finally made it up to the stage as a
00:19:13.630 --> 00:19:17.099
concert hall and we have a concertos. In the
00:19:17.099 --> 00:19:20.660
movies, you hear them in movies. And we just
00:19:20.660 --> 00:19:23.140
briefly talked about with Karen, you know, about
00:19:23.140 --> 00:19:27.440
that. So I look forward to dig into more. Wonderful.
00:19:27.700 --> 00:19:33.220
So then going back to Gao now, having trained
00:19:33.220 --> 00:19:36.359
at Beijing Central Conservatory of Music and
00:19:36.359 --> 00:19:39.099
carried this instrument onto major international
00:19:39.099 --> 00:19:42.299
stages, you represent a long lineage of tradition.
00:19:42.700 --> 00:19:46.359
So what makes the sound distinct from Western
00:19:46.359 --> 00:19:49.339
plucked instruments? I think the pipa became
00:19:49.339 --> 00:19:53.480
popular because everybody can relate with the
00:19:53.480 --> 00:19:57.460
guitar. So then they can easily accept it. Like
00:19:57.460 --> 00:20:00.920
a guitar, the trombone, especially classical
00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:05.099
guitar, you'll be so suffering because it's so
00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:10.200
difficult. But when the pipa can do it, it's
00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:12.599
the opposite of the other way. So we can play
00:20:12.599 --> 00:20:16.880
faster and connect it. So the texture of the
00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:20.460
pipa and the color of the pipa really stand out,
00:20:20.539 --> 00:20:23.890
especially with the Western Symphony. And because
00:20:23.890 --> 00:20:27.170
you don't hear the brightness, but also can be
00:20:27.170 --> 00:20:31.210
so deep. We have a lot of left hand band. You
00:20:31.210 --> 00:20:34.730
can literally bend four steps instead of the
00:20:34.730 --> 00:20:39.829
guitar. Only can do little tiny. We can go up
00:20:39.829 --> 00:20:44.490
big one because of the instrument made the way
00:20:44.490 --> 00:20:49.150
so we can pull, we can push. So that also add
00:20:49.150 --> 00:20:54.180
a lot of flavor of the Chinese. a tone into this.
00:20:54.359 --> 00:20:58.000
I think that's why I think the pipa is very special.
00:20:58.079 --> 00:21:01.839
It's storytelling, too. Like we have four styles
00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:06.059
of pipa. One of the Pacific ones called the Pudong
00:21:06.059 --> 00:21:09.279
style, which means my teacher, Li Shicheng, is
00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:13.000
one of the most famous pipa players. And he passed
00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:17.399
away, but I was very lucky with his... student,
00:21:17.399 --> 00:21:20.220
actually was the only student beside his son
00:21:20.220 --> 00:21:24.900
ever recorded a CD and toured in the US. So I
00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:27.799
was very lucky to have that. I want to continue
00:21:27.799 --> 00:21:33.039
to use the storytelling, the Chinese flavor of
00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:37.220
music style to pass on this traditional music
00:21:37.220 --> 00:21:41.279
to have more people accept and used to this kind
00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:45.380
of song. Karen, how about you? You are also,
00:21:45.460 --> 00:21:47.880
as you said, you met, you guys met now and then
00:21:47.880 --> 00:21:50.460
Karen met at Central Conservatory of Music in
00:21:50.460 --> 00:21:53.960
Beijing. So, and Karen, you were the youngest
00:21:53.960 --> 00:21:56.400
person to receive a master's degree with honors?
00:21:56.420 --> 00:22:00.039
Yes. Oh my goodness. I was lucky. It's just because
00:22:00.039 --> 00:22:03.720
my mom, you know, she want me to go to school
00:22:03.720 --> 00:22:09.079
early. So I went to the first grade when I was
00:22:09.079 --> 00:22:12.799
five years old. oh so now i know you're younger
00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:20.740
than me so that that's why i just gradually gradually
00:22:20.740 --> 00:22:24.440
and even i get into uh conservatory music at
00:22:24.440 --> 00:22:28.740
uh the middle school i still the youngest one
00:22:28.740 --> 00:22:33.279
and then yeah so i was lucky this is just because
00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:39.839
of my mom um yeah but what makes your instrument
00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:43.160
so distinct from, you know, Western string instruments,
00:22:43.299 --> 00:22:48.039
in your opinion? My opinion, as I mentioned,
00:22:48.259 --> 00:22:54.539
first of all, it is no fretboard. And I always
00:22:54.539 --> 00:22:59.440
compete with my violin friends. So I said, my
00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:02.220
instrument is harder than you. Because of what?
00:23:03.119 --> 00:23:07.099
I only have two strings. Yeah, I only have two
00:23:07.099 --> 00:23:11.430
strings. and it was a little bit bigger octave,
00:23:11.750 --> 00:23:14.809
and I have to jump up and down, up and down to
00:23:14.809 --> 00:23:19.190
make it happen. That's the first. Second, I think
00:23:19.190 --> 00:23:24.490
Gao Hong just mentioned, we can bend my string.
00:23:25.329 --> 00:23:30.789
The violin cannot do. And so I bend my instrument
00:23:30.789 --> 00:23:37.329
can make me sad, crying, or happy or something
00:23:37.329 --> 00:23:40.750
that can more like you're talking about, use
00:23:40.750 --> 00:23:46.569
my own soul. I remember one time in Columbus,
00:23:46.829 --> 00:23:51.609
I had a concert and I ordered in and I was sitting
00:23:51.609 --> 00:23:56.130
inside the hotel and I said, you know, just order
00:23:56.130 --> 00:23:59.170
in before your concert with the concerto with
00:23:59.170 --> 00:24:03.890
the Columbus Symphony. And I ordered in and the
00:24:03.890 --> 00:24:08.220
person coming in And before he left, he said,
00:24:08.339 --> 00:24:13.779
by the way, you sing so beautifully. I didn't
00:24:13.779 --> 00:24:18.460
sing. I played. I practiced. But it sounds like
00:24:18.460 --> 00:24:22.900
you're singing. I think that's because my dad
00:24:22.900 --> 00:24:27.240
loves singing. And also he told me Arhu in the
00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:32.000
very beginning. So everything comes into your...
00:24:32.329 --> 00:24:36.250
Your musical -wise, it's a singing. So the breath
00:24:36.250 --> 00:24:41.230
changing and how you feel, everybody's different.
00:24:41.630 --> 00:24:45.869
So that's what I feel. And I played a little
00:24:45.869 --> 00:24:49.190
different. Even I played classical Arhu pieces,
00:24:49.309 --> 00:24:52.990
I played different than other people. So that's
00:24:52.990 --> 00:24:56.319
just what I feel. That's very special. Well,
00:24:56.480 --> 00:25:01.319
yeah. So how were these instruments introduced
00:25:01.319 --> 00:25:05.039
to you, both of you? You want to start with Gao?
00:25:05.299 --> 00:25:07.559
You want to start with you? Yeah. That's the,
00:25:07.660 --> 00:25:10.200
everybody ask it. That's the answer. You don't
00:25:10.200 --> 00:25:15.519
want to hear it. Oh, no. Yeah, I love music.
00:25:15.799 --> 00:25:20.839
My mom forced me. Of course. Of course. My mom
00:25:20.839 --> 00:25:24.140
literally forced me. And because she was a music
00:25:24.140 --> 00:25:27.779
teacher. And I was eight. My first instrument
00:25:27.779 --> 00:25:31.390
was an accordion. Because at that time. Russians
00:25:31.390 --> 00:25:34.789
or Big Brother. So I was so skinny, my mom said,
00:25:34.849 --> 00:25:38.650
no future. Okay, go. go change something. So
00:25:38.650 --> 00:25:41.289
I changed it to a two -string monk guitar. It's
00:25:41.289 --> 00:25:44.730
a Yueqin. But because of two strings, only three
00:25:44.730 --> 00:25:47.150
weeks I was on the radio, my mom said, too easy.
00:25:47.289 --> 00:25:49.970
Okay, change it to a three -string. It's a Liuqin.
00:25:50.029 --> 00:25:53.789
It's kind of like a mandolin. Then after that,
00:25:53.869 --> 00:25:57.210
oh, too easy. Change it to a zither. So I played
00:25:57.210 --> 00:26:00.109
the zither. I played the artu. I played the violin.
00:26:00.369 --> 00:26:03.670
I played the piano. Until later, my mom said.
00:26:04.599 --> 00:26:07.579
Because my mom wanted me to avoid the Cultural
00:26:07.579 --> 00:26:10.359
Revolution. Because during the Cultural Revolution,
00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:13.339
you had to go to the country. She said, if you're
00:26:13.339 --> 00:26:16.240
trying to find an instrument that's so difficult,
00:26:16.519 --> 00:26:19.779
your competition will be less. So I said, okay,
00:26:19.880 --> 00:26:23.079
pipa is the most difficult one. Okay, go learn
00:26:23.079 --> 00:26:26.200
pipa. So my mom was right. After four years at
00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:31.119
age 12, I became a professional musician. But
00:26:31.119 --> 00:26:35.680
I hated it. When I was young, We didn't have
00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:40.500
Christmas. If I ever had my only wish, just never
00:26:40.500 --> 00:26:42.940
play the pipa ever. It would be my favorite.
00:26:45.319 --> 00:26:49.599
No. Now it's in my blood. I couldn't let you
00:26:49.599 --> 00:26:51.819
take my pipa away. If you do that, I would be
00:26:51.819 --> 00:26:55.799
very mad at you. Now it's like in my blood. I
00:26:55.799 --> 00:26:59.539
love it so much. But in the beginning, my mom
00:26:59.539 --> 00:27:02.240
locked me in the house eight hours a day. I had
00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:07.910
to practice. I hated it. I hate it so much. That's
00:27:07.910 --> 00:27:10.309
why I always say when people ask me this question,
00:27:10.410 --> 00:27:13.950
I say, that's what you don't want to hear. But
00:27:13.950 --> 00:27:18.329
it became your life. Where's the pivotal moment,
00:27:18.589 --> 00:27:22.549
you think? No, it is. Because my English is not
00:27:22.549 --> 00:27:25.150
good, I always tell people I speak Chinglish.
