Full Transcript for Donna Weng Friedman: Interdisciplinary Artistry and Music Education with the Award-Winning Pianist and Film maker

as a parent and many initiatives 00:02:21.560 --> 00:02:25.400 to amplify women, composers and conductors. You'll 00:02:25.400 --> 00:02:27.560 also be hearing clips from some of her solo piano 00:02:27.560 --> 00:02:30.699 albums. You can watch the video on my YouTube 00:02:30.699 --> 00:02:33.400 or listen to the podcast and I've also linked 00:02:33.400 --> 00:02:35.759 the transcript. Have a look at the show notes 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:38.599 of this episode on my website where you'll find 00:02:38.599 --> 00:02:44.199 all the links. Hey Donna, thanks so much for 00:02:44.199 --> 00:02:46.569 joining me here today. Thank you so much for 00:02:46.569 --> 00:02:51.729 having me. I'm so delighted to be here. I first 00:02:51.729 --> 00:02:54.610 connected with you with the MicroVids album that 00:02:54.610 --> 00:02:56.310 came out last year, and it's such a beautiful 00:02:56.310 --> 00:03:00.310 and special and unusual project. So people will 00:03:00.310 --> 00:03:02.870 be hearing clips of different iterations of it, 00:03:02.909 --> 00:03:05.469 but I'll let you describe it in your own words. 00:03:06.030 --> 00:03:13.460 Yeah, well, MicroVids is 19 short. miniatures 00:03:13.460 --> 00:03:15.979 composed by stefania de kennessey she composed 00:03:15.979 --> 00:03:20.599 them during the pandemic and it was only for 00:03:20.599 --> 00:03:24.259 solo piano at that time and she wrote it with 00:03:24.259 --> 00:03:29.080 you know vulnerable uh communities in mind with 00:03:29.080 --> 00:03:33.039 people who were being feeling isolated for teens 00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:35.400 and tweens who you know they were out of school 00:03:35.400 --> 00:03:37.979 a lot of the graduations were virtual it was 00:03:37.979 --> 00:03:41.979 a very tough time for all of us And each of these 00:03:41.979 --> 00:03:46.759 miniatures, between 20 seconds and one minute 00:03:46.759 --> 00:03:49.280 in length, I call it classical music's answer 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:52.740 to TikTok. Each one reflects a different feeling 00:03:52.740 --> 00:03:55.560 and emotion that we were all going through back 00:03:55.560 --> 00:04:00.659 then, but we still continue to on a daily basis. 00:04:01.580 --> 00:04:04.080 So when she called me, we've been friends for 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:07.500 decades, and she said, would you mind? playing 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:10.560 these and possibly recording them for me. So 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:13.599 she sent them to me and I fell in love with them. 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:19.579 I really believed then and I believe now that 00:04:19.579 --> 00:04:22.000 there is something so extraordinarily special 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:26.259 about this set of 19 short piano solos. So of 00:04:26.259 --> 00:04:29.959 course I told her that I would record them and 00:04:29.959 --> 00:04:34.720 I recorded them. But when I start uh i don't 00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:37.079 want to say getting obsessed but it is sort of 00:04:37.079 --> 00:04:39.300 like an obsession i don't stop thinking about 00:04:39.300 --> 00:04:44.860 music and i think about how it can come we can 00:04:44.860 --> 00:04:47.100 communicate communicate in so many different 00:04:47.100 --> 00:04:51.759 ways the way she writes the 19 miniatures each 00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:55.699 one is a little different in even style she's 00:04:55.699 --> 00:05:00.319 very versatile it's very tuneful great rhythm 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:04.079 and Really, there's some jazziness in it. There's 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:07.180 even some of the responses that we got back from 00:05:07.180 --> 00:05:09.180 audiences later. There was a little bit like 00:05:09.180 --> 00:05:11.819 a Beatles thing going on. And of course, it was 00:05:11.819 --> 00:05:14.459 a tribute to Bella Bartok's Microcosmos, right? 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:19.720 So I started thinking about our repertoire for 00:05:19.720 --> 00:05:25.000 family concerts for kids. And to me, this could 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:29.980 be an incredible addition. to the orchestral 00:05:29.980 --> 00:05:33.920 repertoire, because since Carnival of the Animals, 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:36.379 there hasn't really been anything quite like 00:05:36.379 --> 00:05:39.660 it. And so I said to Stefania, I said, you know, 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:45.060 I really think that this can be the next Carnival 00:05:45.060 --> 00:05:46.620 of the Animals, but then, of course, we would 00:05:46.620 --> 00:05:51.259 need an orchestra part. And she thought it was 00:05:51.259 --> 00:05:55.009 a great idea, and she wrote... phenomenal orchestra 00:05:55.009 --> 00:05:59.350 part and it's the piano solo stays the same the 00:05:59.350 --> 00:06:02.670 orchestra is not at all an accompaniment but 00:06:02.670 --> 00:06:04.870 it breathes new life to each of the miniatures 00:06:04.870 --> 00:06:08.889 and then I said to her this is fantastic but 00:06:08.889 --> 00:06:11.370 you know Carnival of the Animals had poetry that 00:06:11.370 --> 00:06:15.449 I loved you know I said it would be so nice if 00:06:15.449 --> 00:06:20.300 we had some poetry to to introduce each of these 00:06:20.300 --> 00:06:24.279 miniatures and she listened and three days later 00:06:24.279 --> 00:06:27.779 she sent me these fabulous rhyming couplets that 00:06:27.779 --> 00:06:30.379 she wrote herself I mean they were extraordinary 00:06:30.379 --> 00:06:33.949 so I said this is incredible. So, you know, I've 00:06:33.949 --> 00:06:37.870 performed the solo piano part. I performed it 00:06:37.870 --> 00:06:40.870 with the narration, the recitation for the poetry. 00:06:41.089 --> 00:06:44.949 And then we got together with Maestra Helen Chao 00:06:44.949 --> 00:06:47.769 -Piao, and she is the conductor of the New Jersey 00:06:47.769 --> 00:06:50.629 Youth Symphony. Because again, a lot of the message 00:06:50.629 --> 00:06:54.129 is for our younger audiences. But of course, 00:06:54.129 --> 00:06:57.129 it's not only for younger audiences. But I spoke

00:06:57.129 --> 00:07:02.290 to Helen. She came to the premiere of my performing 00:07:02.290 --> 00:07:07.149 microvids choreographed by Ariel Rivka Dance. 00:07:07.769 --> 00:07:10.490 The choreographer is Ariel Grossman. So we had 00:07:10.490 --> 00:07:16.509 microvids with dance and piano and she fell in 00:07:16.509 --> 00:07:21.410 love with it. So we decided to do a concert together 00:07:21.410 --> 00:07:25.810 and then the recording. we started thinking about 00:07:25.810 --> 00:07:30.949 recording. And it was always part of what was 00:07:30.949 --> 00:07:35.930 going on in my mind that there would be more 00:07:35.930 --> 00:07:43.730 to it than just a recording. The natural progression 00:07:43.730 --> 00:07:48.189 was to have, because this is for children, this 00:07:48.189 --> 00:07:51.370 is for audiences worldwide, to have the poetry. 00:07:54.110 --> 00:07:58.110 So we had it translated to Spanish and we recorded 00:07:58.110 --> 00:08:01.990 the Spanish version with New Jersey Youth Symphony. 00:08:33.740 --> 00:08:35.940 And then we recorded the English version with 00:08:35.940 --> 00:08:40.399 solo piano and Crystal Joy Brown, who was a Broadway 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:45.320 actress. She was Eliza in Hamilton, Gussie in 00:08:45.320 --> 00:08:48.700 Merrily We Roll Along, and Diana Ross in Motown. 00:08:48.820 --> 00:08:54.700 She's fabulous. So she recorded the poetry with 00:08:54.700 --> 00:09:00.120 the solo piano. Running on empty. Running on 00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:04.789 empty. Nothing left to give. exhausted, dried 00:09:04.789 --> 00:09:37.929 out. I'm an empty sieve. And then Stephanie and 00:09:37.929 --> 00:09:44.090 I went to a concert in Merkin Hall, performed 00:09:44.090 --> 00:09:46.909 by violinist Curtis Stewart, who neither one 00:09:46.909 --> 00:09:51.529 of us had heard of before. And he comes down 00:09:51.529 --> 00:09:54.269 with his violin. He's walking towards the stage 00:09:54.269 --> 00:09:58.190 from the audience, playing this incredible music. 00:09:58.470 --> 00:10:02.149 And the entire evening with his improvisations 00:10:02.149 --> 00:10:06.200 and the way he... It has the style and charisma 00:10:06.200 --> 00:10:11.000 and the ease and the joy. For me, there are so 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:14.120 many great performers out there, but the ones 00:10:14.120 --> 00:10:18.139 I want to collaborate are the ones who feel that 00:10:18.139 --> 00:10:21.940 joy. Because that's why I do it. Because music 00:10:21.940 --> 00:10:25.100 gives me joy. And that's how we communicate to 00:10:25.100 --> 00:10:27.779 the audience. So after the concert, I grabbed 00:10:27.779 --> 00:10:31.019 Curtis and I said, look, you know, you're fantastic. 00:10:31.399 --> 00:10:35.100 Let's meet and let's talk. And we did, and with 00:10:35.100 --> 00:10:40.100 Stefania, Curtis, and me, and I said to Stefania, 00:10:40.179 --> 00:10:43.519 who, again, is a dear friend of mine, and so 00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:48.419 open

to ideas, anything that resonates with her, 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:52.120 she's very, you know, open to discussing, and 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:57.059 I said, well, the piano solo part is phenomenal, 00:10:57.440 --> 00:11:03.350 but it lends itself to... other iterations. Stefania 00:11:03.350 --> 00:11:08.110 wrote it for flute and piano. I performed that 00:11:08.110 --> 00:11:11.330 with flute and piano for string orchestra, chamber 00:11:11.330 --> 00:11:16.309 ensemble, and cello and piano, and she wrote 00:11:16.309 --> 00:11:21.049 a violin piano part too. And I said, but wouldn't 00:11:21.049 --> 00:11:25.549 it be phenomenal if Curtis would be interested 00:11:25.549 --> 00:11:31.539 in improvising? Improvising his feeling over 00:11:31.539 --> 00:11:34.980 each of the piano miniatures and you know of 00:11:34.980 --> 00:11:36.980 course a lot of it was based on the violin part 00:11:36.980 --> 00:11:39.919 but it really comes from Curtis and Curtis was 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:43.379 all in Stefania loved the idea and that's what 00:11:43.379 --> 00:11:46.399 we did we went into the studio recorded it was 00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:49.200 so much fun for me because I'd never quite done 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:51.600 that before I don't think classical musicians 00:11:51.600 --> 00:11:55.799 are used to performing with improvisation and 00:11:55.799 --> 00:12:00.649 it is a pity I when I was a kid growing up Juilliard 00:12:00.649 --> 00:12:04.230 pre -college, I've always wanted to compose and 00:12:04.230 --> 00:12:06.649 I've always wanted to improvise, but I was on 00:12:06.649 --> 00:12:10.870 a very, very, you know, kind of tight track of 00:12:10.870 --> 00:12:15.070 repertoire for young classical pianists, competitions, 00:12:15.370 --> 00:12:19.629 you did this, you did that, and I do think that 00:12:19.629 --> 00:12:23.519 improvisation should be part of every pianist's 00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:26.779 repertoire because it frees you and makes you 00:12:26.779 --> 00:12:30.360 feel like you're able to create. And that's the 00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:33.559 one thing I think I've been missing through most 00:12:33.559 --> 00:12:37.960 of my childhood and young adult years, which 00:12:37.960 --> 00:12:40.320 is why I love creating things so much because 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:48.120 it gives me an artistic ability to create and 00:12:48.120 --> 00:12:53.720 express myself in a particular way. So the album 00:12:53.720 --> 00:13:00.059 has three parts to it. The first disc is Curtis's 00:13:00.059 --> 00:13:02.539 improvisations on violin with the solo piano. 00:13:02.940 --> 00:13:06.860 The second one is Crystal Joy Brown reciting 00:13:06.860 --> 00:13:10.519 the poetry in English with solo piano. And the 00:13:10.519 --> 00:13:16.740 third one is another actress, Lola Gordon -Lopez, 00:13:16.860 --> 00:13:21.690 who recites the poetry in Spanish. with orchestra 00:13:21.690 --> 00:13:27.710 and piano. So it's a huge album. It doesn't quite 00:13:27.710 --> 00:13:52.139 fit any category, but it wasn't meant to. I've 00:13:52.139 --> 00:13:54.259 really enjoyed listening to it. And when I first 00:13:54.259 --> 00:13:57.539 came out, I knew about Curtis because I started 00:13:57.539 --> 00:13:59.679 to as a classical violinist, I started to improvise 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:01.879 during the pandemic. And it's my interest in 00:14:01.879 --> 00:14:04.500 that has gone deeper. And I've done some performances 00:14:04.500 --> 00:14:09.019 and albums. But I so I knew about his playing 00:14:09.019 --> 00:14:11.080 and his improv. So that's the one the version 00:14:11.080 --> 00:14:12.980 I've listened to the most of micro bits. Of course, 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:15.039 I've checked out the whole thing. But that was 00:14:15.039 --> 00:14:18.120 right away. I wanted to hear what he did now. 00:14:18.649 --> 00:14:20.250 You mentioned you were friends with Stefania 00:14:20.250 --> 00:14:22.409 for a long time. She's also a pianist as well 00:14:22.409 --> 00:14:24.129 as composer. How did you meet? Do you remember? 00:14:24.870 --> 00:14:27.769 You know, we tried to figure this out. I mean, 00:14:27.789 --> 00:14:29.870 I went to Princeton undergraduate, and she was 00:14:29.870 --> 00:14:32.850 there for a graduate, so she got her DMA there. 00:14:33.110 --> 00:14:37.570 I don't remember if we met at Princeton or through 00:14:37.570 --> 00:14:40.330 mutual friends later, but it had some sort of 00:14:40.330 --> 00:14:46.190 connection. But I don't know. We actually tried 00:14:46.190 --> 00:14:49.840 figuring that out. Couldn't figure it out. But 00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:53.480 she's been a wonderful friend, an incredible 00:14:53.480 --> 00:14:57.899 collaborator. And, you know, it takes a while 00:14:57.899 --> 00:15:00.240 for me to process through, you know, all these 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:03.379 different iterations and it keeps growing. Markovits, 00:15:03.379 --> 00:15:06.899 she even said to me just the other day, I'm amazed 00:15:06.899 --> 00:15:09.500 you're not even sick of it by now. And I'm not 00:15:09.500 --> 00:15:12.299 because, first of all, it's just... beautifully 00:15:12.299 --> 00:15:15.620 written i think it must take so much skill and 00:15:15.620 --> 00:15:18.500 discipline to be able to compose something 20 00:15:18.500 --> 00:15:21.580 seconds to a minute and and create an entire 00:15:21.580 --> 00:15:25.980 story for me everything is about stories and 00:15:25.980 --> 00:15:29.840 each one of these tells a full story and it communicates 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:31.940 to the audience we've had the most incredible 00:15:31.940 --> 00:15:36.820 audience responses to every iteration, the flute, 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:42.059 the solo piano, recitation, dance, with all the 00:15:42.059 --> 00:15:45.539 different orchestras. And something that's very 00:15:45.539 --> 00:15:48.019 important to both Stefania and me, and which 00:15:48.019 --> 00:15:54.460 I do

