Today, March 31, 2011, is Listen for Life's (www.listenforlife.org) thirteenth birthday, and from its vast store of proprietary music content it is celebrating with videos from around the world, all of which help with its mission to preserve music everywhere.
If you're not familiar with Listen for Life, check out its website (www.listenforlife.org) and its YouTube channel videos (www.listenforlife.org/youtube).
YOU'VE GOT TO Check out our YOUTUBE channel!! www.listenforlife.org/youtube
Find out what we're all about and say hi!
Find us at Facebook too: www.facebook.com/listenforlife
Follow us at Twitter: http://twitter.com/listenforlife
Listen for Life is a hybrid social venture organization. We are a global family of music listeners and music performers, working together to restore music as a unifying force for good worldwide. We focus our efforts on classical, world, traditional, native/ethnic, cross-cultural or acoustic instrument styles. We have thus far had projects, programs, productions or volunteers in 45 countries, and impacted the lives of 9 million people. Our projects are designed to use music in unique ways that will meet particular needs of each specific location or community.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Listen for Life is looking for Interns/Volunteers in the Los Angeles region!
Listen for Life is looking for Interns/Volunteers in the Los Angeles region! Interviews near airport (LAX), Feb 10-12.
Listen for Life (www.listenforlife.org) is a hybrid social venture organization. We are a global family of music listeners and music performers, working together to restore music as a unifying force for good worldwide. We focus our efforts on classical, world, traditional, native/ethnic, cross-cultural or acoustic instrument styles. We have thus far had projects, programs, productions or volunteers in 45 countries, and impacted the lives of 9 million people. Our projects are designed to use music in unique ways that will meet particular needs of each specific location or community. We are launching some projects in the LA area that will require on-the-ground volunteers or interns, and we are also looking for cyber-volunteers that can help our global projects online from anywhere.
We are going to be coming to Los Angeles this week to hold 3 days of interviews with any interested individuals age 18-98. You do not need to be a musician - just love music and believe in its power to effect positive change in your own life and in your own community.
SOME of the skills we need could include:
We also welcome potential interested board (or advisory board) members to apply.
If you are retired or currently under-employed and would like to share your skills, knowledge, expertise and time - or learn a new skill while volunteering for a cause that helps many other causes all at once - then please contact us via email to send your resume and set up an interview slot for later this week - interviews will be conducted at a hotel near LAX airport. If you have friends who would like to be involved in something, but do not have email access, just phones, those friends can come along with you.
Thank you!
Donna Stoering [Founder and Artistic Director, Listen for Life]
dstoering@listenforlife.org
Listen for Life (www.listenforlife.org) is a hybrid social venture organization. We are a global family of music listeners and music performers, working together to restore music as a unifying force for good worldwide. We focus our efforts on classical, world, traditional, native/ethnic, cross-cultural or acoustic instrument styles. We have thus far had projects, programs, productions or volunteers in 45 countries, and impacted the lives of 9 million people. Our projects are designed to use music in unique ways that will meet particular needs of each specific location or community. We are launching some projects in the LA area that will require on-the-ground volunteers or interns, and we are also looking for cyber-volunteers that can help our global projects online from anywhere.
We are going to be coming to Los Angeles this week to hold 3 days of interviews with any interested individuals age 18-98. You do not need to be a musician - just love music and believe in its power to effect positive change in your own life and in your own community.
SOME of the skills we need could include:
- Webmaster(s)
- Web designer
- social media gurus
- people-skilled persons to represent us in one-to-one meetings with city officials or in phone calls
- grant researcher(s)
- grant writers
- PR
- marketing - both locally and internationally
- videographers
- audio recording interns
- audio/video editors
- digital graphics artists/interns
- cultural anthropology and/or ethnomusicology research students for our upcoming educational productions
- copy writers
- data entry volunteers
- admin assistants for specific projects or time periods
- performer liaisons
- event planners
- event producers
- video production assistants
- event production assistants
- lobbyists
- CD duplicating, cover designers
- fundraising advisors/assistants
- social mavens to help liaise with potential individual donors
- accountant
- bookkeeper(s)
- financial oversight/CPA
- languages/translation/interpreters
- volunteer coordinator
We also welcome potential interested board (or advisory board) members to apply.
