composer, pianist, music educator
I'm regaining momentum again in my composer life since Grumpy Kitty Boy took over the majority of 2020 (the pandemic year) up to the present. My screens are suddenly full of Sibelius notation again while I look things up at "composerssite.com" (admit that you do too!). My brain is now geared towards pursuing projects and [...]
N.B. I originally wanted to write this essay as a Facebook post—a tribute to my old ways—but eventually decided against it due to the risk of being subjected to what I'll call the "algorithm invisibility." I think that this reflection deserves a space that actually respects its contents. My physical copies of the following musical [...]
Photography: Prince Requino Since focusing on Grumpy Kitty Boy, I'm now navigating an entirely different world that requires building project timelines; doing more admin work for my artistic life; writing grants (since I'm now eligible to do so as a new Permanent Resident of Canada--maybe this should warrant a different blog entry sometime in the [...]
I'm focusing a lot on Grumpy Kitty Boy lately. It has been a source of fulfillment and joy for me as an artist. Many things have been cooking behind the scenes—I'm working on an official music video collaboration on "Airplane Wings" with Yuna Kim, and production work is still continuing not just for another upcoming [...]
Someone drops a grain of salt; Massive ocean waves jolt crowds awake! Wide-eyed stray cats rejoice. White people clubs make white noise...Swirls of pea soup in hot, melting pots; Speck of dust remains untouched. Sun and stars rotate in skies, Lightning sparks bequeath fiery exploits; Tired fingers in silence. Rain fell throughout the weekend; Steel [...]
I’m nothing but a machine, Hearing other’s pain but not my own; Why should I catch up with y'all? Frogs croak in the dead of night—I won’t wait for you to understand, Thoughts disappear in a flash. Riding my ‘unwanted' box, I float in waters beyond your reach—How can I land on the moon? Cities [...]
The past weeks had been a tough time for many of our communities. Since the outrage over George Floyd's unjust death, the Earth's rotation suddenly went fast like a blur. A massive call against racism and police brutality swept many places, and radical initiatives like defunding or even abolishing the police force now simmers within [...]
I previously wrote Part 1 to make space for subdued reflections about "social distancing." (I also recently wrote a more honest, passionate, and rather too personal post in my Facebook page...but I'll simply leave it there in that semi-private space). In this process, I find that repeatedly articulating an idea provides more refinement and clarity, [...]
I started writing this post so many weeks ago, but I couldn't continue at that time. I stopped counting the days since everyone was forced to stay at home and practice social distancing. For some, this should be aptly named "physical distancing" and not "social distancing," but the latter has more profound implications for me [...]