a lot of work, my work really does, really 00:15:54.460 --> 00:16:00.799 spotlights women. Women composers, women artists, 00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:05.960 and women conductors. Very intentionally, our 00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:09.279 last few performances since the New Jersey Youth 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:12.519 Symphony with Maestro Helen Chapiot have been 00:16:12.519 --> 00:16:17.840 with women composers. I love creating stories 00:16:17.840 --> 00:16:24.019 about what needs to be, what stories need to 00:16:24.019 --> 00:16:27.960 be heard. And one of them is Dr. Anne Lundy's 00:16:27.960 --> 00:16:35.950 story. woman conductor to conduct the Houston 00:16:35.950 --> 00:16:40.070 Symphony, but more importantly, she conducted 00:16:40.070 --> 00:16:44.049 the Houston Symphony side by side with her own 00:16:44.049 --> 00:16:48.149 Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra, which was the 00:16:48.149 --> 00:16:51.629 first, and she founded it, the first all -black 00:16:51.629 --> 00:16:54.809 orchestra in this country that she created so 00:16:54.809 --> 00:16:57.870 that black musicians had a home. She was a violinist, 00:16:57.909 --> 00:17:01.330 her sister was a flutist, and they were not allowed 00:17:01.330 --> 00:17:06.839 to play in orchestras. So, I spoke with Anne, 00:17:06.940 --> 00:17:12.859 Dr. Lundy, and this March I went to perform microvids 00:17:12.859 --> 00:17:16.339 with Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra and to film, 00:17:16.440 --> 00:17:20.720 because now my latest film project is called 00:17:20.720 --> 00:17:24.779 With a Wave of Her Hand, and it will be the story, 00:17:24.980 --> 00:17:29.119 the untold story of Dr. Anne Lundy, who's... 00:17:30.170 --> 00:17:32.690 She's an extraordinary woman in her 70s, and 00:17:32.690 --> 00:17:35.509 she continues to make music, but a lot of her 00:17:35.509 --> 00:17:40.970 incredible history making the records were destroyed 00:17:40.970 --> 00:17:48.130 in the floods in 2001. So anyway, I think it's 00:17:48.130 --> 00:17:52.190 a story that's vitally important. And as we celebrate 00:17:52.190 --> 00:17:55.509 our 250th, there are so many stories that are 00:17:55.509 --> 00:17:58.950 not part of that history. that need to be you 00:17:58.950 --> 00:18:01.630 know brought to life so this is my my current 00:18:01.630 --> 00:18:04.930 project my current film project um which also 00:18:04.930 --> 00:18:07.930 of course microvids is involved with that uh 00:18:07.930 --> 00:18:12.390 the other orchestra that we performed with that 00:18:12.390 --> 00:18:15.549 i performed with in march was the virago symphonic 00:18:15.549 --> 00:18:20.410 orchestra the last all -woman orchestra in europe 00:18:20.410 --> 00:18:25.869 and it conducted by maestro pascal vanos and 00:18:27.720 --> 00:18:31.519 That is a wonderful community, this orchestra. 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:35.420 We went to Antwerp, Belgium. That's where it 00:18:35.420 --> 00:18:41.700 was. And it was just... Performing there was 00:18:41.700 --> 00:18:49.039 really one of the most joyous experiences because 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:52.980 people love music there. I mean, everywhere we 00:18:52.980 --> 00:18:56.269 find great audiences, no question. But the kind 00:18:56.269 --> 00:19:02.029 of response was extraordinary. And again, the 00:19:02.029 --> 00:19:05.970 music is so tuneful and the poetry is so captivating. 00:19:05.970 --> 00:19:09.789 What's not to love? But that was a beautiful 00:19:09.789 --> 00:19:14.390 weekend, interacting with the musicians there 00:19:14.390 --> 00:19:17.450 and learning about the story of this phenomenal 00:19:17.450 --> 00:19:21.819 orchestra that was... single -handedly created 00:19:21.819 --> 00:19:26.759 by one woman, a very young woman, and her story 00:19:26.759 --> 00:19:28.380 needs to be told too. There's so many stories, 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:30.240 I don't have enough time to make films for all 00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:32.839 of them, but I hope to. And I also created this 00:19:32.839 --> 00:19:36.720 initiative, the Brava Maestra Initiative, to 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:43.079 help women conductors, especially from our AAPI 00:19:43.079 --> 00:19:48.119 community, form a network. After I performed 00:19:48.119 --> 00:19:51.920 with Helen, New Jersey Youth Symphony, I realized 00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:54.400 that this was the first time I performed with 00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:57.759 an Asian woman conductor. And that's when I started 00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:02.039 becoming very interested in finding other Asian 00:20:02.039 --> 00:20:04.960 women conductors. And then it dawned on me I 00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:06.880 never performed with a black woman conductor, 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:11.819 and that's when I found Anne. So exploration 00:20:11.819 --> 00:20:18.329 for me is so important. And we have so many, 00:20:18.329 --> 00:20:22.430 you know, technology tools that we can deep, 00:20:22.509 --> 00:20:25.950 you know, learn, deep dive into, you know, whatever 00:20:25.950 --> 00:20:29.329 questions pop up. And I'm always exploring questions. 00:20:29.410 --> 00:20:31.349 Why haven't I done this? Why haven't I performed 00:20:31.349 --> 00:20:33.690 with this? You know, that sort of thing keeps 00:20:33.690 --> 00:20:41.250 the motor going. And it's been just so rewarding 00:20:41.250 --> 00:20:45.230 getting to know these women, collaborating with 00:20:45.230 --> 00:20:48.599 these women. hearing their stories, and hopefully 00:20:48.599 --> 00:20:51.799 sharing and shining a light on them. And there's 00:20:51.799 --> 00:20:57.380 so many extraordinary women. And then Microfids 00:20:57.380 --> 00:21:01.099 keeps going, you know, because the way she wrote 00:21:01.099 --> 00:21:07.440 the piano part, it's just so easy to hear other 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:10.920 musicians and other musical instruments combined. 00:21:14.920 --> 00:21:20.099 Reflexiones ondulantes, luz veteada blanca, pura 00:21:20.099 --> 00:21:24.779 alegría,

dulcemente complacida, delicia azul 00:21:24.779 --> 00:21:43.519 del cielo. I recently founded the Joy Luck Trio. 00:21:43.960 --> 00:21:46.500 and if you can figure out what that could be 00:21:46.500 --> 00:21:53.019 about by the title, it is the first trio made 00:21:53.019 --> 00:22:02.259 up of pipa, arhu, and piano. And I am so excited 00:22:02.259 --> 00:22:09.160 by this incredible sound world that we create. 00:22:09.799 --> 00:22:15.460 And I met the two most extraordinary artists 00:22:15.460 --> 00:22:19.980 on Facebook? Okay, that was my next question 00:22:19.980 --> 00:22:25.920 about them. So I heard Karen Hahn, and I didn't 00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:28.319 even know that she was the legendary Hollywood 00:22:28.319 --> 00:22:35.069 artist. Her music you can hear in... The Joy 00:22:35.069 --> 00:22:38.210 Luck Club, The Last Emperor, Memories of a Geisha. 00:22:38.390 --> 00:22:41.950 And when Catherine Bigelow was accepting eight 00:22:41.950 --> 00:22:44.950 Oscars for The Hurt Locker, it was Karen's music 00:22:44.950 --> 00:22:48.589 that played. And the story is quite remarkable 00:22:48.589 --> 00:22:51.809 that The Hurt Locker originally was just going 00:22:51.809 --> 00:22:54.029 to be very much like a documentary with no music. 00:22:54.230 --> 00:22:56.470 And then Catherine Bigelow went to Hollywood 00:22:56.470 --> 00:22:59.230 Bowl and heard Karen perform. And that changed 00:22:59.230 --> 00:23:03.109 everything. So Karen's, the way she plays, it's 00:23:03.109 --> 00:23:05.849 just, it's like, she's playing on my heartstrings. 00:23:05.910 --> 00:23:09.009 So I heard her, she heard about my film, Never 00:23:09.009 --> 00:23:11.670 Fade Away, and we became friends on Facebook. 00:23:11.930 --> 00:23:15.509 But at the same time, I also heard Gao Hong, 00:23:15.710 --> 00:23:19.890 who is one of the leading pipa virtuosos. And 00:23:19.890 --> 00:23:24.509 I had never heard too many pipa artists before. 00:23:24.890 --> 00:23:28.970 And I don't know if people out there know what 00:23:28.970 --> 00:23:32.740 the... You know, pipa is like a lute. It's plucking. 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:37.400 And the kind of harmony that it can create when 00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:41.980 you have that dexterity is incredible. So Gao 00:23:41.980 --> 00:23:44.740 Hong and I were talking about a collaboration, 00:23:44.759 --> 00:23:48.079 and then it dawned on me. I said, you know, I 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:52.400 have recently become friendly and wanting to 00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:55.279 collaborate with Karen Han, this extraordinary 00:23:55.279 --> 00:23:59.809 Ara Hu artist. What about... forming a trio. 00:24:00.630 --> 00:24:05.190 Gao Hong says, Karen and I went to school together 00:24:05.190 --> 00:24:09.269 in China. They went to conservatory in Beijing. 00:24:09.509 --> 00:24:13.589 So we all got together and our chemistry right 00:24:13.589 --> 00:24:18.269 away was, you know, unbelievable because we have, 00:24:18.410 --> 00:24:22.089 you know, the idea of being all Chinese American 00:24:22.089 --> 00:24:25.549 artists. They were both born there. I was born 00:24:25.549 --> 00:24:29.039 here. But still, we have the same values. We 00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:32.920 have the same family traditions. We were laughing 00:24:32.920 --> 00:24:36.160 constantly, talking about the superstitions that 00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:40.200 our mothers handed down to us. And then finally, 00:24:40.380 --> 00:24:43.960 we started talking about repertoire and what 00:24:43.960 --> 00:24:48.359 we wanted to do. And it clicked because what 00:24:48.359 --> 00:24:52.319 was important to me was sharing the stories of 00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:57.740 our heritage and folktales. and the Chinese ancient 00:24:57.740 --> 00:25:01.859 instruments blending with the Chinese traditional 00:25:01.859 --> 00:25:06.240 folk tales and contemporary music. That is what 00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:08.319 I was interested in, and that was what they were 00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:10.319 interested in too. In fact, that's what Gao Hong 00:25:10.319 --> 00:25:13.359 does with her solo pipa, and she also composes. 00:25:13.579 --> 00:25:15.819 So we started just working virtually because 00:25:15.819 --> 00:25:18.339 Gao Hong lives in Minnesota. At the time, Karen 00:25:18.339 --> 00:25:21.240 lived in L .A., and I live in New York. So we 00:25:21.240 --> 00:26:47.920 just started working together virtually. So on 00:26:47.920 --> 00:26:51.839 YouTube, I think your inaugural concert is up 00:26:51.839 --> 00:26:53.799 there. People can see. But you have an album 00:26:53.799 --> 00:26:57.099 coming out. Well, the album is not coming out 00:26:57.099 --> 00:27:02.400 yet. We are single. We are right now in the middle 00:27:02.400 --> 00:27:04.759 of signing the contracts for the single to be 00:27:04.759 --> 00:27:08.039 released first. And that, I think, is on schedule 00:27:08.039 --> 00:27:11.000 to be released right around the Lunar New Year 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:15.000 in February. And then there'll be another one. 00:27:15.079 --> 00:27:17.779 And so we are working out. all these details 00:27:17.779 --> 00:27:20.779 it was it was very fast because we we we did 00:27:20.779 --> 00:27:25.220 a soft launch of joy luck trio may 2nd may 3rd 00:27:25.220 --> 00:27:28.859 in new york that youtube was from the glow cultural 00:27:28.859 --> 00:27:33.079 center and that was our first premiere and that 00:27:33.079 --> 00:27:36.400 went so beautifully congresswoman grace meng 00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:39.759 gave us these wonderful recognitions so you know 00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:43.500 i felt like we were recognized as a real trio 00:27:43.500 --> 00:27:50.500 right away and The performances were spectacular. 00:27:50.920 --> 00:27:55.759 It was just so much fun. I have been performing 00:27:55.759 --> 00:28:00.200 since I was 10 professionally, and my passion, 00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:04.359 the joy of my life besides my family,