If you are retired or currently under-employed and would like to share your skills, knowledge, expertise and time - or learn a new skill while volunteering for a cause that helps many other causes all at once - then please contact us via email to send your resume and set up an interview slot for later this week - interviews will be conducted at a hotel near LAX airport. If you have friends who would like to be involved in something, but do not have email access, just phones, those friends can come along with you.
Thank you!
Donna Stoering [Founder and Artistic Director, Listen for Life]
dstoering@listenforlife.org
Monday, November 1, 2010
Baseball and Brahms, World Series vs. World Music
As I write this our Bay Area team the San Francisco Giants have just this moment won the 2010 World Series. Their road to the playoffs against all odds and all predictions made an interested fan out of me (and thousands of others, no doubt). I know I am a relative beginner in appreciating all of the finer points of baseball, while lots of musicians have probably been knowledgeable, passionate fans of the game for decades or more. So I am wondering how many musicians, like me, have noticed the intriguing parallels that can be drawn between baseball and music in terms of psychology, personal highs/lows, practicing, performing, competing, strategy, choices that have to be made.....not to mention muscular coordination and skills required, whether an individual is having an "off day" or not.......
Regarding that last point, for example, the sports announcers would comment on how some pitchers "didn't have" all of their pitches at their disposal on a given night so they had to choose which pitches they could rely on for that game. How many of us performers walk onto a stage to commence a concert sometimes feeling like we wish we could change one of the pieces on the program because for whatever reason in our pre-concert rehearsal we found that our body just wasn't "in the zone" on a particular technique required by that piece, or our mood isn't readily connecting with one of the works we had chosen to program months or years previously. It's kind of reassuring to know that major athletes don't always have their bodies cooperating either, but at least they aren't always forced to include their less-confident pitch all night, regardless!
But that is just one example.....the analogies between a sports team and an orchestra have been drawn up by hundreds before me, so I don't need to go there, and in fact since I am not an orchestral player my thoughts did not tend to go in that direction very often as I struggled to tear myself away from solo piano rehearsals to watch snippets of each World Series game this week. It was the duel between the pitchers that fascinated me the most, and it was the young catcher Buster Posey that impressed me the most. But in general I was most emotionally drawn by the personal conflicts sometimes going on within each of the individual team players when at bat or in the outfield, as they struggled to perform at the top of their potential in every inning and every game. I also loved the humility with which every single one of them, when interviewed after any game, would compliment and thank the other players and never answered the reporter's questions with an "I" response, regardless of how the question was phrased and even when they had truly done some incredible feats individually.
I have always been horrified by the amount of money that is paid to major league players in any sport, and I still am. But what came across in watching this particular team, time and time again, with both the older players and the (many) unbelievable rookies, was the obvious joy with which they played baseball, using all of their gifts to the absolute maximum. I honestly don't think they were thinking about their pay or comparing themselves (negatively or positively) with their teammates or the opposition in terms of talents or in pay scales. They were blest with particular gifts and talents, and they knew how fortunate they were to be able to use those talents to give enjoyment and uplift to many many others who could only watch. When one has done something since childhood, as many music performers no doubt have, it could probably be easy to start taking things for granted sometimes and so whether as performers or teachers of budding artists, we need to think about ways to keep that appreciation of our gifts and our opportunities alive, never taking them for granted. I remember that once we were producing a world music concert and one of the performers was a bit nervous. Before the concert began I happened to notice a person in the audience who was in a wheelchair and had a 'hook" on one arm as an "artificial hand".....I remarked to the musicians that that audience member was not thinking about whether we were nervous or not - he/she was probably thinking that they would give anything to be able to play at all, and that our joyful task was to play in that person's place and to express for them what they could not do in a physical way but might feel very passionately about in their ears, mind and heart.
But I digress......back to the Giants and the World Series: None of the players were absolutely perfect throughout the series, and even if they were individually having an "off night" or an "off week" where nothing went right, they could remind themselves that they were still the ones chosen to be in that place on that ball diamond on that night and not someone else, and the humiliation of being so obviously human (as in, imperfect) in front of millions, would have to be the price that one sometimes has to pay for the gift. At least, I hope they understood that. I know I am a lot harder on myself than that when I am on stage, and I suspect most of us are. So from now on I will just have to remember Baseball and the night that a team of so-called "individualists' and "misfits" that had not played nearly as well (individually or collectively) as other teams had earlier in the season, won the World Championship - by working, playing, and sharing their gifts - with perseverance, determination, and Joy.