00:27:25.369 --> 00:27:30.069
But when I hold my music, I can purely use my
00:27:30.069 --> 00:27:33.849
heart to... talk to that's what I try to do all
00:27:33.849 --> 00:27:36.970
my audience like my friends in my living room
00:27:36.970 --> 00:27:39.890
I wanted them to be my friend I wanted them to
00:27:39.890 --> 00:27:43.349
use my heart to tell your story that's now it's
00:27:43.349 --> 00:27:46.769
really part of my huge life in my life I mean
00:27:46.769 --> 00:27:52.289
it's a huge part of my life yeah thank you girl
00:27:52.289 --> 00:27:59.099
and Karen so what about you That's why we're
00:27:59.099 --> 00:28:05.380
together. When I was four years old, I loved
00:28:05.380 --> 00:28:10.099
dance. I loved singing. And so I can dance to
00:28:10.099 --> 00:28:13.420
the kitchen to grab a plate for my mom or something
00:28:13.420 --> 00:28:19.599
like that. And my dad at that time, he is more,
00:28:19.799 --> 00:28:24.099
now I say versionable. So he's a versionary.
00:28:24.240 --> 00:28:29.009
He said, I don't think you are the, you know,
00:28:29.009 --> 00:28:35.369
dancer. It's just like my mom. My mom would never
00:28:35.369 --> 00:28:37.309
say I'm good. I don't think you're a dancer.
00:28:37.529 --> 00:28:40.569
I'm not sure about your singing. So why don't
00:28:40.569 --> 00:28:45.630
you, why don't you learn this art who is, you
00:28:45.630 --> 00:28:48.589
know, I know how to play and you learn from me
00:28:48.589 --> 00:28:54.630
and see if we can find your job. That's amazing.
00:28:54.849 --> 00:29:01.769
We're so much alike. Yes. Yes. I hate it. Like
00:29:01.769 --> 00:29:07.349
Ga Hong said, I hate it. And even I get into
00:29:07.349 --> 00:29:12.529
Conservatory of Music School, I feel honored,
00:29:12.609 --> 00:29:17.329
but I still feel very pressured. That means like
00:29:17.329 --> 00:29:21.299
all the best. ahu player in their school and
00:29:21.299 --> 00:29:25.480
how can you become as the best ahu player and
00:29:25.480 --> 00:29:30.359
my teacher never tell me anything i play good
00:29:30.359 --> 00:29:34.420
they only say bar three you short a little note
00:29:34.420 --> 00:29:38.079
and you know bar five you supposed to change
00:29:38.079 --> 00:29:43.480
your bowie but you didn't so i never feel i got
00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:47.490
a priest that much other than the school keeping
00:29:47.490 --> 00:29:50.609
sending me to, you know, like to the college,
00:29:50.609 --> 00:29:54.849
to the master degree. At that time, we only have
00:29:54.849 --> 00:29:57.349
a three master degree. Now, of course, it has
00:29:57.349 --> 00:30:01.890
a PhD. But anyway, it was honored. So I played,
00:30:01.890 --> 00:30:10.369
played until one day that the school, our whole
00:30:10.369 --> 00:30:15.250
country started to only enjoy pop music. outside
00:30:15.250 --> 00:30:19.089
of it you know and then i saw that i have to
00:30:19.089 --> 00:30:24.329
go i i can't standing stay here and then so after
00:30:24.329 --> 00:30:29.309
i had a concert in the states i had a 15 cities
00:30:29.309 --> 00:30:33.430
i have tour concert tour and after that i said
00:30:33.430 --> 00:30:39.650
here is my usa is my you know second home they
00:30:39.650 --> 00:30:44.019
love my music they follows my concerts from city
00:30:44.019 --> 00:30:46.599
to city, actually that time from Philadelphia,
00:30:46.779 --> 00:30:49.759
where I'm living now, Philadelphia to New York,
00:30:49.920 --> 00:30:54.019
there's fans driving to New York to listen to
00:30:54.019 --> 00:30:56.960
my concert and people crying in the concert.
00:30:57.140 --> 00:31:01.619
And I started to know this is where I can, you
00:31:01.619 --> 00:31:06.279
know, blossom my instrument. Yeah. Wow. Incredible
00:31:06.279 --> 00:31:10.019
story. And you all are, you know, serious, I
00:31:10.019 --> 00:31:13.130
mean, amazing, accomplished. you know, award
00:31:13.130 --> 00:31:16.569
-winning musicians, but you guys don't take yourselves
00:31:16.569 --> 00:31:19.950
so seriously. And that's what I love about. No,
00:31:20.009 --> 00:31:23.210
we, we have a lot of fun. We have so much fun.
00:31:23.509 --> 00:31:26.910
The first time we had a zoom meeting because
00:31:26.910 --> 00:31:29.369
we were in three different time zones. Karen
00:31:29.369 --> 00:31:32.450
was living in LA and Gao Hong's in Minnesota.
00:31:32.450 --> 00:31:37.740
I'm in New York. And I guess we never got. the
00:31:37.740 --> 00:31:41.359
communication about the time zone. So I logged
00:31:41.359 --> 00:31:47.460
on. Nobody was there. And then I started texting
00:31:47.460 --> 00:31:49.200
them. Where are you? Where are you? And it was
00:31:49.200 --> 00:31:52.119
so funny because the three of us are not very
00:31:52.119 --> 00:31:54.660
good with technology. We're very good with what
00:31:54.660 --> 00:31:57.119
we do, instruments, but technology is not. So
00:31:57.119 --> 00:31:58.759
we just kept saying, what's going on? What's
00:31:58.759 --> 00:32:01.740
going on? It was so funny. But we have, I think,
00:32:01.740 --> 00:32:06.599
having a sense of humor as an artist. is so important
00:32:06.599 --> 00:32:09.299
because it's not about, we don't take ourselves
00:32:09.299 --> 00:32:11.720
seriously. We take what we do very seriously,
00:32:11.720 --> 00:32:17.259
but the music comes first. We don't come first.
00:32:17.960 --> 00:32:22.119
And I think that that is what makes it charming
00:32:22.119 --> 00:32:27.779
and relatable. But I just want to add on my part,
00:32:27.920 --> 00:32:31.380
I only started taking the piano and I mentioned
00:32:31.380 --> 00:32:35.920
this too in season two, because my pet. uh parakeet
00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:38.519
died and that's why i started piano because i
00:32:38.519 --> 00:32:40.720
was so upset they got a piano i started playing
00:32:40.720 --> 00:32:44.339
piano but i think the difference between our
00:32:44.339 --> 00:32:48.759
cultures my being born here is that after 10
00:32:48.759 --> 00:32:51.640
years of winning competitions performing everywhere
00:32:51.640 --> 00:32:56.400
my mother said okay you can quit now that's a
00:32:56.400 --> 00:33:00.119
big difference that's a huge difference so that's
00:33:00.119 --> 00:33:03.400
why i I went to Juilliard pre -college. I didn't
00:33:03.400 --> 00:33:05.259
go to Juilliard for college. I went to Princeton.
00:33:05.359 --> 00:33:12.700
I studied economics. Now that I hated. And so
00:33:12.700 --> 00:33:18.119
I actually was the opposite. So that after, and
00:33:18.119 --> 00:33:20.940
I loved my college experience. Afterwards, I
00:33:20.940 --> 00:33:25.180
went back to Juilliard for master's. But still,
00:33:25.279 --> 00:33:27.839
my mother says, no, you have to be a real estate
00:33:27.839 --> 00:33:32.529
agent. Because then you can make money. So I
00:33:32.529 --> 00:33:35.250
got a real estate license. And for one year,
00:33:35.309 --> 00:33:39.730
I worked. I never sold anything. Because I'm
00:33:39.730 --> 00:33:42.470
an artist. I keep saying, why would you spend
00:33:42.470 --> 00:33:47.210
so much money on such a small apartment? So it
00:33:47.210 --> 00:33:49.569
wasn't until a friend of mine took me to Barge
00:33:49.569 --> 00:33:52.710
Music, to a concert at Barge. And I heard David
00:33:52.710 --> 00:33:56.210
Schifrin, Paul Newborough play the Kegelsat Mozart
00:33:56.210 --> 00:34:00.619
trio. And I cried. And that's when I realized
00:34:00.619 --> 00:34:04.420
how much I missed playing, how much I needed
00:34:04.420 --> 00:34:07.420
to be back in music. And this is why barge music
00:34:07.420 --> 00:34:11.500
has always been a very important place for me.
00:34:11.639 --> 00:34:15.619
And I am so thrilled that the Joy Luck Trio is
00:34:15.619 --> 00:34:19.829
going to perform in barge music on May 3rd. Yes.
00:34:19.829 --> 00:34:22.590
Yes. Wonderful. Yeah. We're going to talk more
00:34:22.590 --> 00:34:25.230
about that. All the future events and everything.
00:34:25.949 --> 00:34:28.670
Wonderful. Thanks for sharing Donna. So going
00:34:28.670 --> 00:34:31.510
back to, well, I want to, you know, I want my
00:34:31.510 --> 00:34:34.820
audience to get to know. Gao and Karen Moore,
00:34:35.079 --> 00:34:38.360
because this is your first time ever at the PianoPod.
00:34:38.440 --> 00:34:42.179
So let's go back, Gao. You know, in addition
00:34:42.179 --> 00:34:45.760
to being a master performer, you are also a composer
00:34:45.760 --> 00:34:49.019
with commissions from leading orchestras and,
00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:51.579
you know, including Minnesota Orchestra and then
00:34:51.579 --> 00:34:54.420
the president's own U .S. Marine Band. Oh, my
00:34:54.420 --> 00:34:56.360
goodness. I've been listening to your album,
00:34:56.460 --> 00:34:59.440
Symphony of Self. Oh, recorded with the Royal
00:34:59.440 --> 00:35:02.780
Philharmonic Orchestra under Michael Pollan.
