“The Players Concert” for the earthquake in Tohoku Japan

by wakuwakunao, posted in concert, 未分類

Almost five years have passed since the huge earthquake in Tohoku Japan.

My Japanese friend Kazuko Takebayashi, who is a singer, is producing a memorial concert on March 11th.

 

加寿子さん

 

The concert is going to be broadcast by Ustream around the world, so I‘m going to participate from New York and play crystal bowls and piano.

Please access it through the URL below, enjoy the concert and pray for a lasting peace together.
URL of this program: http://www.facebook.com/l.php…

▶︎Update coming
The date : Friday, March 11th

New York time: 5am

＊My performance time will be held around 6:15am

Japanese time: 7pm

＊My performance time will be held around 8:15pm

 

好子邸コンサート

 

Kazuko will sing a few songs at the concert.

You will definitely enjoy her performance.

 

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The worst cold in New York City

by wakuwakunao, posted in 未分類

I t is snow in New York area today.
I remenber the coldest weekend in New York city in last month.

I’m going to tell about it.

 

The wind chill temperature was minus 16 degrees.

The New York Mayor said to please stay home on TV.

 

I couldn’t feel the temperature exactly because my room was warm.

I was confused about if it was true or not.

I tried going outside because I wanted to know the truth.

 

I regretted this attempt as soon as I went out from my apartment entrance.

I stopped walking and came back inside immediately.

 

I remembered to reserve a hair appointment that day, so I pulled myself together, and went outside again.

 

I was a little nervous because it was my first time going to the hair salon.
It is easy for me to lose my way if I go to a new place.
The person who cut my hair was so nice, so I enjoyed talking with her.

She said, “ I want to hang a towel outside. I will make the towel wet first, then go outside with it, steer it quickly and squeeze it.

Maybe I will be able to make a standing tower like a sword.

 

I posted this story on Facebook, some of my friends commented to me that I should try it!

Then I tried it.
Look at this picture!

 

立ちそうなタオル

 

And then,

I succeeded in making it!
立ったタオル

It was so amazing, wasn’t it?

Thank you for coming to my Crystal Bow & Piano Concert in San Francisco Bay

by wakuwakunao, posted in concert, 未分類

I just came back from San Francisco three days ago.

 

It was beautifully sunny and warm there, so we didn’t need overcoats. Some people even wore T –shirts!

 

It was rainy when I arrived at JFK airport in New York, so I was at a loss at getting used to the weather in New York City again.

 

San Francisco is a special place for my family because we lived there from 1993 to 1999.

The day after I arrived in SF, I went to Downtown San Francisco to meet with my friends.

I’ve been back to visit S.F.Bay many times after going back Japan, but I hadn’t been downtown, so I was excited to see everything in the city.

 

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Then, my performance was held the following day.

 

It was an intimate performance, held at my friend Sachiko’s house.
I was very happy to have my concert there because she organized it so well and made a comfortable space for the audience and me.
I really enjoyed playing.

 

My friend’s house was in a secluded neighborhood, surrounded by trees, so I felt like I was playing in the forest.

The house was built nicely on the hill and I was surprised to find out that the house was built by her husband!

 

We placed a piano in front of a tall window, so I was able to feel the outside during my performance.

 

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My crystal bowl makes nice sounds every time I play it.
There was enough time for me to have a rehearsal, and the concert started.

 

During the performance, there was a stronger reverberation of sounds than during the rehearsal.

 

The sounds lasted longer, as if they would never end.

 

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I thought the sounds reverberated through all of us- the audience, Sachiko and her family’s hearts and the environment surrounding us.

 

We made the sounds together, so it became more beautiful.

 

I always feel the sounds are different each time I play, because I can feel people’s warm-hearts come through to me.

 

 

I can’t wait to play again and again, because every time I play the crystal bowl, I feel like a pipe, connecting the earth to space, and people all over the world to peace.

 

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Welcoming Spring with Live music ~The Crystal Bowl & Piano Concert in New Jersey~

by wakuwakunao, posted in 未分類

I gave a Crystal bowl & Piano recital last Saturday.

It was a beautiful time for everybody、 just like taking a nap with musical blankets.

 

Of course I was able to have a rich musical experience, again.

 

 

I composed new two songs for the concert, which was held at my friend’s house in New Jersey.

 

One song was for my friend and hostess of the concert, Yoshiko, who lives in the house with her family.

When I saw the pictures of her house a few days before the concert, I was so surprised that there was such a nice and wonderful room and a melody sprung to mind.

 

I was excited to think about how she would feel when she listened to it.

 

On the way to her house, I looked outside from the car after getting off the freeway, as the scene gradually changed from an urban landscape to a rural one.