Regarding that last point, for example, the sports announcers would comment on how some pitchers "didn't have" all of their pitches at their disposal on a given night so they had to choose which pitches they could rely on for that game. How many of us performers walk onto a stage to commence a concert sometimes feeling like we wish we could change one of the pieces on the program because for whatever reason in our pre-concert rehearsal we found that our body just wasn't "in the zone" on a particular technique required by that piece, or our mood isn't readily connecting with one of the works we had chosen to program months or years previously. It's kind of reassuring to know that major athletes don't always have their bodies cooperating either, but at least they aren't always forced to include their less-confident pitch all night, regardless!
But that is just one example.....the analogies between a sports team and an orchestra have been drawn up by hundreds before me, so I don't need to go there, and in fact since I am not an orchestral player my thoughts did not tend to go in that direction very often as I struggled to tear myself away from solo piano rehearsals to watch snippets of each World Series game this week. It was the duel between the pitchers that fascinated me the most, and it was the young catcher Buster Posey that impressed me the most. But in general I was most emotionally drawn by the personal conflicts sometimes going on within each of the individual team players when at bat or in the outfield, as they struggled to perform at the top of their potential in every inning and every game. I also loved the humility with which every single one of them, when interviewed after any game, would compliment and thank the other players and never answered the reporter's questions with an "I" response, regardless of how the question was phrased and even when they had truly done some incredible feats individually.
I have always been horrified by the amount of money that is paid to major league players in any sport, and I still am. But what came across in watching this particular team, time and time again, with both the older players and the (many) unbelievable rookies, was the obvious joy with which they played baseball, using all of their gifts to the absolute maximum. I honestly don't think they were thinking about their pay or comparing themselves (negatively or positively) with their teammates or the opposition in terms of talents or in pay scales. They were blest with particular gifts and talents, and they knew how fortunate they were to be able to use those talents to give enjoyment and uplift to many many others who could only watch. When one has done something since childhood, as many music performers no doubt have, it could probably be easy to start taking things for granted sometimes and so whether as performers or teachers of budding artists, we need to think about ways to keep that appreciation of our gifts and our opportunities alive, never taking them for granted. I remember that once we were producing a world music concert and one of the performers was a bit nervous. Before the concert began I happened to notice a person in the audience who was in a wheelchair and had a 'hook" on one arm as an "artificial hand".....I remarked to the musicians that that audience member was not thinking about whether we were nervous or not - he/she was probably thinking that they would give anything to be able to play at all, and that our joyful task was to play in that person's place and to express for them what they could not do in a physical way but might feel very passionately about in their ears, mind and heart.
But I digress......back to the Giants and the World Series: None of the players were absolutely perfect throughout the series, and even if they were individually having an "off night" or an "off week" where nothing went right, they could remind themselves that they were still the ones chosen to be in that place on that ball diamond on that night and not someone else, and the humiliation of being so obviously human (as in, imperfect) in front of millions, would have to be the price that one sometimes has to pay for the gift. At least, I hope they understood that. I know I am a lot harder on myself than that when I am on stage, and I suspect most of us are. So from now on I will just have to remember Baseball and the night that a team of so-called "individualists' and "misfits" that had not played nearly as well (individually or collectively) as other teams had earlier in the season, won the World Championship - by working, playing, and sharing their gifts - with perseverance, determination, and Joy.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Catching up - and a frantic reflection on Peace
So....Peace Day 2010 has now come and gone, and after a year of work in the build-up to those events, we thought we would now be taking a short breather - but things at Listen for Life seem to be even faster-paced (and therefore less peaceful? or maybe not) than before!
My last blog entry was written from Europe, so a little catch-up report and reflection might be necessary:
In mid-September I was honored to give UN Peace Day-related performances in Croatia, Bosnia, and in England, before returning to Oakland California 2 days prior to Listen for Life's inaugural launch of Peace Day events for our home city. None of us knew what to expect from our 1st Annual (we hope) Festival for Peace in Oakland, in terms of audience turn-out, reaction to the scheduled programs and events we'd put together, any press attendance/coverage, or the overall response to our year of work on the part of the city, the participant listeners and performers, or the dedicated volunteers who helped us dramatically in the final 24-hour push after my return.
In the end, the day (and its aftermath) has been an absolute roller-coaster of emotions, reactions, and energy levels, for all of us....a "top ten" list of those emotions might read as follows:
1. Urgency: In the hours prior to Peace Day we had been offered the opportunity to place musicians in yet another additional venue which was in an important downtown location, so on September 21st after 3 hours asleep we awoke at dawn to create last-minute flyers that volunteers then handed out to nearby office workers, city hall employees, and passers-by in an attempt to draw an audience there unannounced.