00:35:02.889 --> 00:35:05.909
Wow, it's striking. So these are your compositions?
00:35:06.429 --> 00:35:11.070
Yes. I composed everything. I orchestrated everything.
00:35:11.309 --> 00:35:17.389
Every note. I played it too. I know. Yeah. This
00:35:17.389 --> 00:35:22.210
really wildest dream I never, ever, ever saw.
00:35:22.349 --> 00:35:25.929
If I'm still in China, I remember one of my classmates
00:35:25.929 --> 00:35:29.179
from Central Conservatory asked me, will you
00:35:29.179 --> 00:35:32.099
be a composer if you're still in China? I said,
00:35:32.139 --> 00:35:36.219
absolutely not. That's impossible. So the reason
00:35:36.219 --> 00:35:39.860
I became a composer was when I first came to
00:35:39.860 --> 00:35:44.599
this country in 1994. When I played in Denver,
00:35:44.840 --> 00:35:47.219
they announced on the radio, said, please come
00:35:47.219 --> 00:35:50.139
to see the Chinese woman play the pipa. Five
00:35:50.139 --> 00:35:52.360
minutes later, somebody called, how could this
00:35:52.360 --> 00:35:55.679
Chinese woman play the pipa? They thought I was
00:35:55.679 --> 00:36:01.920
playing the vegetable. So that's the reason it
00:36:01.920 --> 00:36:04.340
doesn't matter how big a concert, how small concert,
00:36:04.440 --> 00:36:08.420
I always introduce what pipa was, what pipa is.
00:36:08.679 --> 00:36:13.460
So then 1994, not many people know the pipa.
00:36:13.500 --> 00:36:17.380
So people give me this say, I give you an opportunity.
00:36:17.719 --> 00:36:21.619
You can play 10 minutes. So it's not a respect
00:36:21.619 --> 00:36:24.260
for, say, your musician. They just say, I give
00:36:24.260 --> 00:36:27.500
you an opportunity. You take 10 minutes. But
00:36:27.500 --> 00:36:30.239
Chinese people have two major styles. One is
00:36:30.239 --> 00:36:33.900
called Wen style. It's to describe the scenery,
00:36:34.320 --> 00:36:38.320
emotional, very soft, very elegant. The other
00:36:38.320 --> 00:36:41.880
one called Wu style, which means for battle,
00:36:42.079 --> 00:36:46.039
storytelling. It's very powerful. So if I only
00:36:46.039 --> 00:36:49.429
have 10 minutes. there is no way I can play both.
00:36:49.650 --> 00:36:52.969
So if I only play Moonlight Over the Spring beautifully,
00:36:53.230 --> 00:36:57.400
just describe the... scenery, people will think,
00:36:57.480 --> 00:37:00.320
oh, the people are boring. You know, if I only
00:37:00.320 --> 00:37:03.719
play the ambush, which all the horsemen, the
00:37:03.719 --> 00:37:06.420
people screaming and all the sword fighting,
00:37:06.599 --> 00:37:10.260
people will think, oh, people's noise. So then
00:37:10.260 --> 00:37:12.940
I decided to say, you know what, I'm going to
00:37:12.940 --> 00:37:17.519
write a piece in less than 10 minutes. I can
00:37:17.519 --> 00:37:21.440
combine one and the whole style in one. So that
00:37:21.440 --> 00:37:26.619
was 1997, I became, I wrote my first pipa solo
00:37:26.619 --> 00:37:30.260
called Flying Dragon, based on my true story.
00:37:30.480 --> 00:37:33.219
Because like I said, Chinese music always tell
00:37:33.219 --> 00:37:37.840
you stories. So I talk about my story, how I,
00:37:38.079 --> 00:37:41.699
my mom took me fortune teller, said I would be
00:37:41.699 --> 00:37:44.679
a flying dragon because I was born the year of
00:37:44.679 --> 00:37:47.719
the dragon, how I traveled, how my struggle,
00:37:47.880 --> 00:37:51.360
how my... Sad story, I hated the people, you
00:37:51.360 --> 00:37:56.539
know, with all the story, the struggle. So I
00:37:56.539 --> 00:38:00.760
just kind of used my heart, played. So after
00:38:00.760 --> 00:38:03.519
play, the people really say, oh my gosh, you're
00:38:03.519 --> 00:38:06.800
such a good composer, you should do more. Then
00:38:06.800 --> 00:38:10.219
people start commissioning me from string quartet,
00:38:10.260 --> 00:38:13.940
piano trio, guitar quartet, then the symphony
00:38:13.940 --> 00:38:20.389
orchestra, then the choral band. My gosh, we
00:38:20.389 --> 00:38:23.309
have a five thousand years history in Chinese
00:38:23.309 --> 00:38:26.710
instruments. There's no brass instruments for
00:38:26.710 --> 00:38:29.840
five thousand years. I never heard of a band
00:38:29.840 --> 00:38:34.400
in China. So when they asked me to, when the
00:38:34.400 --> 00:38:36.980
President Ong commissioned me to write, I even
00:38:36.980 --> 00:38:40.739
didn't know how that sounds like because I even
00:38:40.739 --> 00:38:44.500
never went to a band concert. So I was brave
00:38:44.500 --> 00:38:48.400
enough to say, yes, I would do it. So that's
00:38:48.400 --> 00:38:51.820
really opened a huge door for me. Now I've really
00:38:51.820 --> 00:38:55.679
fallen in love with band music. I just premiered.
00:38:57.230 --> 00:39:02.690
two weeks ago, the February 12th at the TMEA
00:39:02.690 --> 00:39:05.789
with the band, with the Pipa Concerto. That's
00:39:05.789 --> 00:39:10.969
never, no, yeah, that was so stunning. The color,
00:39:11.250 --> 00:39:14.989
oh my gosh, so excited. So that's my story. I
00:39:14.989 --> 00:39:19.610
didn't think I would never be a composer, but
00:39:19.610 --> 00:39:23.789
I think if you use your heart. Just think about
00:39:23.789 --> 00:39:26.929
it. And people always ask you, how do you do
00:39:26.929 --> 00:39:31.550
the composition? I'm not the trained professional
00:39:31.550 --> 00:39:36.130
people go to the computer. Here's a chord major.
00:39:36.329 --> 00:39:39.369
Here's a chord minor. Here's a seventh. You know,
00:39:39.409 --> 00:39:43.090
what I do is always in my mind first. I can hear
00:39:43.090 --> 00:39:46.989
it. So the minutes went down, I say. pipa and
00:39:46.989 --> 00:39:50.769
the arhu and the piano oh my gosh i said i can't
00:39:50.769 --> 00:39:54.190
hear it i can't hear it i'm so confident so this
00:39:54.190 --> 00:39:58.170
is so good so that's that's what's my became
00:39:58.170 --> 00:40:02.409
a composer now but that's really what the great
00:40:02.409 --> 00:40:05.289
composers did they heard it in their head they
00:40:05.289 --> 00:40:09.280
didn't have computers That's right. And then
00:40:09.280 --> 00:40:12.099
we are so lucky and so honored to have an in
00:40:12.099 --> 00:40:15.599
-house composer. Yes, that's right. Also, of
00:40:15.599 --> 00:40:18.260
course, Gao is going to compose and arrange all
00:40:18.260 --> 00:40:21.320
the pieces for you guys. Or she's already done.
00:40:21.860 --> 00:40:25.840
We already have one. It will go to a premiere.
00:40:25.980 --> 00:40:28.260
We're going to have more. We will have more.
00:40:28.519 --> 00:40:32.800
We're going to talk more about that. Yeah, great.
00:40:33.139 --> 00:40:37.619
Wow. And then also, you know, you're from Minnesota.
00:40:37.699 --> 00:40:42.119
So this town of St. Paul is like celebrated you
00:40:42.119 --> 00:40:46.320
for making a day of Gao Hong Day or something
00:40:46.320 --> 00:40:51.820
like that. Yes. That is incredible. I'm so proud.
00:40:52.039 --> 00:40:55.940
As a fellow Asian woman, I'm so proud. That's
00:40:55.940 --> 00:41:02.360
so cool. I didn't expect that either. Wow, great.
00:41:02.639 --> 00:41:06.780
Thank you. Well, thank you. So, Karen, now I'm
00:41:06.780 --> 00:41:08.960
going to talk about you. I was just talking to
00:41:08.960 --> 00:41:12.460
you before you all joined. And, you know, I was
00:41:12.460 --> 00:41:16.780
sort of awestruck because you have the list of
00:41:16.780 --> 00:41:21.579
incredible film soundtracks that you're the soloist
00:41:21.579 --> 00:41:25.119
in those. You know, The Last Emperor. Oh, every
00:41:25.119 --> 00:41:27.699
time I hear that title of the film, just gives
00:41:27.699 --> 00:41:31.519
me chills because sort of that's the story of
00:41:31.519 --> 00:41:35.570
my. basically ancestors right because i'm a minor
00:41:35.570 --> 00:41:39.230
ethnic minority growing up in japan it's the
00:41:39.230 --> 00:41:43.250
product of that era of imperial time and the
00:41:43.250 --> 00:41:47.730
movie is just you know the memoir of of the last
00:41:47.730 --> 00:41:51.610
emperor in china and oh and every time this emotional
00:41:51.610 --> 00:41:56.150
scene comes it's your solo Wow. And then you're
00:41:56.150 --> 00:42:00.969
also in the movies like The Hurt Locker. I just
00:42:00.969 --> 00:42:04.389
saw it a couple weeks ago. Yeah, because I wanted
00:42:04.389 --> 00:42:07.469
to see it again. And then also Memoirs of a Geisha,
00:42:07.809 --> 00:42:11.150
Mulan, Kanghoo Panda, Pirates of the Caribbean.