will always 00:28:04.359 --> 00:28:08.460 be classical music. When I play it, when I hear 00:28:08.460 --> 00:28:12.240 it, when I perform it. It brings me to tears 00:28:12.240 --> 00:28:14.839 the way nothing else can. It makes me smile. 00:28:15.160 --> 00:28:19.400 It warms my heart. But when I play with this 00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:22.980 Joy Luck Trio and I play the pieces that Gao 00:28:22.980 --> 00:28:26.940 Hong has written expressly for us, these are 00:28:26.940 --> 00:28:30.900 based on the Chinese folk tunes. I was born here, 00:28:31.019 --> 00:28:36.119 and I will tell you, the connection is so strong. 00:28:37.259 --> 00:28:41.700 The tears that I cry... are the tears of finding 00:28:41.700 --> 00:28:45.359 my home again, finding the roots of my parents. 00:28:45.680 --> 00:28:51.019 I can't really describe it. As much as I am, 00:28:51.140 --> 00:28:54.140 you know, loving playing everything else from 00:28:54.140 --> 00:28:58.180 Bach to Beethoven to de Kinesy, and that is truly, 00:28:58.359 --> 00:29:03.039 you know, wonderful, this is a different feeling. 00:29:04.500 --> 00:29:08.549 So the interesting thing was that After the first 00:29:08.549 --> 00:29:14.490 two concerts, the audience response was, people 00:29:14.490 --> 00:29:19.250 were crying. They were crying at barge music. 00:29:19.829 --> 00:29:22.190 People were holding back tears. They had never 00:29:22.190 --> 00:29:26.329 heard anything like this before. And they couldn't 00:29:26.329 --> 00:29:30.930 have. But the idea that we were able to communicate. 00:29:32.269 --> 00:29:36.630 our feelings and our hopes and dreams of connecting 00:29:36.630 --> 00:29:40.849 you know east and west not in a corny way but 00:29:40.849 --> 00:29:45.809 in a really heartfelt way it it worked and yeah 00:29:45.809 --> 00:29:49.680 do you know sylvia ching No, I don't. He's a 00:29:49.680 --> 00:29:52.539 New York -based pianist, and she's in a duo with 00:29:52.539 --> 00:29:55.619 her brother, the cellist Brian Cheng. I featured 00:29:55.619 --> 00:29:57.779 their duo on this podcast a couple years ago, 00:29:57.839 --> 00:30:01.319 Cheng Squared. So they're Canadian -Chinese, 00:30:01.460 --> 00:30:03.559 and they have done some beautiful arrangements 00:30:03.559 --> 00:30:07.920 of traditional Chinese folk tunes for cello and 00:30:07.920 --> 00:30:10.180 piano. And she's in New York. You should connect 00:30:10.180 --> 00:30:13.450 with her. Yeah, no, I think it's wonderful. that 00:30:13.450 --> 00:30:16.190 there are several, there are many, many people 00:30:16.190 --> 00:30:18.750 who are doing Chinese traditional, but we're 00:30:18.750 --> 00:30:20.450 the only ones that are doing Chinese traditional 00:30:20.450 --> 00:30:23.910 with the piano, with music written for us. No, 00:30:23.930 --> 00:30:26.049 I understand that. Yeah, I'm just saying. Yes, 00:30:26.049 --> 00:30:28.650 of course. No, of course. And there's just so 00:30:28.650 --> 00:30:31.289 many incredible artists out there. And the music, 00:30:31.309 --> 00:30:38.269 I think, can be very accessible to audiences 00:30:38.269 --> 00:30:42.329 who have never heard these instruments before. 00:30:43.049 --> 00:30:46.009 and the sound. We have a different harmony as 00:30:46.009 --> 00:30:52.910 well. So part of the program, we selected three 00:30:52.910 --> 00:30:54.809 of the microvids, so this is where microvids 00:30:54.809 --> 00:30:58.430 comes in, and they improvised over it. And that, 00:30:58.490 --> 00:31:01.769 again, for me was just incredible, a little nerve 00:31:01.769 --> 00:31:03.230 -wracking, because they do things differently 00:31:03.230 --> 00:31:06.150 each time. And sometimes they would do the intro, 00:31:06.269 --> 00:31:09.130 and they just told me, you come in whenever you 00:31:09.130 --> 00:31:12.880 want. You just feel it. So every time it's different 00:31:12.880 --> 00:31:16.380 and every time it's special. And it was really 00:31:16.380 --> 00:31:21.059 quite extraordinary. So I'm very pleased that 00:31:21.059 --> 00:31:26.119 we work so well together and that things are 00:31:26.119 --> 00:31:28.920 moving along a little quickly because I wasn't 00:31:28.920 --> 00:31:33.880 expecting all of this. So that's something that 00:31:33.880 --> 00:31:40.750 was a lovely surprise just from Facebook. I was 00:31:40.750 --> 00:31:43.430 in China, our younger daughters adopted from 00:31:43.430 --> 00:31:46.890 China, sort of the end of the one child policy. 00:31:47.109 --> 00:31:51.230 And one of my strongest memories was in Beijing. 00:31:51.289 --> 00:31:55.660 It was a park. And it was people learning to 00:31:55.660 --> 00:31:57.960 play Arhu. It was like a sort of a learning circle. 00:31:58.200 --> 00:32:00.380 But people, everyone was kind of loud because 00:32:00.380 --> 00:32:01.880 they were sort of competing with their neighbors, 00:32:02.059 --> 00:32:05.579 sort of practicing outside. It was really, really 00:32:05.579 --> 00:32:07.460 something else. But it was like a wonderful, 00:32:07.539 --> 00:32:10.359 joyful, public kind of like, you know, the way 00:32:10.359 --> 00:32:13.700 people are there just dancing together in big 00:32:13.700 --> 00:32:17.079 public spaces and this sort of thing. Well, that's 00:32:17.079 --> 00:32:20.140 wonderful. I think China really does care very 00:32:20.140 --> 00:32:24.059 much about music. Very much about arts and music. 00:32:24.299 --> 00:32:28.140 The arhu, two -string violin, I guess you call 00:32:28.140 --> 00:32:31.460 it, right? Such a difficult instrument to play. 00:32:32.140 --> 00:32:37.140 So difficult. And to make that sound, it's really 00:32:37.140 --> 00:32:40.259 quite extraordinary. And I told Karen, I said, 00:32:40.339 --> 00:32:43.400 you know, growing up, both my parents are from 00:32:43.400 --> 00:32:46.700 China, my dad always told me his favorite instrument 00:32:46.700 --> 00:32:52.440 was the arhu. And now I know why. Well, I'll

00:32:52.440 --> 00:32:55.039 be linking a few episodes to this one in the 00:32:55.039 --> 00:32:56.900 show notes for people. And one of my very first 00:32:56.900 --> 00:33:00.400 guests, five years ago now, was with Patty Chan, 00:33:00.579 --> 00:33:03.059 the Arhu teacher in Toronto, who wrote the first 00:33:03.059 --> 00:33:05.779 English language book about teaching Arhu to 00:33:05.779 --> 00:33:08.000 people. And she's very involved with the Chinese. 00:33:09.049 --> 00:33:11.769 orchestra in toronto and all this stuff so i'll 00:33:11.769 --> 00:33:15.170 i'll link that wonderful yeah she demonstrated 00:33:15.170 --> 00:33:18.049 um different types of our who's uh different 00:33:18.049 --> 00:33:20.009 sizes and so on and talked about a little bit 00:33:20.009 --> 00:33:22.549 that's right yeah so i'd love to get into never 00:33:22.549 --> 00:33:25.450 fade away your beautiful film i i really enjoyed 00:33:25.450 --> 00:33:28.089 it it was very touching and i was wondering donna 00:33:28.089 --> 00:33:30.029 would you be willing in another interview you 00:33:30.029 --> 00:33:32.609 spoke about the kind of trauma you had at the 00:33:32.609 --> 00:33:35.230 beginning of the pandemic that kind of led to 00:33:35.230 --> 00:33:40.519 this yeah um Yeah, it was very early on in the 00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:43.039 pandemic. And I remember it was in March. And 00:33:43.039 --> 00:33:45.460 that was in the very beginning when all these 00:33:45.460 --> 00:33:49.319 stories, these rumors of what we called the coronavirus 00:33:49.319 --> 00:33:53.980 back then were filtering in like crazy. And everybody 00:33:53.980 --> 00:33:59.160 was scared. And I was walking my dog through 00:33:59.160 --> 00:34:02.579 Central Park, 1 p .m. Middle of the day was a 00:34:02.579 --> 00:34:05.700 beautiful, you know, sunny day. And out from 00:34:05.700 --> 00:34:13.119 nowhere, this large, very large man lunges towards 00:34:13.119 --> 00:34:20.159 me. And he started screaming at me. He called 00:34:20.159 --> 00:34:25.219 me every racial slur in the book. And he started 00:34:25.219 --> 00:34:29.019 screaming that I should go back to where I came 00:34:29.019 --> 00:34:33.360 from or get what I deserve for bringing... the 00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:37.599 coronavirus here. He blamed me for that. And 00:34:37.599 --> 00:34:42.440 if it weren't for a few passerbyers walking by, 00:34:42.719 --> 00:34:44.480 I don't know what would have happened. And he 00:34:44.480 --> 00:34:48.699 fled. So I wasn't hurt, thankfully. And then 00:34:48.699 --> 00:34:51.460 that was the time when, you know, hate crimes 00:34:51.460 --> 00:34:56.920 against our AAPI community were rising like crazy. 00:34:57.119 --> 00:35:02.510 So I went home with my dog and I didn't leave 00:35:02.510 --> 00:35:06.530 my apartment for seven months. My husband said, 00:35:06.570 --> 00:35:08.550 you know, let's go out together. Let's walk the 00:35:08.550 --> 00:35:11.090 dog together. I'll be with you. And I couldn't 00:35:11.090 --> 00:35:14.409 do it. And it was really because I didn't want 00:35:14.409 --> 00:35:20.010 people to look at me and say that I caused this. 00:35:21.349 --> 00:35:25.389 I did not want to be blamed for whatever pandemic 00:35:25.389 --> 00:35:32.099 was happening. But I have to say, There was a 00:35:32.099 --> 00:35:36.440 silver lining. While I was home, I listened to 00:35:36.440 --> 00:35:41.679 a lot of music by Asian composers. I was born 00:35:41.679 --> 00:35:48.300 here. I never once felt different. I never felt 00:35:48.300 --> 00:35:54.739 like anyone treated me with prejudice. I guess 00:35:54.739 --> 00:35:59.179 I've been very lucky that way. But this... opened 00:35:59.179 --> 00:36:04.380 my eyes and really I started thinking, you know, 00:36:04.380 --> 00:36:09.420 almost obsessively about my identity as an Asian 00:36:09.420 --> 00:36:14.000 American. And what came of that was I decided 00:36:14.000 --> 00:36:20.079 that these racist episodes, these attacks, these 00:36:20.079 --> 00:36:23.420 assaults, you know, I don't forgive them because 00:36:23.420 --> 00:36:26.400 you should never do that to another person. But 00:36:26.400 --> 00:36:30.400 I think they all stemmed from ignorance and fear 00:36:30.400 --> 00:36:35.579 of the unknown. So I started thinking about sharing 00:36:35.579 --> 00:36:38.659 our stories because I thought, you know, if we 00:36:38.659 --> 00:36:41.400 shared more of our stories of heritage, we all 00:36:41.400 --> 00:36:44.300 come from somewhere, people would see that we're 00:36:44.300 --> 00:36:48.179 more alike than we are different. So I created 00:36:48.179 --> 00:36:51.460 Heritage and Harmony. And the first series was 00:36:51.460 --> 00:36:55.719 with WQXR because I had another mini series on 00:36:55.719 --> 00:36:58.159 women composers with them right before the pandemic, 00:36:58.260 --> 00:37:01.119 before the studio was shut down. And so I created 00:37:01.119 --> 00:37:05.880 a video series for them, shining a light on the 00:37:05.880 --> 00:37:10.239 stories and the music of Asian American classical 00:37:10.239 --> 00:37:14.969 musicians. And then I created an education, a 00:37:14.969 --> 00:37:17.050 virtual education program for the National Women's 00:37:17.050 --> 00:37:20.030 History Museum, Heritage and Harmony, Her Art, 00:37:20.090 --> 00:37:22.309 Her Voice. And this was a role model program 00:37:22.309 --> 00:37:28.809 for school -age girls of color. And I invited, 00:37:28.849 --> 00:37:33.030 you know, these wonderful, wonderful women from 00:37:33.030 --> 00:37:37.179 the arts, from our AAPI. communities. Misty Copeland 00:37:37.179 --> 00:37:40.679 joined, Crystal Joy Brown joined, you know, fashion 00:37:40.679 --> 00:37:45.860 designers, musicians, even like the first Latina 00:37:45.860 --> 00:37:50.920 rap artist. And so these were the programs that 00:37:50.920 --> 00:37:54.039 I started creating on my own. And I