2. Gratitude: Busy with that urgent task, I couldn't get the chance to visit a city senior center/shelter and soup kitchen where one of our musicians James Brooks (JB) was meanwhile serenading the elderly guests with songs of their era, but I heard later from the staff there that everyone loved his suave voice and outgoing, friendly participation in their Peace Day activities so much that they are begging him to come back on a regular basis - and he has generously agreed!
3. Excitement: Thanks to the proactive work of one of our enthusiastic senior volunteers, another senior center in town picked up the Peace Day purpose in a big way and had an entire day of activities including a meaningful drum circle where the Alzheimers patients, especially, were a huge success!
4. Surprise (and gratitude): Some press showed up! So did our wonderful ally at the Special Events commission, Jim McIlvaine, who gave us tremendous encouragement and moral support in trying to "put Oakland on the map for a positive reason" over our last 11 months of work. And so did our equally supportive and very active city councilwoman Nancy Nadel, who was kind enough to respond when I spontaneously invited her to come up to the mic and speak to the audience and press with me, in front of City Hall, about the year-round significance of Peace Day for our city. Her words were very moving and exactly on target - I couldn't have hoped for more, if we had planned it!
5. Dismay: despite the hard work of our Listen for Life team and volunteers over many previous weeks/months and the assistance of seasoned PR professionals on our team - contacting newspapers, radio, TV, online Oakland blogs, and printing/distributing over 7,000 color flyers that listed all of the venues for free music concerts throughout the city - we learned the hard way just how challenging it can be to start something new! We had been warned that when looking at all of the really big, successful music festivals or city celebrations in any community, it is easy to forget that in their first one or two years, very few people knew about it or participated. These things apparently take a long while to spread by word of mouth, and some people wait to see the quality of the event and the artists in the first year or two before getting involved. But that didn't alter the feelings of exhausted disappointment while surveying the smaller-than-hoped-for crowds at each of our venues on the day, we have to admit!
6. Joy (and gratitude): The musicians, at every single one of the venues, were absolutely incredible! And they played with heart regardless of the number of people in their audience. I felt so gratified that these nationally and internationally renowned performers had all agreed so freely to come out for Listen for Life on a weeknight and donate their time - and amazing talents- in an attempt to build something positive and new for the citizens of Oakland through the sharing of cross-cultural music. It was wonderful to watch the joy that they gave to their listeners, and it was even more wonderful to see the musicians stay to listen to each other perform, create new friendships amongst each other, and discuss future jam sessions combining their instruments and cultures. This was an unplanned but very important result from the year of planning!
7. Pride: Listen for Life was proud to have the support of so many fantastic musicians for this cause that we could create non-stop cross-cultural music programs at several different simultaneous venues across Oakland. And without exception, at each of those venues, every audience member asked our volunteers if those particular musicians would be back next year, saying that they had never, ever heard such incredible musicians perform, all under one roof, and all for free. They also thanked us for creating such a nice way to raise awareness of the message and meaning of Peace Day for Oakland.........
8. Relief: So......the musicians all thought it was fantastic, and I am humbled that so many of these world-class musicians have taken the time to write us thank-you notes (for letting them share their gifts for free?!), saying what a wonderful experience it was and how appreciative the audiences were and to definitely put them down for "next year" .....the venue administrators have all written to say how impressed they were the performances and how gratified they felt to be part of this inaugural Festival for Peace in their city, and to please put them down for "next year" (adding that they promise to help more with publicity-sigh)......the volunteers and press have all told us they thought it was a huge success......
9. Exhaustion: (compounded with jet lag, and regret about lack of TV or radio coverage, but enough said....)
10. Discovery: We have learned a tremendous amount. We started this process a year ago at the request of UN-related organizations in Geneva that have asked Listen for Life to create music festivals or concert performances around the world to raise awareness of the UN Millennium Development Goals and/or of UN Peace Day. We already knew that some of our musicians would be performing in Peace Day-related events in various countries, like my concerts performances in Croatia, Bosnia, and the UK. But we looked around our US headquarters in Oakland and thought about the tremendous positive impact that the celebration of Peace Day - and the use of cross-cultural music to create that celebration - could have on this city. If we had known how much work it would take over an entire year, for our very small Oakland based team of volunteers - in the midst of our many other separate and simultaneous projects like the MusicMessage Campaign and Notes for Nourishment and the Travels with Music production series - I do not know if we would have started. But once we started, our team became "the little engine that could". When one of us got discouraged with the lack of resources or hours in a day, another person would jump in with energy and enthusiasm. We took turns encouraging each other and sharing tips on how to stay awake on long nights of work! But in the end, what we have realized is that OUR mission is to the MUSICIANS. Pure and simple.