00:42:11.900 --> 00:42:16.980
And Star Trek. Oh, my gosh. I'm just name dropping.
00:42:18.260 --> 00:42:23.280
Wow. That is that is incredible. So just so I
00:42:23.280 --> 00:42:27.280
saw Ryuichi Sakamoto. He's the composer of The
00:42:27.280 --> 00:42:30.199
Last Emperor in the West Village a couple of
00:42:30.199 --> 00:42:33.599
10 years ago, just before he passed away or something
00:42:33.599 --> 00:42:36.280
like that. And he was sitting there and it meant
00:42:36.280 --> 00:42:39.860
so much to me because he was he played an antagonist
00:42:39.860 --> 00:42:43.780
in that. film right it meant so much you know
00:42:43.780 --> 00:42:46.900
as a minority and then here's a big name in japan
00:42:46.900 --> 00:42:50.280
this artist brave enough to play the part and
00:42:50.280 --> 00:42:52.780
i wanted to say hi but i couldn't i didn't have
00:42:52.780 --> 00:42:56.099
the guts to say but so that's like the really
00:42:56.099 --> 00:42:59.500
one of the many regrets of my life but yeah but
00:42:59.500 --> 00:43:03.420
it's just what it's like to be playing in those
00:43:03.420 --> 00:43:07.190
iconic films i mean you know became i iconic
00:43:07.190 --> 00:43:10.630
films later, you know? Oh, thank you. Tell me
00:43:10.630 --> 00:43:15.429
the story, yeah. Well, it's a long story, like
00:43:15.429 --> 00:43:17.969
what Ga Hong said. We've been playing this instrument
00:43:17.969 --> 00:43:25.650
for so many years, decades. The last amphora
00:43:25.650 --> 00:43:30.909
was a gig when I was still in school, and one
00:43:30.909 --> 00:43:34.929
of the composers for the film, Su Chong, is our
00:43:34.929 --> 00:43:39.900
schoolmate. So he just come to our school and
00:43:39.900 --> 00:43:44.059
recorded that. This is for my, it's like extra
00:43:44.059 --> 00:43:48.960
money. And I never thought this is a huge, that
00:43:48.960 --> 00:43:53.780
become as absolutely iconic film. And it's beautiful
00:43:53.780 --> 00:43:57.940
film by all the filmmakers together to make this
00:43:57.940 --> 00:44:04.329
happen. As again, I said. Every piece I play,
00:44:04.550 --> 00:44:10.489
when people hire me as a studio musician, I play,
00:44:10.610 --> 00:44:17.110
I use my heart. I try to enhance the film. I
00:44:17.110 --> 00:44:21.170
don't want to say, I want to show off my art
00:44:21.170 --> 00:44:26.829
or technique or something, but I do want to watch
00:44:26.829 --> 00:44:31.219
the film and to go with it. And lots of it, many
00:44:31.219 --> 00:44:35.300
of the composers writing the pieces, like John
00:44:35.300 --> 00:44:39.139
Williams. And he invited me to his studio. He
00:44:39.139 --> 00:44:42.539
said, I never saw Arhu before. I wanted to learn
00:44:42.539 --> 00:44:48.039
your instrument. And he used his pencil and on
00:44:48.039 --> 00:44:52.679
his piano and writing down while I play for him,
00:44:52.780 --> 00:44:56.280
which part is better, you know, that. It's just
00:44:56.280 --> 00:44:59.400
that incredible, that touching me. Of course,
00:44:59.420 --> 00:45:02.539
there's many composers that you can do improvisation
00:45:02.539 --> 00:45:08.159
from the films. I'm proud to be part of this,
00:45:08.380 --> 00:45:12.760
just to bring this little instrument, two strings,
00:45:13.139 --> 00:45:17.920
into our world, you know, like music and film
00:45:17.920 --> 00:45:23.610
and the world that many of the people love. lots
00:45:23.610 --> 00:45:27.449
of songs. And for you mentioned the Heart Locker,
00:45:27.590 --> 00:45:32.289
the director, Catherine Bigelow, he originally
00:45:32.289 --> 00:45:36.030
didn't want it to have any music because she
00:45:36.030 --> 00:45:39.809
wanted to make it the whole thing. It's very
00:45:39.809 --> 00:45:44.329
pure, organic. It's like a real thing happened.
00:45:44.570 --> 00:45:48.750
You don't have a music. So, and then somehow
00:45:48.750 --> 00:45:52.849
that She went to one of my concerts I played,
00:45:53.130 --> 00:45:57.690
and she said, I just love this instrument. Can
00:45:57.690 --> 00:46:02.610
we put this in? And then after I saw the music
00:46:02.610 --> 00:46:07.349
sheet, I practiced at home, and my husband told
00:46:07.349 --> 00:46:11.710
me, said, do not use your band. It's not your
00:46:11.710 --> 00:46:17.000
Arhu music. Don't do your regular vibrato. just
00:46:17.000 --> 00:46:21.420
use it the you know east east um what the you
00:46:21.420 --> 00:46:24.719
know and then the the style of whatever that
00:46:24.719 --> 00:46:29.139
we needed to be so i said okay i tried that way
00:46:29.139 --> 00:46:34.500
and i did it so made it become winning like eight
00:46:34.500 --> 00:46:39.739
um oscar that night and every each night when
00:46:39.739 --> 00:46:42.840
they said the winning the oscar goes to And my
00:46:42.840 --> 00:46:45.760
music is coming up because of the only solo part.
00:46:47.760 --> 00:46:52.900
So it was really fun. And for I mentioned that
00:46:52.900 --> 00:46:58.099
the Kung Fu Panda and the Kung Fu, the Sifu,
00:46:58.099 --> 00:47:03.480
Wu Gui, when he departs, and the composer Han
00:47:03.480 --> 00:47:07.400
Zimmer. think my instrument can go more philosophy
00:47:07.400 --> 00:47:13.639
and more deeper, more calm. So I had that solo
00:47:13.639 --> 00:47:17.380
for that part that become as adopted to many
00:47:17.380 --> 00:47:22.159
pianists and cellos and play that whole thing
00:47:22.159 --> 00:47:27.340
becomes very popular film music now and I feel
00:47:27.340 --> 00:47:33.480
so so blessed. And in All the way, I have to
00:47:33.480 --> 00:47:37.900
say, because I live in L .A. at that time, so
00:47:37.900 --> 00:47:44.039
it's much easier to be recognized and to be a
00:47:44.039 --> 00:47:50.079
musician, an arhu player over there. As you know,
00:47:50.659 --> 00:47:58.119
the house was burned in L .A., and our son come
00:47:58.119 --> 00:48:01.980
to UPenn for study. I move it to Philadelphia.
00:48:02.280 --> 00:48:06.320
Now we have another door opened. So I have this
00:48:06.320 --> 00:48:12.159
Joy Luck Trail. So I'm so blessed. It's a new
00:48:12.159 --> 00:48:16.139
life, new music life for me. Wow. Thank you for
00:48:16.139 --> 00:48:18.239
sharing. We're so lucky. We're so lucky. You're
00:48:18.239 --> 00:48:23.699
so lucky. Joy Luck. We're joyful. We're so lucky.
00:48:23.960 --> 00:48:27.110
Oh, my gosh. I love it. Oh, we need it. Both
00:48:27.110 --> 00:48:31.909
joy and luck right now. Absolutely. Thank you.
00:48:31.929 --> 00:48:35.190
Bring us more, please. Yeah, but I can already
00:48:35.190 --> 00:48:39.070
feel it. So before we go to the next one, but,
00:48:39.070 --> 00:48:41.329
you know, Karen, what do you think the sound
00:48:41.329 --> 00:48:46.630
of Erhus resonates with this, you know, so transcendentally,
00:48:46.630 --> 00:48:51.409
right? It's your soul. Nothing else. It's your
00:48:51.409 --> 00:48:56.000
soul. Think about it every time. So music is
00:48:56.000 --> 00:49:00.239
a universal language. So when you all inside
00:49:00.239 --> 00:49:05.079
this same language and everybody has a different
00:49:05.079 --> 00:49:08.139
kind of experiences, you have a happiness, you
00:49:08.139 --> 00:49:13.119
have a sadness. But ARHU can bring you the deepest
00:49:13.119 --> 00:49:16.940
of your heart, your soul, to let it open, let
00:49:16.940 --> 00:49:22.340
it out. And it many times make people cry. a
00:49:22.340 --> 00:49:27.599
lot even in japan um i had a concert in japan
00:49:27.599 --> 00:49:32.699
before a a japanese man normally is very strong
00:49:32.699 --> 00:49:38.380
and they cried doing my performance so all those
00:49:38.380 --> 00:49:42.639
i feel like a resonate something it's beyond
00:49:42.639 --> 00:49:46.880
language beyond you can express that with the
00:49:46.880 --> 00:49:50.980
words right is that We answered your question.
00:49:51.079 --> 00:49:54.260
Yes, yes, yes, perfectly. Thank you. Well, you
00:49:54.260 --> 00:49:56.420
know, my father, as I mentioned, that was his
00:49:56.420 --> 00:49:59.519
favorite instrument. And he told me before I
00:49:59.519 --> 00:50:01.860
ever heard it, he said, when you listen to it,
00:50:01.900 --> 00:50:04.860
you'll think it's the human voice. Yeah. And
00:50:04.860 --> 00:50:07.920
the first time I listened to it, it really sounds
00:50:07.920 --> 00:50:11.460
like someone is singing and singing with such
00:50:11.460 --> 00:50:16.099
passion and depth. And there is the quivering
00:50:16.099 --> 00:50:19.440
of a voice when you are on that emotional brink.