produced 00:37:54.039 --> 00:37:57.039 my album, Heritage and Harmony, Silver Linings, 00:37:57.039 --> 00:38:03.760 featuring the music of composers from our AAPI 00:38:03.760 --> 00:38:06.519 and BIPOC communities. I want to get to that 00:38:06.519 --> 00:38:09.199 album, but I do want to talk about Never Fade 00:38:09.199 --> 00:38:12.179 Away. So I'm leading to that. Okay. Okay. Yes. 00:38:12.340 --> 00:38:15.139 So during that period, during the pandemic, when 00:38:15.139 --> 00:38:18.400 the world was closed, I did, I think maybe 40 00:38:18.400 --> 00:38:22.860 or 50 online performances and talks. And I started 00:38:22.860 --> 00:38:27.019 sharing my father's story. Hi, just a really 00:38:27.019 --> 00:38:29.179 quick break to let you know that I've linked 00:38:29.179 --> 00:38:31.900 a few suggested episodes in the show notes for 00:38:31.900 --> 00:38:36.340 you. With Arhu musician, educator, composer and 00:38:36.340 --> 00:38:39.500 author Patty Chan, pianist and songwriter Vienna 00:38:39.500 --> 00:38:42.900 Tang, filmmaker and koto player and educator 00:38:42.900 --> 00:38:47.420 Shirley Kazuo Muramoto, conductor Jessica Cottis, 00:38:47.559 --> 00:38:51.880 the Chang Square duo, pianist, scholar and cultural 00:38:51.880 --> 00:38:54.690 innovator and the founder of the African concert 00:38:54.690 --> 00:38:58.190 series Rebecca Omordia, among so many episodes 00:38:58.190 --> 00:39:02.949 since 2021. Sign up for my newsletter, where 00:39:02.949 --> 00:39:05.230 you'll get exclusive information about upcoming 00:39:05.230 --> 00:39:08.130 guests. Consider buying me a coffee on my Ko 00:39:08.130 --> 00:39:10.949 -fi page, or buying some unique podcast merch. 00:39:11.510 --> 00:39:14.250 You can also review this podcast, share it with 00:39:14.250 --> 00:39:17.150 your friends, and follow on your podcast app, 00:39:17.329 --> 00:39:20.690 YouTube, and social media. All this helps spread 00:39:20.690 --> 00:39:26.619 the word. Thanks. Now, back to Donna. My father's 00:39:26.619 --> 00:39:30.619 story, his immigration story, about how he came 00:39:30.619 --> 00:39:33.219 to this country and how a radio and a waltz changed 00:39:33.219 --> 00:39:37.960 his life. And I would perform the waltz and I 00:39:37.960 --> 00:39:42.960 was floored by the response. And people were 00:39:42.960 --> 00:39:45.280 writing to me, this is my father's story, this 00:39:45.280 --> 00:39:48.000 is my grandparent's story, my cousin's story, 00:39:48.059 --> 00:39:52.170 this is my aunt's story. And so... When the doors 00:39:52.170 --> 00:39:57.190 opened, I started performing this story with 00:39:57.190 --> 00:40:01.989 the music in person, live concerts. And then 00:40:01.989 --> 00:40:04.449 someone said to me, oh, you know, and then I 00:40:04.449 --> 00:40:07.530 spoke with, I went to a concert by Ariel Rivka 00:40:07.530 --> 00:40:12.170 Dance. Stefania is the resident composer, so 00:40:12.170 --> 00:40:15.420 she invited me. And I just... fell in love with 00:40:15.420 --> 00:40:17.639 this dance group. So I spoke with a choreographer 00:40:17.639 --> 00:40:20.800 who basically only choreographs music to live 00:40:20.800 --> 00:40:23.599 -in composers, and specifically women. It's an 00:40:23.599 --> 00:40:25.820 all -female dance group. And I told her about 00:40:25.820 --> 00:40:29.440 my story and my dance story. And she said, okay, 00:40:29.539 --> 00:40:33.639 I'll choreograph it. She choreographed it, and 00:40:33.639 --> 00:40:35.840 we worked with two wonderful dancers that she 00:40:35.840 --> 00:40:42.579 knew. And I did concerts. And people were crying. 00:40:42.679 --> 00:40:46.019 And after one of the performances, a woman comes 00:40:46.019 --> 00:40:49.880 up to me, who I never met. She goes, I'm a filmmaker, 00:40:50.159 --> 00:40:55.380 and you have to make a film about this. And I 00:40:55.380 --> 00:40:58.400 said, oh, I don't make films. I've never been 00:40:58.400 --> 00:41:01.500 to film school. She goes, think about it. You'll 00:41:01.500 --> 00:41:04.820 do this. So I started thinking about it. And, 00:41:04.880 --> 00:41:07.880 you know, the dance was all of four and a half 00:41:07.880 --> 00:41:10.900 minutes long. And I would tell the story. So 00:41:10.900 --> 00:41:12.960 I said, okay, you know what? I will do that. 00:41:13.000 --> 00:41:15.420 I'll make a four or five minute film, a short 00:41:15.420 --> 00:41:20.619 film. And so I started, you know, booking the 00:41:20.619 --> 00:41:23.599 venue where I knew I could have the dancers. 00:41:24.099 --> 00:41:25.880 And then I spoke to the two dancers that I've 00:41:25.880 --> 00:41:29.340 been working with and they couldn't make it that, 00:41:29.400 --> 00:41:31.559 you know, I booked it six months in advance, 00:41:31.659 --> 00:41:33.840 but they're, you know, on tour with troops. I 00:41:33.840 --> 00:41:35.280 said, oh my goodness, what am I going to do? 00:41:35.619 --> 00:41:38.960 And I said to myself, well, If they can't do 00:41:38.960 --> 00:41:43.300 it, I have nothing to lose. And I called my really 00:41:43.300 --> 00:41:45.940 good friend, Alan Moverman from Juilliard, another 00:41:45.940 --> 00:41:47.920 pianist. He's the pianist for New York City Ballet. 00:41:48.579 --> 00:41:53.260 And I said, Alan, would you kindly make an introduction 00:41:53.260 --> 00:41:56.719 with me and Chen Wei Chan? Chen Wei Chan was 00:41:56.719 --> 00:41:59.719 the first ever Chinese principal dancer of the 00:41:59.719 --> 00:42:02.900 New York City Ballet. At my age, I don't care 00:42:02.900 --> 00:42:05.559 if people say no. I feel like, you know, I have 00:42:05.559 --> 00:42:10.199 nothing to lose. So I had a nice phone call with 00:42:10.199 --> 00:42:12.420 Chen Wei Chan. I told him about it, and he said, 00:42:12.480 --> 00:42:15.559 well, send me the script. I sent him the script. 00:42:15.840 --> 00:42:19.980 He called me 24 hours later. He said, this is 00:42:19.980 -->

00:42:25.800 my story, too. So when I finally revived, I was 00:42:25.800 --> 00:42:29.099 like, oh, my God. I realized having Chen Wei 00:42:29.099 --> 00:42:34.260 on board was a dream come true, but I needed 00:42:34.260 --> 00:42:38.480 to expand the story. because he needed to be 00:42:38.480 --> 00:42:40.559 in it. And I said to him, would it be possible 00:42:40.559 --> 00:42:45.000 for you to improvise just a dance scene of when 00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:46.920 my father first gets to this country? And he 00:42:46.920 --> 00:42:49.739 goes, absolutely. So I literally started writing 00:42:49.739 --> 00:42:54.219 this short film from the back end, from the end 00:42:54.219 --> 00:43:00.539 to the beginning. I do think, you know, that 00:43:00.539 --> 00:43:03.420 as a classical musician, we are very disciplined. 00:43:04.300 --> 00:43:07.320 And that discipline and the understanding of 00:43:07.320 --> 00:43:16.519 musical form helped me make this movie. Everything 00:43:16.519 --> 00:43:20.940 I do is about music. And this piece, this short 00:43:20.940 --> 00:43:26.019 film, 12 minutes in length, is literally a musical 00:43:26.019 --> 00:43:34.230 piece to me. It was the most emotional project 00:43:34.230 --> 00:43:37.389 of my life. I think, and I'm going to start crying 00:43:37.389 --> 00:43:42.389 again, I cried every day, every single day making 00:43:42.389 --> 00:43:44.829 it, because I was going through photographs. 00:43:45.030 --> 00:43:47.570 You know, my parents, they didn't have video 00:43:47.570 --> 00:43:49.849 cameras. They didn't have anything. I had to 00:43:49.849 --> 00:43:53.170 just, you know, pull out the old photographs, 00:43:53.250 --> 00:43:57.329 and I had to be creative when it came to telling 00:43:57.329 --> 00:43:59.889 the story of my father coming here and leaving 00:43:59.889 --> 00:44:03.780 China. But it was so, both my parents passed 00:44:03.780 --> 00:44:11.079 away years ago, so it was emotional every step 00:44:11.079 --> 00:44:16.460 of the way. And then it came to the world premiere 00:44:16.460 --> 00:44:21.860 at NYU Tisch, which was astounding to me. And 00:44:21.860 --> 00:44:24.840 that day, I told my husband, my husband is not 00:44:24.840 --> 00:44:27.920 a musician, he's a mathematician, the most supportive 00:44:27.920 --> 00:44:32.789 man. And he's in the film. I think, you know, 00:44:32.809 --> 00:44:34.909 he's not in the film, but he has something to 00:44:34.909 --> 00:44:37.250 do with the film, which was very funny. But I 00:44:37.250 --> 00:44:40.449 said to him, this is the morning of the first 00:44:40.449 --> 00:44:44.710 night. It was on for three nights at NYU. I said, 00:44:44.730 --> 00:44:49.429 I'm pulling it from the program. I can't do this 00:44:49.429 --> 00:44:53.329 because I'm not a filmmaker. Who am I to say 00:44:53.329 --> 00:44:55.710 that I make a film and people should see it? 00:44:56.130 --> 00:44:59.769 This is a personal project and I can't do it. 00:45:00.940 --> 00:45:05.440 And he said to me, it is so beautiful. You don't 00:45:05.440 --> 00:45:08.719 have to be a filmmaker to be able to tell a story 00:45:08.719 --> 00:45:12.300 like this. You put in your heart and soul. People 00:45:12.300 --> 00:45:17.320 will love it. So after I kind of calmed down, 00:45:17.380 --> 00:45:23.980 we went to the premiere, and it was part of Arrow 00:45:23.980 --> 00:45:27.780 Rivka Dance's spring season. So I performed microvids 00:45:27.780 --> 00:45:32.449 with... the dance company and then it came to 00:45:32.449 --> 00:45:37.690 a screening and I sat between my daughter and 00:45:37.690 --> 00:45:44.389 my husband and I think I was numb and I couldn't 00:45:44.389 --> 00:45:48.369 even breathe and then I heard people sighing. 00:45:48.789 --> 00:45:50.889 I heard people laughing where they're supposed 00:45:50.889 --> 00:45:56.210 to laugh and then I heard people gasping and 00:45:56.210 --> 00:46:05.900 I think I just cried. I think you call this imposter 00:46:05.900 --> 00:46:09.940 syndrome. And I had this imposter syndrome for 00:46:09.940 --> 00:46:16.340 six months. After that, I started putting, you 00:46:16.340 --> 00:46:18.579 know, sending, Never Fade Away, they tell me, 00:46:18.599 --> 00:46:21.539 oh, you should send it to film festivals. So 00:46:21.539 --> 00:46:24.380 I started sending it into one or two, three, 00:46:24.420 --> 00:46:29.000 and it just started winning. Winning one festival 00:46:29.000 --> 00:46:33.289 after another. At the end of the whole, I said 00:46:33.289 --> 00:46:34.710 to myself, I'm only going to do this for one 00:46:34.710 --> 00:46:39.909 year. And in one year, it won 44 awards from 00:46:39.909 --> 00:46:43.289 film festivals worldwide. I don't think it was 00:46:43.289 --> 00:46:46.650 until the sixth month that I started enjoying 00:46:46.650 --> 00:46:51.329 it, watching it. And when I started really enjoying 00:46:51.329 --> 00:46:56.690 it, it was like, oh my gosh, you know, this is 00:46:56.690 --> 00:46:59.659 something. That was so close to my heart. That 00:46:59.659 --> 00:47:02.639 was a tribute to my parents. It was honoring 00:47:02.639 --> 00:47:06.679 them, their story, but it was also honoring everyone 00:47:06.679 --> 00:47:11.199 who came here to this country before us. Sharing 00:47:11.199 --> 00:47:14.559 these stories, I could never have done what my 00:47:14.559 --> 00:47:18.219 parents did. Come from another strange country 00:47:18.219 --> 00:47:21.280 to a strange land, not speaking the language 00:47:21.280 --> 00:47:25.280 without any money, no jobs, no connections of 00:47:25.280 --> 00:47:28.989 any kind. And look at the life they were able 00:47:28.989 --> 00:47:34.289 to give me. A life filled with opportunity. So, 00:47:34.409 --> 00:47:39.909 yeah, this was an amazing, amazing experience 00:47:39.909 --> 00:47:47.489 for me. And then I get an email inviting me to 00:47:47.489 --> 00:47:53.849 send... never fade away,