------------------------
As for me, I have spent the days since Peace Day trying to play catch-up with some of the other Listen for Life projects, including upcoming Notes for Nourishment concerts in Hawaii November 15-22 and in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia November 28-December 8.
But meanwhile, Listen for Life musicians Winnie Wong (China) and Vanessa Vo (Vietnam) are combining forces (and cultures) in a very rare duo concert later this month in San Francisco so our immediate project is to help with the PR and get the word out about that - so please stay tuned! [Please see this post for full concert details!]
My last blog entry was written from Europe, so a little catch-up report and reflection might be necessary:
In mid-September I was honored to give UN Peace Day-related performances in Croatia, Bosnia, and in England, before returning to Oakland California 2 days prior to Listen for Life's inaugural launch of Peace Day events for our home city. None of us knew what to expect from our 1st Annual (we hope) Festival for Peace in Oakland, in terms of audience turn-out, reaction to the scheduled programs and events we'd put together, any press attendance/coverage, or the overall response to our year of work on the part of the city, the participant listeners and performers, or the dedicated volunteers who helped us dramatically in the final 24-hour push after my return.
In the end, the day (and its aftermath) has been an absolute roller-coaster of emotions, reactions, and energy levels, for all of us....a "top ten" list of those emotions might read as follows:
1. Urgency: In the hours prior to Peace Day we had been offered the opportunity to place musicians in yet another additional venue which was in an important downtown location, so on September 21st after 3 hours asleep we awoke at dawn to create last-minute flyers that volunteers then handed out to nearby office workers, city hall employees, and passers-by in an attempt to draw an audience there unannounced.
2. Gratitude: Busy with that urgent task, I couldn't get the chance to visit a city senior center/shelter and soup kitchen where one of our musicians James Brooks (JB) was meanwhile serenading the elderly guests with songs of their era, but I heard later from the staff there that everyone loved his suave voice and outgoing, friendly participation in their Peace Day activities so much that they are begging him to come back on a regular basis - and he has generously agreed!
3. Excitement: Thanks to the proactive work of one of our enthusiastic senior volunteers, another senior center in town picked up the Peace Day purpose in a big way and had an entire day of activities including a meaningful drum circle where the Alzheimers patients, especially, were a huge success!
4. Surprise (and gratitude): Some press showed up! So did our wonderful ally at the Special Events commission, Jim McIlvaine, who gave us tremendous encouragement and moral support in trying to "put Oakland on the map for a positive reason" over our last 11 months of work. And so did our equally supportive and very active city councilwoman Nancy Nadel, who was kind enough to respond when I spontaneously invited her to come up to the mic and speak to the audience and press with me, in front of City Hall, about the year-round significance of Peace Day for our city. Her words were very moving and exactly on target - I couldn't have hoped for more, if we had planned it!
5. Dismay: despite the hard work of our Listen for Life team and volunteers over many previous weeks/months and the assistance of seasoned PR professionals on our team - contacting newspapers, radio, TV, online Oakland blogs, and printing/distributing over 7,000 color flyers that listed all of the venues for free music concerts throughout the city - we learned the hard way just how challenging it can be to start something new! We had been warned that when looking at all of the really big, successful music festivals or city celebrations in any community, it is easy to forget that in their first one or two years, very few people knew about it or participated. These things apparently take a long while to spread by word of mouth, and some people wait to see the quality of the event and the artists in the first year or two before getting involved. But that didn't alter the feelings of exhausted disappointment while surveying the smaller-than-hoped-for crowds at each of our venues on the day, we have to admit!
6. Joy (and gratitude): The musicians, at every single one of the venues, were absolutely incredible! And they played with heart regardless of the number of people in their audience. I felt so gratified that these nationally and internationally renowned performers had all agreed so freely to come out for Listen for Life on a weeknight and donate their time - and amazing talents- in an attempt to build something positive and new for the citizens of Oakland through the sharing of cross-cultural music. It was wonderful to watch the joy that they gave to their listeners, and it was even more wonderful to see the musicians stay to listen to each other perform, create new friendships amongst each other, and discuss future jam sessions combining their instruments and cultures. This was an unplanned but very important result from the year of planning!