00:50:19.699 --> 00:50:25.050
Oh, my God. So it is quite extraordinary. So,
00:50:25.070 --> 00:50:34.289
Donna, what have you done? Before I would get
00:50:34.289 --> 00:50:36.690
to that, I want to say about the pipa. Because
00:50:36.690 --> 00:50:40.969
here I am, I was born in this country, and my
00:50:40.969 --> 00:50:43.050
father, my mother, they would introduce me to
00:50:43.050 --> 00:50:45.110
all the Chinese culture. When I was a little
00:50:45.110 --> 00:50:47.510
girl, it was the first time I heard both the
00:50:47.510 --> 00:50:51.510
erhu and the pipa. And this is what I told them.
00:50:51.889 --> 00:50:55.929
I said, the pipa. makes me feel like there's
00:50:55.929 --> 00:50:59.949
just bursts of light. It's brilliant, and it
00:50:59.949 --> 00:51:04.349
gives me so much excitement. And that's really
00:51:04.349 --> 00:51:08.230
what it's like. And because of the plucking,
00:51:08.329 --> 00:51:10.050
even though it's a lot of plucking, I know that
00:51:10.050 --> 00:51:13.989
Gao Hong says, oh, it's too much plucking. But
00:51:13.989 --> 00:51:18.650
the plucking is that sparkle, and it creates
00:51:18.650 --> 00:51:22.889
so many different colors. And the Aruhu is that
00:51:22.889 --> 00:51:27.000
soul. It's that incredible depth, the singing
00:51:27.000 --> 00:51:30.539
soul. So together, and then hopefully with the
00:51:30.539 --> 00:51:35.920
piano that has a broad range of warmth, as we
00:51:35.920 --> 00:51:40.760
all know, and color, I think that this will be
00:51:40.760 --> 00:51:45.960
something, it'll create a new sound world that
00:51:45.960 --> 00:51:49.659
people will really, really gravitate towards
00:51:49.659 --> 00:51:52.800
because we've got... We covered the stories,
00:51:53.059 --> 00:51:57.300
the emotions, and the color. Thank you. Now,
00:51:57.420 --> 00:52:01.019
Donna, so, you know, we collaborated last October
00:52:01.019 --> 00:52:04.199
at the Manus School, and then so here we are
00:52:04.199 --> 00:52:08.900
in February. So can you give us a snapshot of
00:52:08.900 --> 00:52:11.059
what this recent chapter has looked like for
00:52:11.059 --> 00:52:16.010
you? So my short film, Never Fade Away, my father's
00:52:16.010 --> 00:52:20.730
story, I'm very, very proud and excited to announce
00:52:20.730 --> 00:52:25.170
that it is now on Apple TV and Prime Video. And
00:52:25.170 --> 00:52:31.090
that is something that never in my wildest dreams
00:52:31.090 --> 00:52:34.510
that I expect anything like this to happen. I
00:52:34.510 --> 00:52:37.929
mean, I never even expected to make a film that,
00:52:37.929 --> 00:52:42.110
you know, would. touch so many hearts. But this
00:52:42.110 --> 00:52:46.050
is what I think our world needs now, is to share
00:52:46.050 --> 00:52:48.429
stories of heritage, because these are the stories
00:52:48.429 --> 00:52:52.329
that connect us, right? And, you know, we all
00:52:52.329 --> 00:52:54.309
have stories to share. And so when I started
00:52:54.309 --> 00:52:56.570
sharing my father's story, people would come
00:52:56.570 --> 00:52:58.570
up to me and say, oh, that's my father's story.
00:52:58.610 --> 00:53:01.829
That's my uncle's story. And that, to me, that
00:53:01.829 --> 00:53:08.190
gives us hope, you know, that we can get through.
00:53:09.840 --> 00:53:12.179
the craziness that's going on in this world.
00:53:12.460 --> 00:53:15.500
So that's with that. But then, you know, after
00:53:15.500 --> 00:53:18.400
that, I think, you know, we, we did speak kind
00:53:18.400 --> 00:53:20.940
of through Stefania DeKennessey, the composer
00:53:20.940 --> 00:53:24.599
who is on your show. And we had this wonderful
00:53:24.599 --> 00:53:30.340
album, Microvitz. And so that was a wonderful
00:53:30.340 --> 00:53:32.960
experience working with Stefania, with Curtis
00:53:32.960 --> 00:53:35.940
Stewart, and now with the Joy Luck Trio, because
00:53:35.940 --> 00:53:39.599
they're going to improvise. to a couple of the
00:53:39.599 --> 00:53:43.860
miniatures on my microvids. And then I took one
00:53:43.860 --> 00:53:47.760
of those miniatures and I created a music video,
00:53:47.980 --> 00:53:51.880
A Silent Cry. And I did it just because I love
00:53:51.880 --> 00:53:55.139
the music so much. That music just, I became
00:53:55.139 --> 00:53:57.760
obsessed with it. It was in my head day and night.
00:53:57.860 --> 00:54:00.300
So I figured, well, let me see what I can do
00:54:00.300 --> 00:54:05.639
and create some visuals, go with it. And I, again,
00:54:05.840 --> 00:54:11.400
I was just shocked. that it's won over 33 awards
00:54:11.400 --> 00:54:15.079
from film festivals. And it just last week, it
00:54:15.079 --> 00:54:21.400
premiered at the iconic Regal Union Square movie
00:54:21.400 --> 00:54:25.239
theater. And watching it on the huge screen was
00:54:25.239 --> 00:54:28.679
kind of overwhelming. I was filled with emotion
00:54:28.679 --> 00:54:32.480
and Stefania was with me and it looked beautiful.
00:54:32.519 --> 00:54:36.860
It sounded beautiful. Yeah, so that's been wonderful.
00:54:37.079 --> 00:54:41.079
And so now I'm working on a new film, and hopefully
00:54:41.079 --> 00:54:46.199
I'll be able to raise the funds to see it through.
00:54:46.320 --> 00:54:49.539
It's a very difficult time, as we all know, funding
00:54:49.539 --> 00:54:53.079
for the arts. But this is another story. I mean,
00:54:53.099 --> 00:54:57.639
basically, these untold stories of extraordinary
00:54:57.639 --> 00:55:01.920
women of color really deserve to be told and
00:55:01.920 --> 00:55:05.789
heard. And so I will do everything I can. to
00:55:05.789 --> 00:55:11.050
see this through. And then, of course, my beautiful
00:55:11.050 --> 00:55:16.110
Joy Luck Trio. So lots of wonderful things to
00:55:16.110 --> 00:55:22.070
look ahead to. And I think that as long as there's
00:55:22.070 --> 00:55:26.210
music and love and laughter and stories in our
00:55:26.210 --> 00:55:30.030
hearts, you know, I think that we will be okay.
00:55:31.079 --> 00:55:34.860
I think just three of our stories are already
00:55:34.860 --> 00:55:38.119
fascinating for me. I think we should just have
00:55:38.119 --> 00:55:44.889
a little movie called Joy Luck Trio movie. Yeah,
00:55:44.949 --> 00:55:48.010
it is such an incredible combination. Three or
00:55:48.010 --> 00:55:52.210
four Chinese -Americans have all different backgrounds
00:55:52.210 --> 00:55:56.210
and has all the passion, the same passion of
00:55:56.210 --> 00:55:58.969
Yu's heart. That's the reason I love this so
00:55:58.969 --> 00:56:02.829
much because I can tell both of them with the
00:56:02.829 --> 00:56:07.550
passion of music. I love when I make music, even
00:56:07.550 --> 00:56:11.159
when I teach, I couldn't. do without a heart
00:56:11.159 --> 00:56:16.019
even do a little ex like a example for my student
00:56:16.019 --> 00:56:19.239
i have to use my heart so i love this i think
00:56:19.239 --> 00:56:21.719
you should think you're so talented donna you
00:56:21.719 --> 00:56:27.280
should think about a document or stories yeah
00:56:27.280 --> 00:56:30.739
well i i want to share that you know We live
00:56:30.739 --> 00:56:32.820
in different cities and different parts of the
00:56:32.820 --> 00:56:35.119
world. So we haven't actually all been in the
00:56:35.119 --> 00:56:38.800
same city to rehearse together. But we did do
00:56:38.800 --> 00:56:43.840
a trial run virtually on one little piece, Clouds,
00:56:43.840 --> 00:56:47.679
where I sent my piano part and then Gao Hong
00:56:47.679 --> 00:56:51.579
sent an audio part and Karen sent it. And this
00:56:51.579 --> 00:56:55.739
is just for fun. This is not for public sharing.
00:56:57.579 --> 00:57:00.739
It is quite amazing how these three instruments
00:57:00.739 --> 00:57:06.539
blend together. I was in shock. It turned a piece
00:57:06.539 --> 00:57:12.380
that I know in a certain way. And with this unique
00:57:12.380 --> 00:57:16.320
instrumentation, with this unique bringing of
00:57:16.320 --> 00:57:20.659
our stories together, it has a whole new different
00:57:20.659 --> 00:57:25.980
world created. And I think that... It'll be very
00:57:25.980 --> 00:57:30.599
interesting for our, you know, audiences to listen
00:57:30.599 --> 00:57:34.019
to. So, you know, in our program, we're putting
00:57:34.019 --> 00:57:38.719
in some, you know, a piece by Gao Hong, but also
00:57:38.719 --> 00:57:40.579
a piece that's very, very famous that they would
00:57:40.579 --> 00:57:44.460
recognize, but then they may not now because
00:57:44.460 --> 00:57:48.210
it's going to be... A little different. Oh, great.
00:57:48.389 --> 00:57:50.869
So tell us more about the repertoire, right?
00:57:50.909 --> 00:57:54.789
So Gao Hong, you are going to compose, you already
00:57:54.789 --> 00:57:58.210
did. And then also something to do with folklore,
00:57:58.349 --> 00:58:04.389
Chinese folk songs or arranging those pieces?