to be archived at the 00:47:53.849 --> 00:47:56.550 Statue of Liberty Ellis Island in perpetuity 00:47:56.550 --> 00:48:01.170 for universities, institutions to research and 00:48:01.170 --> 00:48:06.110 to have, you know, and that was extraordinary. 00:48:06.690 --> 00:48:10.690 I mean, I don't even understand it, but I am 00:48:10.690 --> 00:48:15.170 so grateful. So I think that I had an incredible 00:48:15.170 --> 00:48:21.019 team. of artists who worked with me. My editor, 00:48:21.500 --> 00:48:24.400 C .E. Chen, my cinematographer, Garrett Parker, 00:48:25.119 --> 00:48:28.039 Ariel Grossman, the incredible choreographer. 00:48:28.679 --> 00:48:31.440 And people asked me later, why didn't you get 00:48:31.440 --> 00:48:36.079 a Chinese choreographer? And this is really important 00:48:36.079 --> 00:48:39.519 to me. It is my father's story. He is from China. 00:48:39.619 --> 00:48:43.920 But it is for every person from every background. 00:48:45.179 --> 00:48:49.019 And so Ariel's family, you know, their story, 00:48:49.400 --> 00:48:53.619 different background from the Holocaust. This 00:48:53.619 --> 00:48:58.599 is important because everybody feels so deeply 00:48:58.599 --> 00:49:01.280 the connection to my father's story in their 00:49:01.280 --> 00:49:03.920 own way. That's what it was all about. It isn't 00:49:03.920 --> 00:49:07.099 just being Chinese. It's being citizens of the 00:49:07.099 --> 00:49:11.420 world. So at the end of the film, the credits 00:49:11.420 --> 00:49:15.219 are very important to me. And with... each of 00:49:15.219 --> 00:49:18.260 the artists that join me on this journey i feature 00:49:18.260 --> 00:49:23.880 their families as well because we are about community 00:49:23.880 --> 00:49:29.300 you know so yeah uh and it's still you know i 00:49:29.300 --> 00:49:31.519 was i'm always amazed you know when i when i 00:49:31.519 --> 00:49:34.860 got the email from shorts tv asking to sign a 00:49:34.860 --> 00:49:37.760 four -year contract for apple tv and prime video 00:49:37.760 --> 00:49:40.900 i mean all of these things come out of nowhere 00:49:40.900 --> 00:49:45.110 and i am like just flabbergasted. I feel very, 00:49:45.150 --> 00:49:55.289 very blessed. And I really enjoy the film festivals. 00:49:56.070 --> 00:50:01.409 That community, the film community, is so different 00:50:01.409 --> 00:50:05.010 from my music community that I've been part of 00:50:05.010 --> 00:50:07.909 all these years, that I love, I grew up with, 00:50:08.090 --> 00:50:12.510 and they are extraordinary people. I will say 00:50:12.510 --> 00:50:17.869 I was older than most of the filmmakers by 20 00:50:17.869 --> 00:50:22.650 years. But they were so accepting of me. They 00:50:22.650 --> 00:50:25.829 embraced me because I thought I was so embarrassed 00:50:25.829 --> 00:50:28.690 because, you know, I would be on the panel with 00:50:28.690 --> 00:50:31.530 all these filmmakers who'd gone to school and, 00:50:31.590 --> 00:50:34.610 you know, had all this training for years. And 00:50:34.610 --> 00:50:37.090 I had nothing, no experience. And here I am, 00:50:37.150 --> 00:50:41.199 you know, winning Best Short Film. and talking 00:50:41.199 --> 00:50:43.199 about my experience, but I would always let them 00:50:43.199 --> 00:50:47.679 know very honestly how I'm in awe of what they 00:50:47.679 --> 00:50:51.000 do. And what I did was just very simply tell 00:50:51.000 --> 00:50:54.940 my story through music and dance. But they were 00:50:54.940 --> 00:51:03.460 so welcoming. And so I really feel more empowered 00:51:03.460 --> 00:51:12.579 now than before about exploring different artistic, 00:51:12.639 --> 00:51:17.579 you know, expression, forms of expression. I 00:51:17.579 --> 00:51:22.659 think part of my frustration through my young 00:51:22.659 --> 00:51:25.780 adult years performing, and of course I love 00:51:25.780 --> 00:51:28.699 performing, but when you're, you know, in your 00:51:28.699 --> 00:51:31.940 master's, I was at Juilliard for my master's, 00:51:31.940 --> 00:51:34.539 and you kind of, as a solo pianist, you're put 00:51:34.539 --> 00:51:37.159 on this, the competition circuit, and in the 00:51:37.159 --> 00:51:39.760 competition circuit, you're required to play 00:51:39.760 --> 00:51:42.039 a piece by Bach, by Beethoven, you know, sonatas 00:51:42.039 --> 00:51:46.340 that's romantic, contemporary etudes. And not 00:51:46.340 --> 00:51:49.480 that I don't love all of that, but I always felt 00:51:49.480 --> 00:51:54.840 restricted, you know. And I wanted to play pieces 00:51:54.840 --> 00:51:58.219 by women composers. I wanted to play, you know, 00:51:58.239 --> 00:52:03.099 music from other cultures. But that was never 00:52:03.099 --> 00:52:06.679 part of it. So I always had a little bit of frustration. 00:52:06.980 --> 00:52:14.860 And I didn't know until way later that I could 00:52:14.860 --> 00:52:21.739 explore cross -discipline, cultural performances, 00:52:23.940 --> 00:52:29.400 create different opportunities to combine. dance 00:52:29.400 --> 00:52:31.599 and music and you know i didn't know about this 00:52:31.599 --> 00:52:33.199 of course we have the internet now so it does 00:52:33.199 --> 00:52:38.019 make it easier right so i you know i then i made 00:52:38.019 --> 00:52:42.500 another little film last year a silent cry right 00:52:42.500 --> 00:52:45.119 and that was based on clouds one of the miniatures 00:52:45.119 --> 00:53:42.380 from microvids because the soundtrack is Curtis's 00:53:42.380 --> 00:53:46.199 improvisation over the piano for Clouds. I was 00:53:46.199 --> 00:53:48.619 obsessed with that. I heard it everywhere I went. 00:53:48.880 --> 00:53:51.980 It was so moving to me. So one night I just sat 00:53:51.980 --> 00:53:57.320 down and I made a music video. I started thinking 00:53:57.320 --> 00:54:01.159 about it. My daughter, who is an AI, she has 00:54:01.159 --> 00:54:03.900 her own AI startup. She

posted, she lives in 00:54:03.900 --> 00:54:06.599 San Francisco, she posted an Instagram story. 00:54:07.340 --> 00:54:10.840 She created a little AI, three second video of 00:54:10.840 --> 00:54:15.039 a globe spinning with ice all over the place 00:54:15.039 --> 00:54:17.940 and clouds and gold. It was like a music box 00:54:17.940 --> 00:54:19.980 and I loved it so much. And I started thinking, 00:54:20.079 --> 00:54:21.920 oh my gosh, I really want to create something 00:54:21.920 --> 00:54:26.599 like that based with that AI, but not with the 00:54:26.599 --> 00:54:30.519 same visuals. And I started reading articles 00:54:30.519 --> 00:54:37.659 about the Himalayas and climate change. how it 00:54:37.659 --> 00:54:40.960 affects the world and the animals and I started 00:54:40.960 --> 00:54:44.780 getting very obsessed with the idea of putting 00:54:44.780 --> 00:54:48.559 together a little a little music video a piece 00:54:48.559 --> 00:54:51.940 a short film whatever you call it spotlighting 00:54:51.940 --> 00:54:56.039 some of that so I asked her if she could please 00:54:56.039 --> 00:54:59.460 create a short video and I told exactly what 00:54:59.460 --> 00:55:03.340 kind I wanted with the globe spinning with clouds 00:55:03.340 --> 00:55:07.630 but But in a different way and she did and you 00:55:07.630 --> 00:55:09.869 know, she can only generate like a five three 00:55:09.869 --> 00:55:13.210 to five second video so I had to learn how to 00:55:13.210 --> 00:55:18.690 loop it and then I I Put together I guess a two 00:55:18.690 --> 00:55:23.230 minute Little piece you can call a music video 00:55:23.230 --> 00:55:29.030 a short film and I called it a silent cry and 00:55:29.030 --> 00:55:32.070 I sent it, you know, it was just really for my 00:55:32.070 --> 00:55:35.570 own pleasure i sent it to a film festival and 00:55:35.570 --> 00:55:38.510 it won for best music video i mean and then it 00:55:38.510 --> 00:55:42.769 actually won 30 awards but what was so astonishing 00:55:42.769 --> 00:55:48.550 to me uh was that i created it all on canva and 00:55:48.550 --> 00:55:50.429 i was so embarrassed when i went to the film 00:55:50.429 --> 00:55:54.429 festivals uh because you know when it it played 00:55:54.429 --> 00:55:58.329 it screened on um at the regal union square theater 00:55:58.329 --> 00:56:00.570 and i was thinking oh my god i'm gonna go there 00:56:00.570 --> 00:56:03.210 and there's gonna be a blank blank screen because 00:56:03.210 --> 00:56:06.190 i did it on canva but i had people rework it 00:56:06.190 --> 00:56:08.409 a little bit and it was beautiful on the large 00:56:08.409 --> 00:56:12.889 screen and i got up on the panel afterwards and 00:56:12.889 --> 00:56:16.070 they said to me you know so what is your biggest 00:56:16.070 --> 00:56:19.230 secret about this about creating this and i told 00:56:19.230 --> 00:56:24.619 them i said well i created this on canva And 00:56:24.619 --> 00:56:27.480 people started cheering. And I was so embarrassed 00:56:27.480 --> 00:56:30.300 about that before. I didn't tell anybody before. 00:56:30.559 --> 00:56:34.659 But now I realize that it gives everybody a chance 00:56:34.659 --> 00:56:38.400 to create something themselves. Because I don't 00:56:38.400 --> 00:56:42.320 have any technical prowess in any way. I'm really 00:56:42.320 --> 00:56:46.820 a tech idiot. I know how to use Canva. And it's 00:56:46.820 --> 00:56:53.929 a simple, intuitive program. through layering 00:56:53.929 --> 00:56:58.809 from from experimenting i was able to make a 00:56:58.809 --> 00:57:02.150 silent cry yeah i enjoyed it i watched that too 00:57:02.150 --> 00:57:05.329 just before we leave um never fade away i just 00:57:05.329 --> 00:57:06.849 thought it might be interesting for people and 00:57:06.849 --> 00:57:10.090 for yourself there's a really moving relatively 00:57:10.090 --> 00:57:12.670 new museum in rotterdam in the netherlands that's 00:57:12.670 --> 00:57:16.570 uh dedicated to migration and it's it's really 00:57:17.360 --> 00:57:20.179 very cross -disciplinary they have when you first 00:57:20.179 --> 00:57:22.820 go in they have hundreds of old suitcases people 00:57:22.820 --> 00:57:25.639 have donated and then everyone submitted their 00:57:25.639 --> 00:57:27.519 memories of their family member or themselves 00:57:27.519 --> 00:57:30.460 migrating and you put on headphones and it's 00:57:30.460 --> 00:57:32.480 very moving and you can listen and there's children 00:57:32.480 --> 00:57:35.159 and older people and all kinds of stories and 00:57:35.159 --> 00:57:37.699 they have galleries like there's all kinds of 00:57:37.699 --> 00:57:40.920 art and incredible photography and I think they 00:57:40.920 --> 00:57:43.800 have rotating exhibits but it's really like an 00:57:43.800 --> 00:57:49.000 artistic expression about the experience of migration 00:57:49.000 --> 00:57:53.679 internationally. Oh, that's beautiful. Can I 00:57:53.679 --> 00:57:55.780 see any of that on YouTube? Do they have any? 00:57:56.099 --> 00:57:59.139 Maybe. Yeah, our older daughter is an artist 00:57:59.139 --> 00:58:02.239 in Rotterdam, which is why we're there. And yeah, 00:58:02.360 --> 00:58:05.719 so she took us and it just opened and yeah, it 00:58:05.719 --> 00:58:09.639 was really moving. How wonderful. Do they do 00:58:09.639 --> 00:58:12.019 exhibits elsewhere or just there? They don't 00:58:12.019 --> 00:58:14.460 have like traveling exhibits, do they? I wouldn't. 00:58:15.000 --> 00:58:17.380 think so but I mean maybe they're connected there 00:58:17.380 --> 00:58:20.699 are other migration museums I've been to a couple 00:58:20.699 --> 00:58:24.280 you know it's a there's one in in Halifax um 00:58:24.280 --> 00:58:26.920 here in Canada but this is really quite extensive 00:58:26.920 --> 00:58:29.179 and it's quite a beautiful building so I'll just 00:58:29.179 --> 00:58:31.199 put that out there if people are interested well

