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January 2021 Message from Editor -「Starting "Music and Friends」
I have been fortunate as I have been able to enjoy a normal life and to stay safe in 2020 although the year has been rather long and unproductive. I also feel that 2020 just flew away without me really accomplishing anything. As perhaps many people did, I have spent plenty of time thinking about life in general and the importance of human relationships.
California initiated a stay-at-home order in mid-March due to the pandemic and, after just a few months of “semi-normalcy” in the summer, we are back again with restaurants, hair salons and the like closed for at least the month of December. Small businesses have been hit the hardest. I am receiving donation requests from unfamiliar sources, particularly from small, health-related business, which are simply trying to survive. Under such circumstances, I had some fortunate gains. I started to play string ensembles over the Internet using open-source JAMULUS software. This has given me a chance to play with my musical friends who live thousands of miles away. I have reacquainted and deepen friendships, talk music, and play ensembles. I would like to share my experience in the blog.
I also picked up a book "Year of Wonder, Classical Music to Enjoy Day by Day," which I bought a few years ago. The author Clemency Burton-Hill selected one music a day (for 365 days) and shared them with her introduction to the music. Many concert halls, theaters, and museums are currently closed, and there is no definite prospect to be resumed, so music from YouTube, CDs and radio / TV are great entertainment to calm my heart. In general, I listen to music I want to listen to at random, so listening to the selected music (by the author Clemency Burton-Hill) is a fun experience as if I had returned to school. It is also one of the purposes of this blog to introduce the music selected by the author and some of my thoughts.
I would be grateful if you could write and share not only your thoughts on music but also art in general, books, movies, Museum reviews through blogs. Unlike the usual blog format, I did not set up a "chat" so please e-mail me (zephyrpianotrio@gmail.com) your blog / opinions. In addition, since the blog is in an open environment on the Internet, I will delete any personal information that should not be published on the Internet, and I would like to keep our privacy as strict as possible.
I look forward to your contribution.