 

After going up a sharp hill, I could see a huge house, like a mountain lodge!
好子邸

 

 

That was my friend’s house.

 

好子邸２

 

There is a piano inside this room.

 

好子邸３

 

The big grand piano was placed in this large open space by the windows.
My friend’s husband presented it to her last X’mas.
How nice!!

 

My friend is a professional ear massage instructor, so she demonstrated an ear massage in the basement while I prepared for the concert.

I started to set my crystal bowls beside the piano while hearing their laughter coming from the basement.

 

好子邸４

 

 

I just tried to play one key on the piano gently, and I felt the sound move carefully around the room, little by little.

 

 

 

 

Here I am, playing my crystal bowls.

 

好子邸クリボウ

 

Then I started my performance.

 

好子邸クリボウ＆ピアノ

 

The audience was very relaxed.

They listened and felt comforted by the sounds.

 

好子邸ピアノ

 

 

The water bottles were placed in front of the crystal bowls, which, when played, help to purify the water.

 

I was happy to play in the sunlight, moving from one side to the other outside.

 

It was the first time I felt the outside during my performance, even though I was playing inside.

 

I played freely; I played songs I had written before the concert, but I also improvised. I really enjoyed it.

The audience looked very relaxed.

 

 

After the concert, we enjoyed the refreshments.

Yoshiko cooked over 10 meals!

 

好子邸５

 

 

 

The kitchen was so huge too!
The foods were so delicious!

 

好子邸６

 

Thank you to Yoshiko and her family!

 

好子邸７

The screening of “Water “& the crystal bowl event

by wakuwakunao, posted in concert

On February 11th, I will be performing after the screening of amazing film called “Water”.

Directed by Russian documentary filmmaker Saida Medvedeva, this film explores the nature of water, its importance to humans and the Earth, and its uncanny ability to change its form based on human emotion and many other situation.

The film includes interviews and contributions from experts all over the world and examines many of water’s unknown phenomena.

For example, human tears have different water crystal shapes and are able to change these shapes if influenced by either positive or negative emotions.

“water” highlights many of these extraordinary examples and emphasis how important the element is to our lives.

Here is the movie “water” trailer.

 

▶︎upcoming Events
Dates: Thur.Feb.11 | 6pm open
Location:Global

545 8th Avenue 14fl New York, NY

Fee:$15

Place for application : inoriforearth@gmail.com / 914-703-8018

Bring a bottle of water!

water

The first big snow of 2016 in New York

by wakuwakunao, posted in 未分類

It was terrific snow in New York City in the last weekend.

 

It was my first time experiencing snow in New York City it was the third largest snow in recording history.

Most of the transportation in the city stopped, and all theaters, museums were closed.
My husband and I wanted to see what it was like outside, so we wore the ski clothes and went out in the crazy snow.

There weren’t any cars on the road because if people drove they would be given a ticket due to the travel ban.

 

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First, we went to the supermarket close to our apartment to buy some food, but the shop just closed when we reached it.
We were surprised when an old lady was upset by it and said while hitting the front of the door,

“ Open the store for only 5 minuets I can buy some food quickly! ”
The shop man said,

“ We can’t go back home if we still work.”
She still said something but of course we understood why the shop man said this.

It was Hudson River side. I couldn’t see it!

 

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It was the surreal Metropolitan Opera house.

 

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I was speechless!
It resembled a dream!
Of course there were no people and no opera that day.

 

We walked around for over 2 hours and my hands got clammy, so we went back home.

Our apartment’s gym was closed, so we couldn’t do anything outside.

I was happy to stay home and play piano and cook dinner in all afternoon.
And then,

It was nice sunshine the next day!
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The cars were in the snow…

 

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The Hudson River was so beautiful!

 

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Many people were excited sledding at the Hudson River side, the scene was the same as in my country.

 

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The metro station entrance was snowed in.

 

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Everything is shining, so I think a huge snow make the city clean and beautiful.

All the people around me were looking beautiful!

 

 

Welcoming an Early Spring Concert ~The Crystal Bowl & Piano concert in New Jersey~

by wakuwakunao, posted in concert

 

Almost one month has passed since the beginning of the year.
How is your new year so far?
Would you like to enjoy this time by listening to nice music in a space-surrounded by nature and think about how would you like to approach spring?
Before the concert we will have a demonstration of ear massage by my friend who is a licensed of ear therapist in Japan.
We are also going to serve a small nice lunch after the concert!

 

My crystal bowls are made of crystal, and have two energetic powers, which are healing and purification.

The vibrations and sounds of these bowls cause relaxation, induce sleep, improve blood circulation, and help align the Chakras (where the energy is concentrated in the center of our body).

