Anchorage, AK

September 8, 2017
Population: (293,531)
Venue: Church of Love (renamed The Nave in 2021)

The final concert of Gather Hear Alaska was held at Church of Love, a historical church converted into a community arts space. In lieu of the usual concert write-up, I wrote an epilogue to Gather Hear Alaska:

This tour changed me, as a person and a musician.

In publishing these blog posts of the Alaskan communities I played in, I reviewed every one of the thousands of video/photo files that were lovingly captured by Jarett and Andrew. In these concerts, I spoke to the audience a lot. I would explain why I was on this tour, describe the pieces I was performing, invite questions from the crowd. But you may notice that I’ve published very few videos of my talking. That’s because - watching the footage 3.5 years later - I am frankly embarrassed by the way that I presented myself. I talk about the premise of tour in a questioning way:

“You know how when there’s a piano in the room, people always want to gather around it, play it, sing with it? Well I thought that’s really special.”

Then I develop the idea for a couple more sentences, but it’s not much of a statement or a belief. More like a timid inquiry.

That’s what this tour was - an inquiry. An experiment. I only had a very vague hypothesis: classical music has a magical power to bring people together. A power that wasn’t fully being utilized when only heard in fancy concert halls by a select audience. The only way to test the hypothesis was to go out in to the real world and do it, despite my doubts and fears.

I doubted that people would listen - truly listen - to classical music. 
I feared that people would not like classical music. 
I did not expect that people would be so moved. 

It’s strange for someone who has committed her life to classical music to admit to those three statements. But it’s not like I became a classical musician to become a household name, I just loved the music so much I couldn’t leave it alone, liked that it made my mom happy to listen to me, and keep getting to know the music deeper. Whatever it is about classical music that made my mom happy - the essence of classical music that is beautiful, profound, moving, and makes us feel human, is what my Alaskan audience responded to. They recognized it despite the negative connotations classical music can hold - it’s elitist, it’s for old people, it’s boring, it's too long. They recognized it despite my naïveté, obvious in the nonchalant way I spoke. I am so grateful to everyone who listened to me in Alaska - for their generosity in spirit, for giving me the power to move forward to future Gather Hear Tours more boldly and confidently.

I'm writing this in March of 2021, 3 years after Gather Hear Alaska, and 2 years after Gather Hear West Virginia. 3 years of Trump later and all the damage he did, an entire year into the COVID pandemic. 12 consecutive months of not gathering, not stepping on a stage, not performing, no home meals hosted by strangers, no hugs received from audience members. 

It’s also 2 months before the launch of Gather Hear Massachusetts, 2 months into the Biden presidency, 2 months into the vaccination rollout. I feel like we are at the cusp of positive change.

I am a different person than I was 3 years ago, and this country is not the same as it was then. The mission of Gather Hear has evolved all the while, and I can now say confidently that the mission of Gather Hear Tour is this:

The goal is to tour all 50 states in this time of deep divide, when we can’t help but feel that there is no shared humanity across the nation. We believe classical music has a special power to connect us through an elevated and moving experience. In this day and age when reality and facts are constantly under attack, the beauty of experiencing music together is one of the few truths we can agree upon. It reminds us of our common humanity and gives us strength to fight for a more just and equitable society.

See you in the next state!