Music4Heart April Newsletter

Andrew Choi

As unfortunate as the circumstances were, our April virtual concert was a fun way around in-person concerts. Because we recorded instead of performed, there was less stress on the performing aspect that in-person concerts have. Although performing in front of a live audience is always much more personal than having a recording in a video, I think the virtual concert worked well enough to still have a similar impact of spreading our music making and our hard work. I think putting together the virtual concert, especially during COVID 19, was a fun way to interact while also creating something for our community.

Chloe Jeon

Although COVID-19 clearly posed many challenges, I also see it as an opportunity to open our eyes to try something new. A problem arose; we found a solution. We can’t do in-person concerts; we switched to doing virtual concerts. Of course, that in turn produced more problems, but we solved them one by one to produce a finished piece: our very own virtual concert, uploaded to YouTube for the first time. And in the end, all our hard work paid off. Having seen how much viewers enjoyed our first performance, we are now motivated to continue giving what we can to our community.

Erin Yang

In all my time playing the piano, a virtual concert like this was definitely a first. It was actually quite a pleasant experience to record the piece at home because I wasn’t as nervous and had the luxury of being able to try again if necessary. As the great Vladimir Horowitz once said, “If you want me to play only the notes without any specific dynamics, I will never make one mistake. Never be afraid to dare.” I definitely focused a lot on implementing rubato into the song and trying to achieve greater variation in my dynamics, and I think those did help

my piece. This is a fun way to interact with my friends a bit even during quarantine, and it's even better that it’s all for a good cause! All in all, I’m very satisfied that our concert, albeit virtual, could have a direct impact towards raising money for PPE.

Ella Jeon

Dealing with COVID-19, it was interesting to find methods to work with the struggles of quarantine, and put together a virtual concert. The preparation for the video was definitely long and not easy, but it turned out better than I’d expected. On the other hand, the safely-distanced packaging session was easier, as we worked on wrapping the items that would be delivered as donations to those in need of such protective equipment. While I look forward to next month’s video, I still hope the COVID-19 situation will improve soon to the point where the shelter-in-place order is lifted.

For more information, please visit

Partner : EBPPE.org

Broke The $1,000 Mark!

We have reached our first milestone: $1,000 (1/5 of our goal). Thank you so much to everyone who supported our fundraising campaign, and let's keep working together to fight COVID-19.

We also post updates on our websites, ebppe.org and music4heart.org, so feel free to check them out.

Music4Heart's March Newsletter : Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

The March Volunteer Concert was planned to be held at School of Imagination (https://www.schoolofimagination.org/) on 03/13/2020. However, it was canceled the night before due to the closures and restrictions caused by COVID-19.

By Chloe Jeon

When I first looked at the music, I was going to play for the March performance, I balked. I had expected simple whole note chords to accompany the beautiful melody of “You Raise Me Up”: something I could easily sightread in a day. However, what I got instead was 3-on-2 rhythms and a whole page where I played the melody — meaning that I actually had to practice the music. So I did. By the time Thursday rolled around I was proud of the time and effort I had put in to perfect the music, when that night, I received an email saying that the performance would be cancelled. I had mixed feelings. I was glad /that we wouldn’t have to expose ourselves and the kids to the potential risk of acquiring COVID-19, but at the same time, I was disappointed that we wouldn’t get to perform. However, I am grateful that we are safe and healthy thanks to self-isolation, and I look forward to the day when we can interact normally again (and maybe reschedule our performance for the kids?).

By Andrew Choi

Preparing the music for this performance was a lot of fun because I was playing a lot of stuff I had a played when I was much younger so revisiting those pieces were a lot of fun. When the performance was cancelled, I was a little disappointed but obviously there was nothing we could do about the circumstances but it was still nice to practice and go through the repertoire for the performance.

By Ella Jeon

About a week before the expected volunteer concert of March, we began practicing with high hopes and eager thoughts. I was especially excited, as we would be playing for a very young audience, which is something I’d never done before. However, during the night before our performance, it was announced that due to the wide-spreading coronavirus, we would not be able to play. Despite my disappointment of being unable to meet the little kids, I understand the need to cancel the meeting, as safety should always come first. On the other hand, I hope this world-wide issue will soon get better and that everyone stays healthy. Meanwhile, I look forward to possibly finding a way to reschedule the volunteer concert, and once again be able to play for the kids.

By Lauren Tran

When I first learned about the March volunteer concert for the preschoolers, I was eager to recall my past pieces when I was young. Some of the songs were exciting and nostalgic for me, so I was enthusiastic to perform them. When the March concert for the preschoolers was canceled due to the coronavirus, I was a bit disappointed. I would've loved to play for the preschoolers and share my passion for music with them. I also would have loved to see their reactions and feel the satisfaction and joy that overtakes you after benefitting others. Most importantly, I wanted to play together with my friends as a whole for the preschoolers. Not only would it be fun, but it would also show them that cooperation and harmony pay off after diligent work. Despite this, I still had an enjoyable time working on my pieces. I look forward to our next performance and am hopeful that everyone stays safe during these challenging times.