The sounds of the crystal bowl will reverberate through your whole body and mind.
Please listen and experience the sounds and help us greet an early spring together!

cha-chi

 

▶︎Upcoming events

Date & Time: Jan. 30th Sat.11:00am〜14:00pm

Location：Morris County in New Jersey

( We would like to let you know the address after registration )

Fee：$40 (Please pay cash only)

＊For more information & Reservation: Aloha88hula@gmail.com (Yoshiko)

 

The trip to Jamaica

by wakuwakunao, posted in 未分類

I went to Jamaica in the Caribbean Sea with my husband  last weekend.

The flight from New York to Jamaica was not a bumpy flight, so we had a comfortable flight travel.

It was our first time visiting Jamaica, so we were exited talking about our trip until arriving in Montego Bay international airport in Jamaica.

 

When we arrived at the airport, I was surprised that most of the people were lanky and looked like Reggae singers. I felt that I could hear the Reggae songs around me.

 

The hotel that we stayed in was not so gorgeous, but nice and cozy.

 

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The weather was mild and it was nice breezy everyday.

Beautiful blue Caribbean Sea was at the front of our hotel, we could swim with the tropical fish.

 

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We went to the center of city the next day because we wanted to see the out side of the hotel even though we could have enjoyed just the hotel all four days.

 

The city was so crowded. There weren’t any tourists except for us, so a few people came up to us and talked to us.

 

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They said,

“Where are you from?”

“I am chef I know a good restaurant near here.”

They were a little annoying.

 

We enjoyed river rafting the next day.

The raft was made of bamboo.

 

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The river was surrounded by a lot of trees like a forest.

We enjoyed the nature of Jamaica and our guide’s information as he rowed the ship.

In the evening, we could see a beautiful sunset at the sea.

 

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We could see the shows that had Reggae songs, dancing, DJ, and any other performances after dinner in three nights.

 

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I played the cystalbowls two times in the morning.

Even though I couldn’t see the morning sun that time because the hotel faced west, the crystalbowl’s sound expanded out nicely by the calm sea wind.

 

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The blue sea of Jamaica is the best one I have seen in my life.
Even though Jamaican’s life is not so rich or convenient as far as I saw, I think that is why the nature of Jamaica is so beautiful.

I had many good experiences this time, so I hope to visit Jamaica again.

 

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Eclectic Morning Coffee

by wakuwakunao, posted in 未分類

It was drizzling yesterday, Sunday morning, I went to the Lincoln Center Morning Coffee Concert. It is held on Sunday morning once a month, after the concert, the company services some coffee and sweets and we can meet the performer from the concert.

 
Yesterday was a piano concert by Alexander Gavrylyuk, who is a Ukrainian pianist. He is a winner of many kinds of piano competitions, and he is a world famous pianist who is known not only for his impeccable technique, but also his highly expressive performance.

Alexander

The first program was Schubert’s Sonata in A major.

I was surprised I dropped tears when I listened to the first phrase of melody.

His sounds were warm and filled with plenty of happiness.
Maybe Schubert’s life was hard and painful but I think he was filled with love.

I finally could hear Schubert’s romantic sounds in Alexander’s performance.

The other surprising things were he changed the mood completely and quickly to play next two songs.
He played Rachmaninoff  Etude-tableau in C minor and Prokofiev Sonata No.6 in A major after Schubert even though we didn’t have an intermission. He changed the mood immediately and started to play without hesitating after he played Shubert.

His sounds were so dynamic and powerful.
He let go of strict technique and opened himself to all the bigger sounds and energy of the room just using feeling and expression.
I enjoyed the big differences between all three pieces.

Music gives us happiness and helps us see the big picture.

1:10:2016 モーニングコンサート

The Beginning of 2016

by wakuwakunao, posted in concert, healing, music, 未分類

Happy New Year!

 

How was your New Year’s?

I was planning to run in the New Year’s Marathon

at Central Park on New Year’s Eve with my husband and my daughter

( She visited us for only 5days from Japan) .

 

However, I caught a cold, so I rested at home.

Even though I missed running with my family,

I was fortunate to greet the New Year by playing the crystal bowls.

My home and I were quickly filled with these brilliant sounds.

 

 

My daughter gave us a Japanese New Year’s ornament.

 

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I ate Japanese noodles (soba). Soba is usually eaten by Japanese on New Year’s Eve.

I cooked traditional Japanese New Year’s dishes before the New Year,

decorated my home with the ornament, and we enjoyed a Japanese style New Year this holiday.

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We will start work tomorrow, but I cannot imagine how my 2016 will go.
I will spend my time as best as I can, and I am excited to see what will happen.

I hope I will play the crystal bowls & piano much more than last year.

I also hope to reach many places and many people with my sounds .

I hope it will be a wonderful year for you, too!

 

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