00:58:31.199 --> 00:58:33.840 I'd love to see it maybe you could connect with 00:58:33.840 --> 00:58:37.119 them too yeah I would love to yeah I would love 00:58:37.119 --> 00:58:38.780 to that's wonderful thank you for sharing that 00:58:38.780 --> 00:58:41.019 yeah I mean these are the stories that connect 00:58:41.019 --> 00:58:44.800 us So speaking of having grown up on this narrow 00:58:44.800 --> 00:58:48.599 track, I did want to talk to you about your very 00:58:48.599 --> 00:58:50.639 renowned teacher, about your approach with your 00:58:50.639 --> 00:58:53.360 students, and if that differs from the way you 00:58:53.360 --> 00:58:56.239 were taught. Oh, absolutely not. Since I was 00:58:56.239 --> 00:59:00.239 six years old, I started playing the piano because 00:59:00.239 --> 00:59:04.420 we had a pet parakeet, Greenspot, and he died. 00:59:05.019 --> 00:59:11.179 It was my first loss. And my first concert... 00:59:12.200 --> 00:59:16.039 Coincidentally, I performed Robert Schumann's 00:59:16.039 --> 00:59:24.219 First Loss. And the story of my losing Green 00:59:24.219 --> 00:59:27.980 Spot came through the music. And that was the 00:59:27.980 --> 00:59:31.320 first time I can feel, I felt this connection 00:59:31.320 --> 00:59:34.320 with the audience. It was my first concert, but 00:59:34.320 --> 00:59:37.460 it was so powerful. And people, I was six and 00:59:37.460 --> 00:59:41.389 a half. People were crying. I was crying. And 00:59:41.389 --> 00:59:46.010 that was when I realized that I can tell stories 00:59:46.010 --> 00:59:48.550 through music. So when people ask me now, what 00:59:48.550 --> 00:59:50.809 do I do? I usually say one of two things. I'm 00:59:50.809 --> 00:59:53.929 a storyteller or a gap filler. Because when I 00:59:53.929 --> 00:59:57.190 find something that's missing, I like to fill 00:59:57.190 --> 01:00:02.280 it in. Like when New York City... Back in 2007, 01:00:02.659 --> 01:00:06.659 they cut back the music education programs in 01:00:06.659 --> 01:00:09.239 the public schools by $135 million. That's when 01:00:09.239 --> 01:00:11.239 I created my interactive classical music apps. 01:00:11.440 --> 01:00:14.179 And I went into schools like a door -to -door 01:00:14.179 --> 01:00:17.539 salesman. And people loved it. And teachers were 01:00:17.539 --> 01:00:20.539 using it for creative writing. And that was the 01:00:20.539 --> 01:00:23.239 first time I actually felt like I could do something 01:00:23.239 --> 01:00:25.320 that could make a difference as an individual 01:00:25.320 --> 01:00:32.460 artist. Really, when I started that young, every 01:00:32.460 --> 01:00:36.539 single piece of music I would create a story 01:00:36.539 --> 01:00:40.719 for. And that's what I teach my kids. That's 01:00:40.719 --> 01:00:45.000 what I teach my students. I ask them to connect 01:00:45.000 --> 01:00:49.199 with their music, their pieces, and tell me, 01:00:49.280 --> 01:00:55.139 what kind of story do they hear? And then, after 01:00:55.139 --> 01:00:57.619 they tell it to me verbally, I say, now tell 01:00:57.619 --> 01:01:03.860 it to me, playing it. And the difference is amazing. 01:01:04.119 --> 01:01:08.900 It's extraordinary. So with my teaching, Donna, 01:01:09.000 --> 01:01:11.659 I find like for me, this is more natural, but 01:01:11.659 --> 01:01:13.320 it isn't for a lot of students, but I don't want 01:01:13.320 --> 01:01:15.760 to feed them ideas. So, you know, but sometimes 01:01:15.760 --> 01:01:17.059 I'll say, well, I'll give you an example of what 01:01:17.059 --> 01:01:18.820 I would see, but then, you know what I mean? 01:01:18.840 --> 01:01:22.000 I find that hard. Oh, no, I think it's very good 01:01:22.000 --> 01:01:24.420 to give an example. I think it's very important 01:01:24.420 --> 01:01:27.019 to give examples. If they're struggling, because 01:01:27.019 --> 01:01:29.980 I teach a lot of students who are very shy. You 01:01:29.980 --> 01:01:32.780 know, I was very, very shy. The music opened 01:01:32.780 --> 01:01:36.719 doors for me. It opened the world to me. And 01:01:36.719 --> 01:01:40.340 it can do that for everybody. It can. You know, 01:01:40.360 --> 01:01:42.940 as a teacher one -on -one, you know this, we 01:01:42.940 --> 01:01:45.579 get to know our students so well, one -on -one 01:01:45.579 --> 01:01:48.440 every week. You know, and I teach them from... 01:01:48.750 --> 01:01:52.369 kindergarten all the way to college. So they 01:01:52.369 --> 01:01:56.110 become my extended family. And I know each one 01:01:56.110 --> 01:01:59.469 and what their capabilities are for how they 01:01:59.469 --> 01:02:02.489 can verbally express themselves. And I can also 01:02:02.489 --> 01:02:06.550 know, I know very well how they are receptive 01:02:06.550 --> 01:02:13.010 to my giving them an example. Some of the students, 01:02:13.050 --> 01:02:14.849 I don't have to. They come bubbling right out. 01:02:14.989 --> 01:02:18.380 Some of them... takes a little coaxing some of 01:02:18.380 --> 01:02:21.559 them want to hear from me so each student is 01:02:21.559 --> 01:02:25.320 different but the end result is always the same 01:02:25.320 --> 01:02:28.980 and once they get it they start thinking about 01:02:28.980 --> 01:02:34.199 music in those terms and and it's just it's just 01:02:34.199 --> 01:02:37.670 such a rewarding feeling when i see them performing 01:02:37.670 --> 01:02:40.610 and they're smiling they're not worried you know 01:02:40.610 --> 01:02:42.530 i tell them as long as you're prepared the hard 01:02:42.530 --> 01:02:45.449 work comes before when you're on that stage i 01:02:45.449 --> 01:02:47.590 don't care what you do i want you to enjoy it 01:02:47.590 --> 01:02:53.650 and think about your story i know so many musicians 01:02:53.650 --> 01:02:57.610 who never feel prepared talking about you know 01:02:57.610 --> 01:03:00.090 that imposter syndrome no matter how expert they 01:03:00.090 --> 01:03:03.190 are so

there's also that element how do you deal 01:03:03.190 --> 01:03:09.070 with that with students well I am very fastidious 01:03:09.070 --> 01:03:13.030 about practicing towards a performance, and I 01:03:13.030 --> 01:03:16.170 prepare them way in advance. I'm not the kind 01:03:16.170 --> 01:03:18.710 of teacher that will give them an assignment, 01:03:18.789 --> 01:03:21.590 a new piece, you know, a month before a performance. 01:03:21.809 --> 01:03:27.590 I will never, ever do that. I have a couple of 01:03:27.590 --> 01:03:31.730 students who are incredibly stage fright. Incredibly 01:03:31.730 --> 01:03:36.840 stage fright. So what I actually do... is I try 01:03:36.840 --> 01:03:41.280 to find out what triggers them. What is going 01:03:41.280 --> 01:03:44.059 on in their head when they're on stage that's 01:03:44.059 --> 01:03:46.260 different from when you're playing at home? I 01:03:46.260 --> 01:03:48.480 also explain to my students, and this is absolutely 01:03:48.480 --> 01:03:51.360 true for all of us, if you are performing really 01:03:51.360 --> 01:03:53.639 well at home, that doesn't mean you can do that 01:03:53.639 --> 01:03:56.340 on stage. Because the difference about being 01:03:56.340 --> 01:04:00.159 on stage is that you have that extra layer of 01:04:00.159 --> 01:04:02.739 awareness. When you're at home, you could be 01:04:02.739 --> 01:04:04.760 playing, you could be thinking about, you know, 01:04:05.179 --> 01:04:06.719 what you're going to have for dinner or your 01:04:06.719 --> 01:04:08.940 homework, and you could play perfectly. You could 01:04:08.940 --> 01:04:11.400 just be having fun and playing, but that's not 01:04:11.400 --> 01:04:15.480 being mentally aware. When you get on that stage 01:04:15.480 --> 01:04:18.260 and you look at the keyboard, sometimes you start 01:04:18.260 --> 01:04:19.960 thinking, I don't even know where middle C is. 01:04:21.119 --> 01:04:25.559 And that all comes from practicing. So you learn 01:04:25.559 --> 01:04:28.519 the piece. And I also tell my students, you don't 01:04:28.519 --> 01:04:31.340 have to memorize music. This is like something 01:04:31.340 --> 01:04:35.489 that is not, I don't think. a deal breaker to 01:04:35.489 --> 01:04:37.929 be a performer anymore. People go up there with 01:04:37.929 --> 01:04:41.309 their iPads. It's fine. It's what counts is how 01:04:41.309 --> 01:04:46.289 you project the music. And because of that, for 01:04:46.289 --> 01:04:49.349 some concerts, as a role model, I like to model 01:04:49.349 --> 01:04:52.030 for my students, so I use the music. I don't 01:04:52.030 --> 01:04:53.849 want that to be a taboo, and I don't want that 01:04:53.849 --> 01:04:56.969 to be the deal breaker. But you have to know 01:04:56.969 --> 01:04:59.369 the music. You can't sight -read it, right? So 01:04:59.369 --> 01:05:02.360 once... You've passed the test of actually learning 01:05:02.360 --> 01:05:05.059 the music and memorizing it. The most important 01:05:05.059 --> 01:05:08.960 thing is that awareness. How can you reproduce 01:05:08.960 --> 01:05:15.199 that at home? By videoing yourself. I record 01:05:15.199 --> 01:05:19.639 myself constantly. I record myself audio. I don't 01:05:19.639 --> 01:05:21.400 really care to see myself. I just want to hear 01:05:21.400 --> 01:05:23.840 it. But for the students, they like to video 01:05:23.840 --> 01:05:27.719 themselves. When you record yourself and then 01:05:27.719 --> 01:05:31.829 listen to yourself again, you become much more 01:05:31.829 --> 01:05:34.530 aware. When you're sitting there playing and 01:05:34.530 --> 01:05:36.829 you're recording, you become so much more aware. 01:05:37.829 --> 01:05:41.389 That level, that added layer of awareness really 01:05:41.389 --> 01:05:45.570 helps. And then the other thing that I've discovered 01:05:45.570 --> 01:05:48.570 with some of my students who have stage fright, 01:05:48.769 --> 01:05:53.949 who will play beautifully in lessons, easily 01:05:53.949 --> 01:05:59.929 at home, get on stage, and just blank out. I 01:05:59.929 --> 01:06:03.809 talk to them about what it is that's going on 01:06:03.809 --> 01:06:06.190 in their minds when they're playing on stage. 01:06:07.130 --> 01:06:11.949 And I said, this happens to so many people, and 01:06:11.949 --> 01:06:14.670 it's just a way for me to understand how their 01:06:14.670 --> 01:06:20.489 mind is working. And most of the time, they start 01:06:20.489 --> 01:06:23.309 thinking about how to practice, what they're 01:06:23.309 --> 01:06:28.230 practicing. And I tell them that... doesn't work 01:06:28.230 --> 01:06:34.050 on stage. So playing the piano has different 01:06:34.050 --> 01:06:39.610 degrees of learning and practicing. Practicing 01:06:39.610 --> 01:06:42.409 for practicing to learn. You have spot practicing 01:06:42.409 --> 01:06:46.550 to perfect sections. You have, you know, practicing 01:06:46.550 --> 01:06:48.869 to be able to play the entire piece from the 01:06:48.869 --> 01:06:51.869 beginning to the end, right? But once you're 01:06:51.869 --> 01:06:55.110 on that stage, it's not about thinking about 01:06:55.110 --> 01:06:58.219 the practicing. It's not about thinking about 01:06:58.219 --> 01:07:02.079 fingering. That'll kill you. It's about only 01:07:02.079 --> 01:07:07.380 one thing. The music. And how that makes you 01:07:07.380 --> 01:07:11.219 feel. The parts that make your heart sing or 01:07:11.219 --> 01:07:15.860 make your heart cry. You have to just be with 01:07:15.860 --> 01:07:20.119 the music. The motor control will kick in. Your 01:07:20.119 --> 01:07:24.760 absolute concentration and focus that you have 01:07:24.760 --> 01:07:31.099 practiced. hopefully recording yourself should 01:07:31.099 --> 01:07:34.099 kick in too. But you have to be in the mindset 01:07:34.099 --> 01:07:37.860 where it's the musical, the melodic line, and 01:07:37.860 --> 01:07:40.679 I also have to make sure that they practice