7. Pride: Listen for Life was proud to have the support of so many fantastic musicians for this cause that we could create non-stop cross-cultural music programs at several different simultaneous venues across Oakland. And without exception, at each of those venues, every audience member asked our volunteers if those particular musicians would be back next year, saying that they had never, ever heard such incredible musicians perform, all under one roof, and all for free. They also thanked us for creating such a nice way to raise awareness of the message and meaning of Peace Day for Oakland.........
8. Relief: So......the musicians all thought it was fantastic, and I am humbled that so many of these world-class musicians have taken the time to write us thank-you notes (for letting them share their gifts for free?!), saying what a wonderful experience it was and how appreciative the audiences were and to definitely put them down for "next year" .....the venue administrators have all written to say how impressed they were the performances and how gratified they felt to be part of this inaugural Festival for Peace in their city, and to please put them down for "next year" (adding that they promise to help more with publicity-sigh)......the volunteers and press have all told us they thought it was a huge success......
9. Exhaustion: (compounded with jet lag, and regret about lack of TV or radio coverage, but enough said....)
10. Discovery: We have learned a tremendous amount. We started this process a year ago at the request of UN-related organizations in Geneva that have asked Listen for Life to create music festivals or concert performances around the world to raise awareness of the UN Millennium Development Goals and/or of UN Peace Day. We already knew that some of our musicians would be performing in Peace Day-related events in various countries, like my concerts performances in Croatia, Bosnia, and the UK. But we looked around our US headquarters in Oakland and thought about the tremendous positive impact that the celebration of Peace Day - and the use of cross-cultural music to create that celebration - could have on this city. If we had known how much work it would take over an entire year, for our very small Oakland based team of volunteers - in the midst of our many other separate and simultaneous projects like the MusicMessage Campaign and Notes for Nourishment and the Travels with Music production series - I do not know if we would have started. But once we started, our team became "the little engine that could". When one of us got discouraged with the lack of resources or hours in a day, another person would jump in with energy and enthusiasm. We took turns encouraging each other and sharing tips on how to stay awake on long nights of work! But in the end, what we have realized is that OUR mission is to the MUSICIANS. Pure and simple.
------------------------
What we have learned is that the Peace Day performances were NOT, as we had thought, the completion of a year-long work process but were actually the celebration, beginning and LAUNCH of a whole 365 day process of planning, working, and thinking about ways to promote peace in our hearts, homes AND community - through music! We have no intentions to be the event-planners for Oakland Peace Day the next zillion years hence. Our role is as the catalyst - to create the model, let other organizations (hopefully!) run with it, and simply continue to provide the musicians who have heart enough to do this - not only in Oakland, but in cities and towns all across the world, wherever we are invited and wherever we have Listen for Life musicians and volunteers to make it happen!
So here is what I said to the 120+ musicians who took part in our 2010 Festival for Peace when I wrote to thank each one of them this past week:
"What we have realized is that OUR mission is to the musicians themselves - to YOU!
Our mission is to inspire YOU and to help you create the opportunities to continue to share your gifts in ways that will inspire OTHERS. Only then will we have fully succeeded. Only then can we rest a little bit. And between the Listen for Life work and my own global concert tours each month, believe me, I could use a little rest - so please, come be inspired and come join us in inspiring others!
If you like the idea of giving performances in your own community or countrywide YEAR-ROUND to help raise funds for various causes, then check out our newest global project called Notes for Nourishment (www.listenforlife.org/
--------------------------------
One activity we will be launching in the next 1-2 weeks is the creation of a short weekly video on YouTube that will outline steps/action items for any musicians in other cities/countries wishing to organize Peace Day music concerts in their own communities for next year. Some of those initial steps need to happen this month and next, so if you do know musicians or groups in other cities/countries who were excited and inspired by what you did for Oakland, get them to watch these videos or let us know who they are and we will be happy to contact them with support and help.
As for me, I have spent the days since Peace Day trying to play catch-up with some of the other Listen for Life projects, including upcoming Notes for Nourishment concerts in Hawaii November 15-22 and in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia November 28-December 8.