00:58:05.700 --> 00:58:09.360
No, my composition is not the folklore, but it's
00:58:09.360 --> 00:58:14.820
based on the Chinese Midwest. I mean, East Midwest,
00:58:15.039 --> 00:58:17.599
because when I compose, I don't want to lose
00:58:17.599 --> 00:58:21.320
my identity. So have the Chinese music flavor,
00:58:21.559 --> 00:58:25.059
Asian music flavor. At the same time, I don't
00:58:25.059 --> 00:58:29.389
want to be... take it from the old melody. So
00:58:29.389 --> 00:58:32.889
I use the flavor of that to combine two together.
00:58:33.269 --> 00:58:37.929
But we are going to do some improvisation with
00:58:37.929 --> 00:58:43.730
folk tone. But my composition is not folk tone.
00:58:43.849 --> 00:58:48.190
It's newly composed. It's a composition. And
00:58:48.190 --> 00:58:52.659
it is so incredible. It is called Nostalgia,
00:58:52.860 --> 00:58:55.300
which is a beautiful name. It really captures
00:58:55.300 --> 00:59:01.239
what Gao Hong is trying to share. But it is,
00:59:01.320 --> 00:59:04.519
I think of this piece constantly. Be careful,
00:59:04.579 --> 00:59:08.880
I might make a movie out of it. Yeah. But it
00:59:08.880 --> 00:59:12.820
is so incredible because they're two very contrasting
00:59:12.820 --> 00:59:18.679
parts of nostalgia. And it really captures. very
00:59:18.679 --> 00:59:24.960
much the Chinese style, but also bringing it
00:59:24.960 --> 00:59:30.139
to a more contemporary, jazzy feel. Oh, thank
00:59:30.139 --> 00:59:34.539
you so much. I'm so honored. No, we are the ones
00:59:34.539 --> 00:59:37.019
who are honored to play. Yes, we are the honored
00:59:37.019 --> 00:59:41.320
ones. So this nostalgia is the first piece you're
00:59:41.320 --> 00:59:45.559
going to premiere? That will be the second and
00:59:45.559 --> 00:59:49.389
last. Okay. Yeah. So the first piece was actually
00:59:49.389 --> 00:59:52.809
Karen's idea. And she said to me, you know, I
00:59:52.809 --> 00:59:55.469
can play the swan in G major. And I said, oh,
00:59:55.489 --> 00:59:59.090
my God, that is the perfect piece to open the
00:59:59.090 --> 01:00:02.750
program. Because who doesn't know the swan? So
01:00:02.750 --> 01:00:06.050
we're going to open with the swan. I will be
01:00:06.050 --> 01:00:10.150
improvised. I will be underneath. Yes. So the
01:00:10.150 --> 01:00:12.809
people will improvise. They are who is going
01:00:12.809 --> 01:00:16.710
to play the cello part in. but in a very different
01:00:16.710 --> 01:00:19.909
way because it isn't, you know, the cello. It
01:00:19.909 --> 01:00:21.909
is the arhu. And then the piano part will be
01:00:21.909 --> 01:00:25.170
the piano part. So this is going to be our opening
01:00:25.170 --> 01:00:28.369
piece without us saying anything. We're just
01:00:28.369 --> 01:00:32.510
going to get on stage and let people experience
01:00:32.510 --> 01:00:35.429
the swan like they've never heard it before.
01:00:35.710 --> 01:00:38.949
That is wild. That's so beautiful. Sounds so
01:00:38.949 --> 01:00:46.309
beautiful. Oh, I'll be there on the second. Where
01:00:46.309 --> 01:00:50.929
is that debut concert be? That's at the Glow
01:00:50.929 --> 01:00:55.530
Cultural Center in Flushing. And Flushing is
01:00:55.530 --> 01:01:00.989
a very, very, very robust Asian community. The
01:01:00.989 --> 01:01:08.190
night market is there. And so I also, I was born
01:01:08.190 --> 01:01:11.079
in Flushing. I was born in the Booth Memorial
01:01:11.079 --> 01:01:13.000
Hospital. So it kind of has a little bit of a
01:01:13.000 --> 01:01:18.159
sentimental feeling for me. And so when I spoke
01:01:18.159 --> 01:01:21.059
to the director there and it was like an instant
01:01:21.059 --> 01:01:24.519
connection that this was going to be the perfect
01:01:24.519 --> 01:01:28.380
fit for their series. And they have a special
01:01:28.380 --> 01:01:32.059
series about heritage stories. And so they're
01:01:32.059 --> 01:01:35.380
going to also screen Never Fade Away first before
01:01:35.380 --> 01:01:38.940
we do the musical. performance. But after the
01:01:38.940 --> 01:01:44.340
swan, Gao Hong will talk about her instrument
01:01:44.340 --> 01:01:47.940
and she will perform two solo pieces. So why
01:01:47.940 --> 01:01:50.989
don't you talk about that, Gao? Yeah, I will
01:01:50.989 --> 01:01:54.309
play one of the Pudong style, the signature piece
01:01:54.309 --> 01:01:57.909
by my teacher Lin Shicheng. It's the Dragon Boat.
01:01:57.909 --> 01:02:02.449
That's the perfect, exactly the best example
01:02:02.449 --> 01:02:07.650
how the Chinese music integrated with the imitations
01:02:07.650 --> 01:02:10.849
all the sound like a cheering sound fire clock
01:02:10.849 --> 01:02:15.849
and people percussion band you can hear the chinese
01:02:15.849 --> 01:02:19.409
gun chinese drum all together and the second
01:02:19.409 --> 01:02:23.369
piece of course is tell my story uh it's a flying
01:02:23.369 --> 01:02:26.690
dragon it's about my childhood how i grew up
01:02:26.690 --> 01:02:30.329
you can hear the sadness with uncertain so that's
01:02:30.329 --> 01:02:38.059
my two solos wonderful Yes, I will play two very
01:02:38.059 --> 01:02:44.559
iconic Erhu pieces by Liu Tianhua, who actually
01:02:44.559 --> 01:02:49.199
learned Western music, a Western composer at
01:02:49.199 --> 01:02:57.260
his time. He really developed Erhu technique
01:02:57.260 --> 01:03:04.539
from one octave to three, four octaves. I will
01:03:04.539 --> 01:03:08.360
play several, like one of them is called the
01:03:08.360 --> 01:03:13.719
candle flaming. So it's more like a, you know,
01:03:13.719 --> 01:03:19.159
like a little jazz and like dance. And with the
01:03:19.159 --> 01:03:24.119
candle flame, I love candle. So I love the flame.
01:03:24.239 --> 01:03:28.159
And I twisted a little bit about the music. And
01:03:28.159 --> 01:03:32.429
so I played a little bit differently. I hope
01:03:32.429 --> 01:03:35.110
that the audience will like it. And the second
01:03:35.110 --> 01:03:38.449
piece, it's a bird singing in the empty mountain.
01:03:38.909 --> 01:03:44.329
It's also by him. Yeah. It's also by Liu Tianhua.
01:03:45.889 --> 01:03:48.349
It's a little bit of showing off your technique.
01:03:48.469 --> 01:03:50.530
It's like a jump down, jump down, jump down,
01:03:50.630 --> 01:03:53.929
jump down with a bird singing. Oh, you can see
01:03:53.929 --> 01:03:56.769
a real bird there. Yes. And then you have to
01:03:56.769 --> 01:03:59.940
make sure that you're in tune. So that is lots
01:03:59.940 --> 01:04:04.420
of a challenge. Yeah. But I hope that the audience
01:04:04.420 --> 01:04:10.679
will enjoy that too. Yeah. All of us will do
01:04:10.679 --> 01:04:14.619
a horse race. No, no, no. Only two of you are
01:04:14.619 --> 01:04:17.960
going to do horse race. You will join us. No,
01:04:17.960 --> 01:04:24.389
I'm not joining you. Yes, you will. You two do
01:04:24.389 --> 01:04:27.429
the horse racing. You two do the horse racing.
01:04:27.489 --> 01:04:30.789
Just the two of you, because it's great to have
01:04:30.789 --> 01:04:34.309
the two. After individual, each one. Yeah, we
01:04:34.309 --> 01:04:37.829
want to play the piece to bring the people happy,
01:04:37.949 --> 01:04:42.730
you know, for the horse. Always a good sign of
01:04:42.730 --> 01:04:46.630
a horse, year of the horse, right? Then it's
01:04:46.630 --> 01:04:51.030
the piano. What's that? Macro. Micro Vids. Then
01:04:51.030 --> 01:04:54.769
we will do three pieces from Micro Vids with
01:04:54.769 --> 01:04:59.530
improvisation by Gao Hong and Karen. And it's
01:04:59.530 --> 01:05:02.909
going to be fabulous. Yes. So we will do that
01:05:02.909 --> 01:05:05.829
and then followed by Nostalgia by the great Gao
01:05:05.829 --> 01:05:11.590
Hong. Yes. And then we're going to end with The
01:05:11.590 --> 01:05:15.369
Three Maries by Villa Lobos. Now, this is a piece
01:05:15.369 --> 01:05:19.750
that's based on a Brazilian folktale. about three
01:05:19.750 --> 01:05:23.130
little girls who grew up on the countryside of
01:05:23.130 --> 01:05:26.610
Brazil. Their friendship was so pure, and each
01:05:26.610 --> 01:05:28.809
one had a different personality, like the three
01:05:28.809 --> 01:05:32.710
of us, that the gods turned them into three brightly
01:05:32.710 --> 01:05:36.150
shining stars so that they may guide friendships
01:05:36.150 --> 01:05:40.230
all over the world. And I love this piece. It's
01:05:40.230 --> 01:05:43.349
a piano piece by Villa -Lobos, and the two of
01:05:43.349 --> 01:05:48.750
them are going to improvise to the piano. The
01:05:48.750 --> 01:05:51.769
first one is Alnita, the second one is Alnilam,
01:05:51.849 --> 01:05:54.750
and the third piece is called Mentika. And I
01:05:54.750 --> 01:05:56.449
think each one of them really does represent
01:05:56.449 --> 01:05:58.750
each one of us, but you'll have to find out when
01:05:58.750 --> 01:06:01.369
you hear it which one. Which one belongs to who.