that 01:07:40.679 --> 01:07:43.219 they can start from many different parts of the 01:07:43.219 --> 01:07:45.519 piece. Really important because if you make a 01:07:45.519 --> 01:07:48.019 mistake, then you just find it. You don't fumble. 01:07:48.119 --> 01:07:51.019 You go find a place nearby and start. Nobody 01:07:51.019 --> 01:07:54.090 cares. That's another, you know, there's so many 01:07:54.090 --> 01:07:58.250 layers of practicing for performances. But knowing 01:07:58.250 --> 01:08:01.150 your music well enough that you can start anywhere. 01:08:01.610 --> 01:08:03.849 And also, you know, with these iPads, sometimes 01:08:03.849 --> 01:08:06.429 you turn two pages. It's like, you know, I don't 01:08:06.429 --> 01:08:08.949 use iPads on stage because it's just too much. 01:08:09.110 --> 01:08:12.170 But I do think that there are many, many ways 01:08:12.170 --> 01:08:15.829 to prepare students and anyone who wants to perform 01:08:15.829 --> 01:08:20.390 to get on that stage and have successful performances. 01:08:21.369 --> 01:08:23.350 Not perfect. There's no such thing as perfect. 01:08:23.590 --> 01:08:27.050 But success to me is that you come off enjoying 01:08:27.050 --> 01:08:30.189 yourself. You know, because why would you want 01:08:30.189 --> 01:08:36.930 to do it if you don't enjoy it? And you had mentioned 01:08:36.930 --> 01:08:39.789 your Heritage and Harmony, your Silver Linings 01:08:39.789 --> 01:08:45.090 album, beautiful album. Chinri Ng, the Cambodian 01:08:45.090 --> 01:08:47.010 -American composer, I had not heard about him 01:08:47.010 --> 01:08:50.520 before and I looked him up. He's extraordinary. 01:08:50.899 --> 01:08:53.859 And what is he now? Is he 90 or 80 something? 01:08:54.000 --> 01:08:56.920 He's an extraordinary composer. His whole life 01:08:56.920 --> 01:08:58.760 story. I mean, that's why I featured him with 01:08:58.760 --> 01:09:02.520 Heritage and Harmony on WQXR. It's amazing. Most 01:09:02.520 --> 01:09:07.500 of his family was killed during the Cambodian, 01:09:07.560 --> 01:09:13.399 you know. And if it wasn't because he was in 01:09:13.399 --> 01:09:17.140 Colombia and they offered him, you know, another. 01:09:18.859 --> 01:09:21.659 a reward to stay here and study, he would have 01:09:21.659 --> 01:09:25.739 been back there with his family. I mean, it's 01:09:25.739 --> 01:09:29.039 just an incredible story, but his music is stunning. 01:10:08.520 --> 01:10:11.939 Yeah, it's a really powerful album. And the soprano 01:10:11.939 --> 01:10:15.020 Indira Mahajan, yeah. So were you friends with 01:10:15.020 --> 01:10:22.640 her? In 2019, I had the miniseries with WQXR, 01:10:22.739 --> 01:10:27.159 Her Music, Her Story. And I co -created it with 01:10:27.159 --> 01:10:31.479 soprano Alison Charney. And so that... was about 01:10:31.479 --> 01:10:33.659 telling the stories sharing the stories of women 01:10:33.659 --> 01:10:35.979 composers past and present again it's because 01:10:35.979 --> 01:10:40.640 i did i looked up statistics and you know in 01:10:40.640 --> 01:10:43.220 the entire world less than three percent of the 01:10:43.220 --> 01:10:46.449 concert of the concerts We're programmed less 01:10:46.449 --> 01:10:49.529 than 3 % women composers. Maybe it was actually 01:10:49.529 --> 01:10:52.390 back then 1 .5%. Now it's gone all the way up 01:10:52.390 --> 01:10:55.630 to 3%. But anyway, so that's why I did that. 01:10:55.789 --> 01:10:59.810 And then we had a special program for the 4th 01:10:59.810 --> 01:11:07.069 of July. And we did a special tribute to women 01:11:07.069 --> 01:11:12.170 artists. And Allison invited Indira to join us. 01:11:12.210 --> 01:11:14.350 And that's when I became friends with Indira. 01:11:15.159 --> 01:11:19.000 And just the loveliest woman, beautiful voice. 01:11:19.319 --> 01:11:23.000 And I invited her to be on Heritage and Harmony, 01:11:23.079 --> 01:11:26.739 her art, her voice as well. So we became very 01:11:26.739 --> 01:11:30.720 good friends. And I wanted to do these two Florence 01:11:30.720 --> 01:11:34.199 Price songs with her on Silver Linings. So when 01:11:34.199 --> 01:11:39.079 you work with artists that you share, I always 01:11:39.079 --> 01:11:41.600 say we share the same heart. You know, a lot 01:11:41.600 --> 01:11:43.699 of artists, we have, you know, different styles. 01:11:44.180 --> 01:11:46.859 But if you have the same heart, if you feel the 01:11:46.859 --> 01:11:53.260 same passion for art and what's important in 01:11:53.260 --> 01:11:56.960 art, and that's the human connection to me, you 01:11:56.960 --> 01:11:59.359 know, not just playing fast notes. I mean, that's 01:11:59.359 --> 01:12:03.220 great. That's not what I look for. Then you create 01:12:03.220 --> 01:12:42.439 lifelong friendships and collaborations. I listened 01:12:42.439 --> 01:12:45.840 to your Quiet Poems album with music by Kim Sherman, 01:12:45.960 --> 01:12:48.079 solo piano. I really enjoyed that. But there's 01:12:48.079 --> 01:12:52.659 another companion. So the pieces that Kim wrote 01:12:52.659 --> 01:12:57.720 are part of her solo piano folio called Unfathomable 01:12:57.720 --> 01:13:00.659 Things. And there are a couple of sections to 01:13:00.659 --> 01:13:06.680 them. The first one is Quiet Poems, which I recorded. 01:13:06.840 --> 01:13:10.479 And the second one is Four Moods. So the idea 01:13:10.479 --> 01:13:15.859 also came out. Kim and I were friends. I commissioned 01:13:15.859 --> 01:13:23.880 a beautiful trio for soprano and violin and piano 01:13:23.880 --> 01:13:28.439 for Her Music, Her Story. So Alice and Johnny, 01:13:28.560 --> 01:13:31.380 the soprano who I created Her Music, Her Story, 01:13:31.579 --> 01:13:36.579 we commissioned this from Kim. And I loved her 01:13:36.579 --> 01:13:41.310 music so much that I said, you know, Kim, I think 01:13:41.310 --> 01:13:48.029 it would be great for music, solo piano, for 01:13:48.029 --> 01:13:52.529 older kids,

again, with the teens in mind. New 01:13:52.529 --> 01:13:57.109 music is something that I truly believe we are 01:13:57.109 --> 01:14:01.909 lacking in that age group. I teach at Manus Prep, 01:14:02.210 --> 01:14:07.569 and I sit on juries every single year, and sometimes 01:14:07.569 --> 01:14:10.659 they're required to play. a contemporary piece. 01:14:13.239 --> 01:14:16.520 I've heard every single one of Philip Glass's 01:14:16.520 --> 01:14:20.979 etudes like hundreds of times. There are more 01:14:20.979 --> 01:14:25.380 pieces in the contemporary repertoire, but not 01:14:25.380 --> 01:14:30.140 necessarily suited for younger people. So Kim's 01:14:30.140 --> 01:14:33.439 album is really for that, that another purpose. 01:14:33.500 --> 01:14:38.039 In fact, Four Moods was written for two of my 01:14:38.039 --> 01:14:41.939 students. She came into the piano lessons, she 01:14:41.939 --> 01:14:45.399 talked to them, she learned their style, and 01:14:45.399 --> 01:14:47.520 she wrote two piano pieces for each of them. 01:14:48.880 --> 01:14:51.239 And they were, you know, I think in seventh grade, 01:14:51.380 --> 01:14:53.699 eighth grade, ninth grade, that grade. So again, 01:14:53.819 --> 01:14:58.840 this is the idea that I have for trying to, you 01:14:58.840 --> 01:15:02.319 know, beef up the repertoire for that age group 01:15:02.319 --> 01:15:07.319 for new music. You know, her music is so beautiful. 01:15:07.479 --> 01:15:09.859 Very different from Stefania's. They both have, 01:15:09.920 --> 01:15:14.300 you know, incredible harmony. For quiet poems, 01:15:14.520 --> 01:15:21.600 I think she opens up this world of sound created 01:15:21.600 --> 01:15:24.489 by the piano, and it doesn't, it almost... It 01:15:24.489 --> 01:15:27.670 starts resonating in the piano. And then for 01:15:27.670 --> 01:15:31.210 the first one, it has this incredible glow. And 01:15:31.210 --> 01:15:34.369 then each one in Quiet Poems, there are three 01:15:34.369 --> 01:15:40.949 of them, she takes away the music part and adds 01:15:40.949 --> 01:15:44.710 more silence. And for the third one, even more 01:15:44.710 --> 01:15:47.930 silence. So the silence becomes so much part 01:15:47.930 --> 01:15:51.569 of the listening experience, which is so important. 01:15:52.590 --> 01:15:57.829 for students to learn. So she's extraordinary. 01:15:58.229 --> 01:16:01.010 She's a wonderful composer, a dear friend, and 01:16:01.010 --> 01:16:05.350 it was just so lovely to record those and I performed 01:16:05.350 --> 01:16:08.850 them. I had this series that I started called 01:16:08.850 --> 01:16:11.689 Five Composers and a Pianist where I perform 01:16:11.689 --> 01:16:15.810 solo music by five composers, women usually, 01:16:16.069 --> 01:16:20.949 and I invite all the composers after the concert 01:16:20.949 --> 01:16:23.739 to talk about their pieces with a panel discussion 01:16:23.739 --> 01:16:28.279 and it's been people love it and I love it but 01:16:28.279 --> 01:16:31.140 there's just so many hours in a day that I can 01:16:31.140 --> 01:16:34.199 pursue all these things but you know I will get 01:16:34.199 --> 01:16:36.119 around to another one another iteration soon 01:17:18.699 --> 01:17:20.819 I wanted to ask you, you had studied when you 01:17:20.819 --> 01:17:24.979 were younger with Radu Lupu. Oh, yeah. So I've 01:17:24.979 --> 01:17:27.500 been so privileged to having the greatest teachers 01:17:27.500 --> 01:17:30.159 from the very beginning, Julia Pre -College, 01:17:30.159 --> 01:17:32.500 Jean Rose, and then Leonard Eisner. They both 01:17:32.500 --> 01:17:36.199 passed away. And then my master's, Adele Marcus. 01:17:36.779 --> 01:17:40.640 In between, I studied at Fontainebleau with Nadi 01:17:40.640 --> 01:17:44.359 Boulanger, which was... An experience that I 01:17:44.359 --> 01:17:46.840 will never forget. It was the scariest experience, 01:17:46.899 --> 01:17:49.960 too, because she was scary. But it was extraordinary. 01:17:50.220 --> 01:17:53.880 She was the one who told me that I should go 01:17:53.880 --> 01:17:57.619 to as many voice recitals and master classes 01:17:57.619 --> 01:18:02.880 because all we are trying to be, every instrument 01:18:02.880 --> 01:18:10.399 should be like the human voice. And then I was... 01:18:11.470 --> 01:18:16.189 privileged to have been coached by Radu Lupu 01:18:16.189 --> 01:18:19.930 for my New York debut. And then from that point 01:18:19.930 --> 01:18:23.770 on, we became friends. My New York debut was 01:18:23.770 --> 01:18:29.729 at the 92nd Street Y. And I wanted to play Schubert. 01:18:29.909 --> 01:18:33.350 And I'd never performed a large Schubert work 01:18:33.350 --> 01:18:39.729 before. And I had this opportunity to meet Radu 01:18:39.729 --> 01:18:44.449 Lupu. And he said, okay, I'll come to your apartment. 01:18:44.569 --> 01:18:46.170 I was living in a studio back then. That was 01:18:46.170 --> 01:18:52.569 in, I think it was 1990, 90. My debut was in 01:18:52.569 --> 01:18:55.789 1991. And he said, but I can only stay for a 01:18:55.789 --> 01:18:57.850 little bit. I have interviews. He was in town 01:18:57.850 --> 01:19:01.369 to do one of his concerts, Carnegie and with 01:19:01.369 --> 01:19:03.729 the New York Philharmonic. So four o 'clock, 01:19:03.729 --> 01:19:05.750 he shows up and he says, okay, what would you 01:19:05.750 --> 01:19:08.170 like to play? He was doing this as a favor for 01:19:08.170 --> 01:19:12.960 a friend. And so I sat down and I played Bach's 01:19:12.960 --> 01:19:18.439 Decada. Now, Bach is probably my, you know, favorite 01:19:18.439 --> 01:19:21.800 composer that I would, desert island composer, 01:19:22.060 --> 01:19:25.779 you know, and I played, I played so much Bach 01:19:25.779 --> 01:19:28.899 and every single concert since I was little, 01:19:28.960 --> 01:19:31.359 every full concert, I would always start with 01:19:31.359 --> 01:19:34.699 Bach. So I'm very comfortable

with Bach. He doesn't 01:19:34.699 --> 01:19:37.739 perform Bach, but I said, what the heck? Do what 01:19:37.739 --> 01:19:39.560 you're good at. So I played the Bach, Ducat, 01:19:39.560 --> 01:19:43.439 and D major. And then afterwards, he looked at 01:19:43.439 --> 01:19:49.359 me and he said, well, I can come back later after 01:19:49.359 --> 01:19:53.859 my interview if you're interested. And I said, 01:19:53.880 --> 01:19:56.859 of course. And I said, what time? He said, well, 01:19:56.920 --> 01:19:59.479 I have that, and then I have to do something. 01:19:59.539 --> 01:20:05.770 And so maybe around 7 p .m. He said, okay. So 01:20:05.770 --> 01:20:09.289 he left and I was teaching. And at that time, 01:20:09.329 --> 01:20:11.550 you know, I was very young. I was going door 01:20:11.550 --> 01:20:15.810 to door. So if I, you know, I look back at my 01:20:15.810 --> 01:20:18.050 younger days and I'm thinking, what was I thinking? 01:20:18.170 --> 01:20:20.050 And I didn't cancel my students because I needed 01:20:20.050 --> 01:20:23.390 the money. So I went door to door, exhausting. 01:20:24.189 --> 01:20:28.010 It was wintertime because he always performs 01:20:28.010 --> 01:20:30.869 in January or February. And then I come back, 01:20:30.909 --> 01:20:34.560 come home. And two minutes later, he's at my 01:20:34.560 --> 01:20:39.239 door and he comes in. And he says to me, you 01:20:39.239 --> 01:20:43.380 know, I like your playing because you don't play 01:20:43.380 --> 01:20:47.159 gray. A lot of pianists play gray. I think that 01:20:47.159 --> 01:20:50.239 is the single greatest compliment of my life. 01:20:52.300 --> 01:20:55.460 He said so many pianists who are famous play 01:20:55.460 --> 01:20:59.310 gray. but you don't play gray. So we worked on 01:20:59.310 --> 01:21:01.369 the Schubert. He taught me so much about Schubert. 01:21:01.489 --> 01:21:03.970 And then I played other music for him. He played, 01:21:03.989 --> 01:21:09.109 we played music until 3 a .m. I was so grateful 01:21:09.109 --> 01:21:14.189 that my wonderful neighbors were always happy 01:21:14.189 --> 01:21:18.710 to hear music, even at that hour. And then after 01:21:18.710 --> 01:21:22.510 that, we ordered out food. I ordered, he's very 01:21:22.510 --> 01:21:25.899 kosher, so we, you know, no dairy, just locks 01:21:25.899 --> 01:21:28.520 and bagel, and then we started gossiping about 01:21:28.520 --> 01:21:31.880 pianists, and that was so much fun. And he told 01:21:31.880 --> 01:21:35.460 me about, you know, every pianist, I knew he 01:21:35.460 --> 01:21:40.159 knew what he thought, and how he thinks about 01:21:40.159 --> 01:21:42.199 his own playing, which is very interesting. He 01:21:42.199 --> 01:21:45.399 always said, you know, Murray Pariah is a much 01:21:45.399 --> 01:21:48.399 better pianist than me. And I said, well, maybe 01:21:48.399 --> 01:21:51.460 so, but you're the greatest artist. And that's 01:21:51.460 --> 01:21:54.500 how I always viewed him. He's not a piano player. 01:21:54.600 --> 01:21:57.779 He's not a pianist in the sense of the piano 01:21:57.779 --> 01:22:04.399 playing. What he creates is art. I've been to 01:22:04.399 --> 01:22:06.479 every single one of his concerts at Carnegie 01:22:06.479 --> 01:22:09.180 and at Avery Fisher, back then Avery Fisher. 01:22:09.699 --> 01:22:14.220 And I will always walk away with probably one 01:22:14.220 --> 01:22:17.319 of the most memorable experiences, more than 01:22:17.319 --> 01:22:23.680 any other artist. And he creates. that kind of 01:22:23.680 --> 01:22:29.739 emotional impact I think on all listeners so 01:22:29.739 --> 01:22:34.859 um yeah I've been very very very blessed and 01:22:34.859 --> 01:22:38.260 I am so grateful that I get to continue to do 01:22:38.260 --> 01:22:41.479 what I love and what I do what I love has expanded 01:22:41.479 --> 01:22:44.140 a little bit more you know from just playing 01:22:44.140 --> 01:22:47.039 the piano and teaching which I and of course 01:22:47.039 --> 01:22:50.220 that I'm grateful for too and for meeting so 01:22:50.220 --> 01:22:53.420 many extraordinary artists from all over the 01:22:53.420 --> 01:23:00.020 world, all disciplines. Every time I meet someone 01:23:00.020 --> 01:23:03.739 new, my world opens up a little bit more. And 01:23:03.739 --> 01:23:07.640 I think that's what makes life so beautiful, 01:23:07.739 --> 01:23:12.340 even during the times when, you know, things 01:23:12.340 --> 01:23:17.220 are not easy. Yeah. I was curious, Donna, you've 01:23:17.220 --> 01:23:22.409 had children who are now grown up. Yes. I was 01:23:22.409 --> 01:23:24.789 curious if that impacted your career. Did you 01:23:24.789 --> 01:23:27.930 make choices around being a mother? Yes. During 01:23:27.930 --> 01:23:32.130 the time when I was raising kids, I cut back 01:23:32.130 --> 01:23:36.529 on performing. So this is the interesting thing. 01:23:36.609 --> 01:23:40.390 I did cut back because I didn't want to travel 01:23:40.390 --> 01:23:43.609 without them. I don't like traveling anyway. 01:23:44.460 --> 01:23:47.460 I really never liked touring, and I toured Europe, 01:23:47.739 --> 01:23:50.640 South America, China. It's a very lonely profession 01:23:50.640 --> 01:23:54.939 for a pianist. I think some people are more acclimated 01:23:54.939 --> 01:23:57.260 to it. For me, it was going from the airport, 01:23:57.579 --> 01:24:02.699 hotel, rehearsal, hotel, concert, hotel, airport. 01:24:02.920 --> 01:24:06.300 I love the audiences, of course, and I love meeting 01:24:06.300 --> 01:24:10.260 people afterwards. But I miss my family, I miss 01:24:10.260 --> 01:24:13.180 my home, and the traveling, it wore me down. 01:24:13.300 --> 01:24:18.840 I was very lucky to have one concert in Florida, 01:24:18.899 --> 01:24:22.420 in Flagler Museum, where the great pianist Shura 01:24:22.420 --> 01:24:27.220 Tchaikovsky attended. And he loved my playing, 01:24:27.300 --> 01:24:33.520