But meanwhile, Listen for Life musicians Winnie Wong (China) and Vanessa Vo (Vietnam) are combining forces (and cultures) in a very rare duo concert later this month in San Francisco so our immediate project is to help with the PR and get the word out about that - so please stay tuned! [Please see this post for full concert details!]
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Concert on Sat October 23rd 2011 at 3pm - China and Vietnam in SF!
Saturday October 23rd, 2010 at 3pm
First Christian Church
599 Duboce Ave (at Noe St)
San Francisco, CA 94117
A Musical Journey... China and Vietnam
Winnie Wong (guzheng) and Van-Anh Vanessa Vo (dan Tranh, dan Bao. and Trung)
Full details are available here.
Come join us for an afternoon of music from Guizhou, Yunnan,
Xinjiang, and a sample of Vietnamese folk music, along with the exciting
premiere of a collaboration between Winnie Wong (guzheng) and
Van-Anh Vanessa Vo (dan tranh).
Van-Anh Vanessa Vo (dan tranh).
Presenting:
Winnie Wong - Guzheng soloist
China's Spirit Music Ensemble
Guest Artist: Van-Anh Vanessa Vo - Vietnamese Folk Instrumentalist
Youth Artist: Reylon Yount - Yangqin soloist
This concert is sponsored by Listen for Life.
General Admission $15 and $25
Tickets: (415) 515-5797 or email chinasspiritme@gmail.com
[Added October 27, 2010]: Read the concert review by at Johnathon Bakan at examiner.com!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
How (NOT) to meet a European journalist on a plane
OK so I am in the middle seat of a smallish airplane on a late evening flight from Zagreb to Dubrovnik, in Croatia, and we have all been given very welcome glasses of water. I am studying my music for an upcoming performance this week and minding my own business, glass of water in hand, when jetlag suddenly takes over and I fall sound asleep mid-swallow. The next thing I hear is a startled but quite polite shriek from something or someone next to me so I manage to open one eye and groggily begin to notice that the suave young European gentleman next to me seems to be wearing thoroughly soaked jeans. Rather bemused at my gradually awakened state and profound apologies he actually has the courtesy to THANK me for the invigorating bath:
Gentleman: You know, I have to be very awake when we land as I am being met by some people and I was having a hard time keeping myself awake but now I am quite alert in fact - thank you for that unique experience!
Me: (trying not to be too obvious in noticing that the majority of my glass of water had chosen to hit the absolute worst possible location on the front of his jeans): Umm.....you say you are being met by people and have to be working when you land (oh great!)??
Me: (changing subject while hoping the flight were longer so his jeans would try before landing): What do you do?
Gentleman: I am a journalist in Austria and am being sent to Dubrovnik to cover a major charity event there for UNICEF, with Roger Moore and John Malkovich and other stars helping to raise funds to combat violence among youth for peace....
Me (never miss an opportunity, no?): oh, you write up charity events about peace or related to UNICEF.....what about UN and peace day and renowned musicians from many cultures donating their time and talents to do a big event for Peace Day?
Gentleman (strategically placing the myriad of napkins I by now had procured from our airline steward while filling him in on all the details about Oakland and why this event would matter to his magazine readers throughout Europe): You know that sounds really interesting and if you can send me some good pics of the events I will write up an article about it with pleasure though of course I can't promise my editor will include it right away.....but you say you have internationally recognised musicians involved yes?
SO I explained that they are not famous as in hip hop or pop culture celebrities but are much more important for the representation and encouragement of their own cultures, and why we work so hard at Listen for Life to give them opportunities to make that happen, either through concert series like Notes for Nourishment or events like Peace Day or interactive broadcast programs like Travels with Music. He asked more about that one and when he heard that Travels with Music content has now been acquired by the BBC, which they watch in Austria where he is based, he got even more enthusiastic
Maybe he was just extremely polite but he said we should see how we can work together, and while giving me his card he said "one thing is for sure - I will NEVER forget how we met!"
With that we were landed and off to the baggage claim, where - spied him ever so nonchalantly walking with his leather jacket draped down long over his arm which was folded in front of his body "just so"
Thank you, sir.....for letting me live to tell the tale and smile while sharing it.
Gentleman: You know, I have to be very awake when we land as I am being met by some people and I was having a hard time keeping myself awake but now I am quite alert in fact - thank you for that unique experience!