01:06:01.730 --> 01:06:05.650
Yeah, yeah. Oh, that is fantastic. So I thought
01:06:05.650 --> 01:06:09.070
that was the perfect way to end Joy Luck Trio
01:06:09.070 --> 01:06:14.340
with us. Sure. Wonderful. And then, so I'm curious,
01:06:14.420 --> 01:06:17.679
like the name Joy Luck Trio comes from the movie
01:06:17.679 --> 01:06:25.079
Joy Luck Club. Yes, yes, yes. I, I read the book
01:06:25.079 --> 01:06:27.380
many, many times. I read it with my daughter
01:06:27.380 --> 01:06:31.980
and I went to the premiere with Katie Tong. And
01:06:31.980 --> 01:06:36.239
we were there laughing and crying and laughing
01:06:36.239 --> 01:06:41.849
and crying. And after meeting with. Gao Hong
01:06:41.849 --> 01:06:45.269
and Karen and talking to them and feeling so
01:06:45.269 --> 01:06:48.489
connected with our stories, our mother's stories.
01:06:48.989 --> 01:06:52.170
You know, I just said, oh, my gosh, we're like
01:06:52.170 --> 01:06:54.789
the Joy Luck Club. And that's how we came up
01:06:54.789 --> 01:06:58.590
with the name Joy Luck Trio. I remember in the
01:06:58.590 --> 01:07:01.269
middle of the night, I think you said, I got
01:07:01.269 --> 01:07:06.429
it. I got it. So when she said Joy Luck. i was
01:07:06.429 --> 01:07:10.889
overjoyed i said oh my god that was so perfect
01:07:10.889 --> 01:07:15.489
i was so excited i think just the name sold well
01:07:15.489 --> 01:07:19.469
the joy luck club was my golden key to come to
01:07:19.469 --> 01:07:23.769
the hollywood so i was yeah so it's it's just
01:07:23.769 --> 01:07:29.210
so nice to reconnect with yeah and and it is
01:07:29.210 --> 01:07:34.659
basically So connecting to us because we are
01:07:34.659 --> 01:07:37.280
full of joy because we are so lucky to be in
01:07:37.280 --> 01:07:39.860
music. And so the joy and the luck is there,
01:07:39.920 --> 01:07:42.539
but also the three of us, because we are from
01:07:42.539 --> 01:07:45.840
very traditional Chinese families, we are superstitious.
01:07:46.119 --> 01:07:50.159
So we like the luck, you know, so we wear red
01:07:50.159 --> 01:07:53.539
and on the, you know, we announced our trio on
01:07:53.539 --> 01:07:56.219
the first day of the Chinese new year. No, we
01:07:56.219 --> 01:07:58.880
all share that. I mean, I may be born here, but
01:07:58.880 --> 01:08:02.159
I've got all of that. You know, that's all part
01:08:02.159 --> 01:08:07.659
of life. Yeah, we do. So that's why it really
01:08:07.659 --> 01:08:10.920
is the perfect, you know, the perfect name. And
01:08:10.920 --> 01:08:14.780
of course, we assume that people will connect
01:08:14.780 --> 01:08:17.800
Joy Luck Trio with Joy Luck Club. I think it's
01:08:17.800 --> 01:08:26.380
a very fun way to get to know us. Yeah, so where
01:08:26.380 --> 01:08:31.220
does this... trio take you then uh after you
01:08:31.220 --> 01:08:35.079
know debut concert and you also mentioned the
01:08:35.079 --> 01:08:37.079
next day there's something going on and then
01:08:37.079 --> 01:08:40.560
perhaps the recording session as well so anyone
01:08:40.560 --> 01:08:46.039
can yeah well you know uh i this is uh just we're
01:08:46.039 --> 01:08:48.819
beginning a journey together you know this is
01:08:48.819 --> 01:08:51.779
the beginning of a beautiful journey where we
01:08:51.779 --> 01:08:57.640
are learning about each other, our musical tastes
01:08:57.640 --> 01:09:00.720
or musical styles. And, you know, we're going
01:09:00.720 --> 01:09:03.539
to grow together and flourish and keep sharing
01:09:03.539 --> 01:09:08.220
what we love with our audiences. So where it
01:09:08.220 --> 01:09:10.659
takes us, who knows? I mean, when I started Never
01:09:10.659 --> 01:09:13.020
Fade Away, I had no idea where it was going to
01:09:13.020 --> 01:09:17.369
go. So I'd rather not even plan about where We
01:09:17.369 --> 01:09:19.909
think we're going to go. I just want to enjoy
01:09:19.909 --> 01:09:23.390
every second with these two incredible artists.
01:09:23.750 --> 01:09:29.289
And for me, being born here, I think there's
01:09:29.289 --> 01:09:35.630
a very deeply cultural meaning for me. You know,
01:09:35.630 --> 01:09:41.220
my identity as a Chinese -American woman. has
01:09:41.220 --> 01:09:43.560
been growing stronger and stronger, I have to
01:09:43.560 --> 01:09:47.359
say, since the pandemic. It's funny, it's an
01:09:47.359 --> 01:09:50.319
odd thing that with all the racist and the anti
01:09:50.319 --> 01:09:54.239
-Asian sentiment, what it's done, it's made me
01:09:54.239 --> 01:09:58.199
feel even more powerful as an Asian American
01:09:58.199 --> 01:10:02.880
woman. And having this journey with these two
01:10:02.880 --> 01:10:06.319
wonderful women, I think it just makes me feel
01:10:06.319 --> 01:10:12.640
so much more solid. as a Chinese American woman.
01:10:13.260 --> 01:10:16.560
You know, I feel like I'm being accepted, you
01:10:16.560 --> 01:10:21.420
know, from, from, you know, all sides, you know,
01:10:21.420 --> 01:10:23.619
it's always, I've always, you know, grown up,
01:10:23.640 --> 01:10:28.819
no one's ever really been racist against me,
01:10:28.880 --> 01:10:32.640
but sometimes you kind of fit, you're not sure
01:10:32.640 --> 01:10:36.760
where you fit in, you know, you growing up here,
01:10:36.800 --> 01:10:40.670
sometimes, am I American? Am I Chinese? I can
01:10:40.670 --> 01:10:44.810
be both. And I embrace my Chinese side so much
01:10:44.810 --> 01:10:49.890
now. And with these wonderful artists, friends,
01:10:50.130 --> 01:10:54.470
I think that I'm very grateful, very grateful
01:10:54.470 --> 01:10:59.869
that they accept me and my stories. And I just
01:10:59.869 --> 01:11:04.579
can't wait to begin our journey together. Great.
01:11:04.779 --> 01:11:08.579
What do you think? Yeah. Yes. Since three of
01:11:08.579 --> 01:11:11.619
us not live at the same time. So that's why after
01:11:11.619 --> 01:11:14.819
the flushing concert, the next day we're going
01:11:14.819 --> 01:11:18.880
to a barge music. So that's the, we'll perform
01:11:18.880 --> 01:11:22.500
there. Then after that, we'll perform, we'll
01:11:22.500 --> 01:11:25.479
be a going studio to recording our first journey
01:11:25.479 --> 01:11:30.079
together. I think it's very important to have
01:11:30.079 --> 01:11:35.029
this moment to be recorded. I think. Like Donna
01:11:35.029 --> 01:11:37.470
said, we don't know what it would be, but at
01:11:37.470 --> 01:11:42.149
least we live at this moment. Our goal is to
01:11:42.149 --> 01:11:45.430
put our heart there, to express our feelings,
01:11:45.609 --> 01:11:49.270
express our music, to share to the world. And
01:11:49.270 --> 01:11:53.029
hopefully everybody can, we can move the people.
01:11:53.149 --> 01:11:56.010
We can touch people's heart. That's our goal.
01:11:57.000 --> 01:12:01.979
Well said. Yes, and three of us enjoy to, you
01:12:01.979 --> 01:12:04.819
know, collaborate with each other and enjoy each
01:12:04.819 --> 01:12:08.119
other's character. And we also want our music
01:12:08.119 --> 01:12:12.479
to be, you know, confirmed by our audience. We
01:12:12.479 --> 01:12:15.439
hope, you know, many more people will listen
01:12:15.439 --> 01:12:18.979
to our music and will feel our, you know, hear
01:12:18.979 --> 01:12:23.819
and feeling our stories. And we definitely wanted
01:12:23.819 --> 01:12:28.899
to move on. And as I said, it's my next journey
01:12:28.899 --> 01:12:33.640
after I move it to East Coast. So it's this,
01:12:33.819 --> 01:12:36.760
you know, it's a very beautiful journey just
01:12:36.760 --> 01:12:41.359
beginning for us. Let's, you know, dream big
01:12:41.359 --> 01:12:46.920
and hopefully everything is going to be fabulous.
01:12:47.180 --> 01:12:52.100
And thank you for interviewing us and thank you
01:12:52.100 --> 01:12:56.180
for letting our story to let your listener to
01:12:56.180 --> 01:12:59.300
listen to this. Yes. Yeah, my pleasure. What
01:12:59.300 --> 01:13:02.760
an honor. Yeah. And this is our first interview
01:13:02.760 --> 01:13:06.020
together. You are our first interview with Joy
01:13:06.020 --> 01:13:11.300
Luck Trio. Yay, I feel honored. Thank you. And
01:13:11.300 --> 01:13:16.239
if you're in New York on May 1st, you can go
01:13:16.239 --> 01:13:19.920
to Times Square and there'll be a little... you
01:13:19.920 --> 01:13:24.000
know, celebration for AAPI Heritage Month, Joy
01:13:24.000 --> 01:13:27.260
Luck Trio will be smiling on one of the billboards
01:13:27.260 --> 01:13:31.340
once every hour for a day in celebration of AAPI
01:13:31.340 --> 01:13:34.520
Heritage Month. Wow, that is incredible, really.