and we became friends. He said, touring is not 01:24:33.520 --> 01:24:39.329 for everybody. Radu Lupu hates, hated it. You 01:24:39.329 --> 01:24:43.010 know, Shura says he does it because he has to. 01:24:44.210 --> 01:24:47.710 But it does take a certain kind of personality 01:24:47.710 --> 01:24:51.689 to be able to do it year in, year out. So when 01:24:51.689 --> 01:24:55.069 I had my kids, I became known as the vacation 01:24:55.069 --> 01:24:58.909 pianist. I would take my family with me. Winter 01:24:58.909 --> 01:25:01.829 break, I would perform in St. John's, you know. 01:25:02.899 --> 01:25:07.060 Flagler and Palm Beach. So I managed to do that. 01:25:07.199 --> 01:25:11.760 And then it turns out one of the parents at the 01:25:11.760 --> 01:25:14.579 same school that my kids went to, Trinity, was 01:25:14.579 --> 01:25:17.539 Carter Bray, the principal cellist of New York 01:25:17.539 --> 01:25:22.840 Philharmonic. And we did a benefit concert together 01:25:22.840 --> 01:25:26.039 for Trinity. And we got along so well. We played 01:25:26.039 --> 01:25:28.000 so well together that we started doing more concerts. 01:25:29.500 --> 01:25:32.100 So I went with him and we did some concerts at 01:25:32.100 --> 01:25:35.680 Northwestern. And I told him that I'd like to 01:25:35.680 --> 01:25:38.640 bring the kids. So he was very sweet. He scheduled 01:25:38.640 --> 01:25:41.680 it during our breaks. It was a lot of fun. Then 01:25:41.680 --> 01:25:44.399 we did a lot of tri -state concerts. So that 01:25:44.399 --> 01:25:51.079 was really wonderful for me to keep playing in 01:25:51.079 --> 01:25:55.180 New York. How lucky was I that I could play in 01:25:55.180 --> 01:25:59.270 New York City? And at the, you know, while at 01:25:59.270 --> 01:26:03.390 Merkin, at Lincoln Center, I was the pianist 01:26:03.390 --> 01:26:06.409 also for St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble with Carter, 01:26:06.430 --> 01:26:09.970 with these incredible artists, you know, like 01:26:09.970 --> 01:26:13.050 a part -time pianist, but full -time mom. How 01:26:13.050 --> 01:26:15.670 lucky could that be? And then when I created 01:26:15.670 --> 01:26:19.409 my classical music apps, Carter recorded with 01:26:19.409 --> 01:26:22.890 me. These were apps that I made stories, again, 01:26:22.989 --> 01:26:28.220 stories to music. short pieces of classical music. 01:26:28.439 --> 01:26:31.340 Carter recorded The Swan with me. Liz Mann, the 01:26:31.340 --> 01:26:34.279 principal flutist for St. Luke's Orchestra, recorded 01:26:34.279 --> 01:26:38.760 Flight of the Bumblebee. Claire de Lune, we recorded 01:26:38.760 --> 01:26:40.579 it, had it animated. The drawings were based 01:26:40.579 --> 01:26:42.899 on my daughter's drawings, who is a great artist. 01:26:43.199 --> 01:26:45.739 And it was recorded and produced by David Frost, 01:26:45.979 --> 01:26:50.140 who has won 25 Grammys now. And he's a dear friend 01:26:50.140 --> 01:26:52.859 of mine from Juilliard. And we created these 01:26:52.859 --> 01:26:55.100 apps. I was one of the first apps on iTunes. 01:26:56.410 --> 01:26:59.729 But I didn't know how to do it. So again, it 01:26:59.729 --> 01:27:03.270 took me two years to learn. Is this the Music 01:27:03.270 --> 01:27:05.189 Bee Club? Is that the one? Yes, that's right. 01:27:05.470 --> 01:27:08.529 So what happened, and it was beautiful, but I 01:27:08.529 --> 01:27:11.289 didn't know anything about grants back then. 01:27:11.369 --> 01:27:13.390 So I funded everything myself, and it was so 01:27:13.390 --> 01:27:16.630 expensive. So after three of them, I had to stop. 01:27:16.829 --> 01:27:20.270 But I did go from school to school, as I mentioned 01:27:20.270 --> 01:27:24.140 before, like a door -to -door salesman. showed 01:27:24.140 --> 01:27:26.619 the apps on the big white boards and it was just 01:27:26.619 --> 01:27:30.180 wonderful the kids loved it but how lucky was 01:27:30.180 --> 01:27:34.119 i to be in this music world with the top artists 01:27:34.119 --> 01:27:37.180 being able to do this while i was raising my 01:27:37.180 --> 01:27:39.779 own kids that's why i made these apps because 01:27:39.779 --> 01:27:44.979 my kids grew up with music and the idea that 01:27:44.979 --> 01:27:48.920 music classes were being cut to these communities 01:27:48.920 --> 01:27:52.220 where that's where they get their music i couldn't 01:27:52.439 --> 01:27:56.119 take it. That was just too much. And you've put 01:27:56.119 --> 01:27:58.560 out several beautiful albums of sonatas with 01:27:58.560 --> 01:28:01.800 Carter Bray that people can listen to. And I'm 01:28:01.800 --> 01:28:04.140 curious about his career because he was a soloist 01:28:04.140 --> 01:28:06.460 for a long time before he became principal of 01:28:06.460 --> 01:28:08.619 New York Philharmonic. Yes, he was, you know, 01:28:08.659 --> 01:28:12.920 he is, was, will always be my favorite cellist. 01:28:13.680 --> 01:28:16.319 There's just nobody plays like him, plus the 01:28:16.319 --> 01:28:18.880 nicest person. That's the other thing about great 01:28:18.880 --> 01:28:21.500 artists. The greater the artist, the greater 01:28:21.500 --> 01:28:26.819 the person. That is just such a wonderful gift 01:28:26.819 --> 01:28:29.960 to have, to know extraordinary artists who are 01:28:29.960 --> 01:28:32.779 such wonderful people and who have been part 01:28:32.779 --> 01:28:36.300 of my life for so many years and continue our 01:28:36.300 --> 01:28:40.239 friendships, our collaborations. It's extraordinary. 01:28:40.340 --> 01:28:45.779 And Carter is retiring. I went to the concert 01:28:45.779 --> 01:28:50.239 artist's tribute to him and Anne -Marie McDermott, 01:28:50.340 --> 01:28:52.579 which is beautiful, just beautiful. And they're 01:28:52.579 --> 01:28:55.140 both such deserving artists. They've given so 01:28:55.140 --> 01:28:57.979 much to the world, but they will continue and 01:28:57.979 --> 01:29:03.060 Carter will continue,

but on his terms now. So 01:29:03.060 --> 01:29:05.060 Donna, in terms of upcoming projects, so you 01:29:05.060 --> 01:29:07.039 have your Joy Lot Trio. We talked about the couple 01:29:07.039 --> 01:29:09.539 of films you want to make. Are there other upcoming 01:29:09.539 --> 01:29:11.579 projects you want to talk about that are exciting? 01:29:12.399 --> 01:29:15.619 There are a couple, but they're in the very beginning 01:29:15.619 --> 01:29:18.859 stages. So I will have to have another conversation 01:29:18.859 --> 01:29:20.960 with you at another time. But there's always 01:29:20.960 --> 01:29:23.699 something, because every time I meet someone 01:29:23.699 --> 01:29:27.979 new and interesting, there's always that little 01:29:27.979 --> 01:29:32.439 flashbulb that lights up. Every time I read about 01:29:32.439 --> 01:29:35.739 something that's upsetting to me, that a community 01:29:35.739 --> 01:29:42.140 or something is missing somewhere, And if I can 01:29:42.140 --> 01:29:46.199 do something to fill in that little gap in my 01:29:46.199 --> 01:29:51.399 own way and at least raise awareness for it in 01:29:51.399 --> 01:29:56.279 my own small way, then I start that process of 01:29:56.279 --> 01:29:57.899 thinking. And it takes me a little while, like 01:29:57.899 --> 01:30:01.319 microvids. One thing led to the next, to the 01:30:01.319 --> 01:30:04.199 next, to the next. And I created these videos 01:30:04.199 --> 01:30:07.420 for microvids. Besides, after Silent Cry, I said, 01:30:07.439 --> 01:30:10.609 oh, I'm going to do them for other... uh miniatures 01:30:10.609 --> 01:30:12.869 and they've all you know they're they give me 01:30:12.869 --> 01:30:14.350 a lot of pleasure and they've done very well 01:30:14.350 --> 01:30:19.390 too uh so yeah there's they're always i think 01:30:19.390 --> 01:30:21.189 i people always ask me when are you going to 01:30:21.189 --> 01:30:23.470 retire you know i have friends who are retired 01:30:23.470 --> 01:30:28.010 um and they travel and you know why should i 01:30:28.010 --> 01:30:31.729 retire when i love what i do so much i i doubt 01:30:31.729 --> 01:30:33.630 you know many musicians who are fully retired 01:30:33.630 --> 01:30:37.149 no i think we're so blessed So Donna, thanks 01:30:37.149 --> 01:30:39.470 so much for this today. It was just such an honor 01:30:39.470 --> 01:30:42.010 and a pleasure to meet you. Well, thank you for 01:30:42.010 --> 01:30:46.489 spending time and asking wonderful questions 01:30:46.489 --> 01:30:49.689 and for caring about independent artists and 01:30:49.689 --> 01:30:52.789 music. It's so important and I applaud everything 01:30:52.789 --> 01:30:56.409 that you do to shine a light on our incredible 01:30:56.409 --> 01:31:01.010 community. Thank you so much. Thanks. I hope 01:31:01.010 --> 01:31:03.550 you enjoyed this episode. Keep in mind, I've 01:31:03.550 --> 01:31:06.029 also linked directly several episodes you'll 01:31:06.029 --> 01:31:08.050 find interesting in the show notes of this one. 01:31:08.550 --> 01:31:10.710 Please do share this with your friends and check 01:31:10.710 --> 01:31:13.470 out episodes you may have missed at leahrosewin 01:31:13.470 --> 01:31:16.270 .com. If you could buy me a coffee to support 01:31:16.270 --> 01:31:18.750 this series, that would be wonderful. I'm an 01:31:18.750 --> 01:31:21.229 independent podcaster and I really do need the 01:31:21.229 --> 01:31:23.729 help of my listeners. All the links are in the 01:31:23.729 --> 01:31:26.189 show notes. The podcast theme music was written 01:31:26.189 --> 01:31:28.310 by Nick Cold. Have a wonderful week.