Me: (trying not to be too obvious in noticing that the majority of my glass of water had chosen to hit the absolute worst possible location on the front of his jeans): Umm.....you say you are being met by people and have to be working when you land (oh great!)??
Me: (changing subject while hoping the flight were longer so his jeans would try before landing): What do you do?
Gentleman: I am a journalist in Austria and am being sent to Dubrovnik to cover a major charity event there for UNICEF, with Roger Moore and John Malkovich and other stars helping to raise funds to combat violence among youth for peace....
Me (never miss an opportunity, no?): oh, you write up charity events about peace or related to UNICEF.....what about UN and peace day and renowned musicians from many cultures donating their time and talents to do a big event for Peace Day?
Gentleman (strategically placing the myriad of napkins I by now had procured from our airline steward while filling him in on all the details about Oakland and why this event would matter to his magazine readers throughout Europe): You know that sounds really interesting and if you can send me some good pics of the events I will write up an article about it with pleasure though of course I can't promise my editor will include it right away.....but you say you have internationally recognised musicians involved yes?
SO I explained that they are not famous as in hip hop or pop culture celebrities but are much more important for the representation and encouragement of their own cultures, and why we work so hard at Listen for Life to give them opportunities to make that happen, either through concert series like Notes for Nourishment or events like Peace Day or interactive broadcast programs like Travels with Music. He asked more about that one and when he heard that Travels with Music content has now been acquired by the BBC, which they watch in Austria where he is based, he got even more enthusiastic
Maybe he was just extremely polite but he said we should see how we can work together, and while giving me his card he said "one thing is for sure - I will NEVER forget how we met!"
With that we were landed and off to the baggage claim, where - spied him ever so nonchalantly walking with his leather jacket draped down long over his arm which was folded in front of his body "just so"
Thank you, sir.....for letting me live to tell the tale and smile while sharing it.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Work in progress - a dispatch from London en route to Zagreb!
Philosophers say we are all a "work in progress" and that is certainly true, not only of individuals but also of global organizations with local teams, like Listen for Life - and most especially of the major new city-wide event that we are in the middle of producing for Oakland, California! Only two weeks to go before Listen for Life produces the 1st annual Festival for Peace on September 21st in Oakland, involving 7 venues/ events and over 100 internationally renowned musicians performing for free throughout the city to raise awareness of UN International Peace Day and its potential meaning for a wonderfully diverse but challenged community like Oakland: [http://www.listenforlife.org/peaceday]
Listen for Life volunteer staff teams - music listeners, performers, educators and producers alike - are struggling valiantly to accomplish a trillion small tasks in a rapidly diminishing number of days, so anyone reading this is warmly invited to join in, from wherever you are! Our tech and Web guru from the UK has been brushing up on long-forgotten (to him) graphic design programs in order to create publicity flyers, our PR head is acting as driver since our logistics person had his car totalled last weekend, and on it goes.....
This present opportunity is literally creating work around the clock for our small but energetic team in Oakland, but we all believe passionately in the reasons behind Peace Day and in Listen for Life's potential to use cross cultural music to bring the many disparate groups of our community together in a wordless discussion about peace ....
And in the midst of this, while recently returned from doing a series of Listen for Life Notes For Nourishment concerts throughout the Pacific Northwest, I now find myself on a flight to Europe to perform Peace Day-related concerts that were primarily scheduled well over a year ago!
- have just landed in London en route to Zagreb so more on that in my next dispatch...... A work in progress, indeed!
Listen for Life volunteer staff teams - music listeners, performers, educators and producers alike - are struggling valiantly to accomplish a trillion small tasks in a rapidly diminishing number of days, so anyone reading this is warmly invited to join in, from wherever you are! Our tech and Web guru from the UK has been brushing up on long-forgotten (to him) graphic design programs in order to create publicity flyers, our PR head is acting as driver since our logistics person had his car totalled last weekend, and on it goes.....
This present opportunity is literally creating work around the clock for our small but energetic team in Oakland, but we all believe passionately in the reasons behind Peace Day and in Listen for Life's potential to use cross cultural music to bring the many disparate groups of our community together in a wordless discussion about peace ....
And in the midst of this, while recently returned from doing a series of Listen for Life Notes For Nourishment concerts throughout the Pacific Northwest, I now find myself on a flight to Europe to perform Peace Day-related concerts that were primarily scheduled well over a year ago!
- have just landed in London en route to Zagreb so more on that in my next dispatch...... A work in progress, indeed!
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