01:13:34.819 --> 01:13:38.319
So the May 1st is the billboard at Times Square,
01:13:38.439 --> 01:13:42.420
and then May 2nd will be the debut concert in
01:13:42.420 --> 01:13:46.100
Flushing, and then May 3rd will be another concert,
01:13:46.159 --> 01:13:49.659
same program. Yes. At the iconic Barge Music
01:13:49.659 --> 01:13:53.859
Venue in Brooklyn. And then hopefully one of
01:13:53.859 --> 01:13:56.899
those days you will be recording at the recording
01:13:56.899 --> 01:13:58.939
studio. We're going to be doing it right after
01:13:58.939 --> 01:14:02.060
Barge. Right. Yes. Guess what? We're also trying
01:14:02.060 --> 01:14:07.119
to interpret the music with a concerto. So three
01:14:07.119 --> 01:14:12.300
of people, our whole piano together with the
01:14:12.300 --> 01:14:15.619
orchestra. I think that's our next big dream.
01:14:16.170 --> 01:14:20.090
Oh, my goodness. Well, thanks to Gal Hong. Thanks
01:14:20.090 --> 01:14:25.210
to Gal Hong because she's writing it. Yeah. That's
01:14:25.210 --> 01:14:29.090
right. Our in -house composer. Yes. And then
01:14:29.090 --> 01:14:32.069
that becomes an album. And who knows, that album
01:14:32.069 --> 01:14:35.989
will take you. I'm so excited. And just being
01:14:35.989 --> 01:14:40.850
a fellow Asian American to be with you in this
01:14:40.850 --> 01:14:44.590
meeting together, the interview together. Well,
01:14:44.609 --> 01:14:47.369
just want to wish everybody a happy year of the
01:14:47.369 --> 01:14:51.890
horse and, you know, for good luck, good health,
01:14:51.989 --> 01:14:54.430
lots of joy and beautiful music to everyone.
01:14:55.029 --> 01:15:00.130
I hope our joy, luck trio will bring the joy
01:15:00.130 --> 01:15:05.350
and the luck to everybody. Yes. Happy forever.
01:15:06.630 --> 01:15:11.130
And of course, thank you, Yukimi, again for inviting
01:15:11.130 --> 01:15:15.470
us. And The Piano Pod is, you know, an extraordinary
01:15:15.470 --> 01:15:19.649
series where, you know, we get to learn so much
01:15:19.649 --> 01:15:22.569
about so many artists from all over the world
01:15:22.569 --> 01:15:26.250
and so beautifully interviewed by Yukimi, who
01:15:26.250 --> 01:15:30.170
is truly one of a kind because she also is a
01:15:30.170 --> 01:15:35.630
storyteller and an artist. So very grateful to
01:15:35.630 --> 01:15:37.069
you, Yukimi. Oh, thank you so much. I'm a big
01:15:37.069 --> 01:15:40.489
fan. Storytelling is everything, especially with
01:15:40.489 --> 01:15:43.250
the rise of AI and everything. What makes a human
01:15:43.250 --> 01:15:46.710
is the story, right? So it's, yeah, I love what
01:15:46.710 --> 01:15:50.670
I do. So what's the best way to learn about your
01:15:50.670 --> 01:15:57.689
trio? Just to go to your each, Donna, your website,
01:15:57.770 --> 01:16:00.289
maybe is the best way to, for the people to get
01:16:00.289 --> 01:16:03.300
to know? They could learn about all of us on
01:16:03.300 --> 01:16:06.880
our individual websites. On Facebook, we do have
01:16:06.880 --> 01:16:11.020
Joy Luck Trio Facebook page now. Yeah, so that
01:16:11.020 --> 01:16:13.960
we will add everything there. And then, of course,
01:16:13.979 --> 01:16:16.279
our individual Facebook. And hopefully, we're
01:16:16.279 --> 01:16:18.300
so busy. The three of us are so busy. Hopefully,
01:16:18.460 --> 01:16:21.600
we'll have a moment to start planning a website.
01:16:21.659 --> 01:16:24.539
But right now, the Facebook page will be the
01:16:24.539 --> 01:16:29.239
Joy Luck Trio's, you know, home and our individual
01:16:29.239 --> 01:16:33.920
websites. Great. Well, thank you, Gohan and Karen
01:16:33.920 --> 01:16:37.279
and Donna for sharing your artistry with us.
01:16:37.340 --> 01:16:39.859
And please keep bringing us joy through your
01:16:39.859 --> 01:16:43.840
music and your collaboration. So before I let
01:16:43.840 --> 01:16:45.760
you go, we have one more thing to do. It's called
01:16:45.760 --> 01:16:48.460
the PianoPod rapid fire questions. I didn't explain
01:16:48.460 --> 01:16:51.239
this to you before because it's a surprise. So
01:16:51.239 --> 01:16:56.819
we take this segment very seriously. So all the
01:16:56.819 --> 01:17:00.859
questions are carefully curated by my team, which
01:17:00.859 --> 01:17:04.039
is me. And it will give our listeners a glimpse
01:17:04.039 --> 01:17:07.279
into who you truly are. So let's do this. Question
01:17:07.279 --> 01:17:11.899
number one. What is your comfort food? Go on.
01:17:12.979 --> 01:17:20.800
Kenny's noodle. Karen? Noodles. Donna? Wanton
01:17:20.800 --> 01:17:26.659
soup. Great. Especially in the winter. Yes. Question
01:17:26.659 --> 01:17:29.479
number two. How do you like your coffee in the
01:17:29.479 --> 01:17:35.439
morning, Karen? With milk, very, very hot. Donna?
01:17:36.159 --> 01:17:39.739
With milk and a touch of cinnamon. Oh, cinnamon.
01:17:40.119 --> 01:17:43.869
Dong Hong? I don't drink coffee. If I drink coffee,
01:17:44.090 --> 01:17:49.189
I wouldn't sleep for three days. I only drink
01:17:49.189 --> 01:17:55.430
hot water. Okay. Next question. Cats or dogs?
01:17:55.550 --> 01:17:59.489
Donna? Dogs. I have a dog at home. I used to
01:17:59.489 --> 01:18:05.010
have cats too, but I'll have to say dogs. I don't
01:18:05.010 --> 01:18:07.670
have it because I always out for the town, so
01:18:07.670 --> 01:18:12.180
I never had it, but I love cats. I have dogs.
01:18:12.840 --> 01:18:18.880
Of course, dogs. Great. Wonderful. Next question.
01:18:19.260 --> 01:18:22.880
What skill have you always wanted to learn but
01:18:22.880 --> 01:18:26.859
haven't had a chance to? I love to do a photographer.
01:18:27.199 --> 01:18:33.100
I love to take a picture. Karen? Drawing. Art.
01:18:33.340 --> 01:18:38.819
Oh, drawing. Donna? Tennis. Pianists are not
01:18:38.819 --> 01:18:40.800
allowed to play tennis because of the wrist.
01:18:41.199 --> 01:18:44.140
And I did. I actually took off for summer to
01:18:44.140 --> 01:18:47.460
do tennis, and I couldn't play piano. But, God,
01:18:47.619 --> 01:18:49.579
I would love to do that. I would love to play
01:18:49.579 --> 01:18:54.420
tennis. Okay. Next question. What is the most
01:18:54.420 --> 01:18:57.539
important quality you look for in other people,
01:18:57.659 --> 01:19:03.140
Karen? Heart. Donna? That's a tough one. I think,
01:19:03.159 --> 01:19:10.329
yes, I think honesty. Great. Go home. Kindness.
01:19:10.409 --> 01:19:15.109
I love kindness. Kindness. Yes. Great. Then the
01:19:15.109 --> 01:19:19.229
last one, fill in the blank. Music is blank.
01:19:19.369 --> 01:19:27.569
Donna. Music is my world. Go home. Music is my
01:19:27.569 --> 01:19:32.810
heart. Karen. Music is my soul. Oh, beautiful.
01:19:34.430 --> 01:19:38.810
So thank you, Joy Luck Trio, for joining us today,
01:19:38.890 --> 01:19:41.289
for sharing your artistry, your journeys and
01:19:41.289 --> 01:19:44.109
thoughtful reflections. It has truly been a joy
01:19:44.109 --> 01:19:46.869
to have you here. To our listeners, Joy Luck
01:19:46.869 --> 01:19:50.189
Trio will make their New York debut on May 2nd.
01:19:50.270 --> 01:19:52.989
Be sure to read the press releases and learn
01:19:52.989 --> 01:19:56.130
more about the ensemble. The links are in our
01:19:56.130 --> 01:19:59.670
show notes. And I encourage you to follow Gao
01:19:59.670 --> 01:20:03.369
Hong and Karen and Donna individually on social
01:20:03.369 --> 01:20:05.640
media. to stay connected with their upcoming
01:20:05.640 --> 01:20:09.520
performances and projects. And to everyone listening,
01:20:09.699 --> 01:20:13.000
thank you for spending this time with us. I hope
01:20:13.000 --> 01:20:15.979
this conversation lingers with you. If this episode
01:20:15.979 --> 01:20:19.039
resonated, I would love to hear from you and
01:20:19.039 --> 01:20:21.100
leave a comment, share your thoughts on social
01:20:21.100 --> 01:20:24.180
media, and tag us at The Pianopod. We'll see
01:20:24.180 --> 01:20:26.819
you next time on The Pianopod. Thank you, everyone.
01:20:26.880 --> 01:20:33.989
Thank you, Karen, Kaohong, and Donna. Thanks
01:20:33.989 --> 01:20:34.789
for watching!