1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,800 Hey, welcome back to the PianoPod with Yukimi. Thanks for tuning in to the PianoPod Summer Special Series. 2 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:10,800 So for the next couple of weeks, I will create 21 short clips 3 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:18,080 featuring the guests from season 3 and post them on TPP's social media accounts like TikTok, 4 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:24,600 Instagram threads, and Facebook. So please follow the PianoPod on your favorite social media platform, 5 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:32,880 like this post, and share it or repost it on your account. If you have never listened to any episodes of the PianoPod, 6 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:40,280 please check them out. All the episodes from the previous seasons are available in an audio format on your favorite 7 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:45,360 podcasting platform and in the video format on TPP's YouTube channel. 8 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:52,680 So you ask why 21 short clips? Because this show is all about bringing the piano into the 9 00:00:52,680 --> 00:01:01,280 21st century. And actually, the real reason is that last season, season 3, had 21 episodes. 10 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:09,800 Anyways, now that I've done three seasons of this podcast, which I am very proud of, I can see more clearly 11 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:17,200 why I wanted to do this initially and why I need to continue doing this show. Let me start by sharing my personal 12 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:25,880 story, my humble beginning in New York City as a graduate student and piano teacher, which was the year 13 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:34,960 2007, long time ago. So at that time, I just moved to New York City to attend the NYU graduate program. 14 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:42,080 Before that, I was actually a college teacher in Florida for several years, but I wanted to learn more and 15 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:50,440 felt that I needed to deepen my training and broaden my vision as a pianist. So I decided to pursue another 16 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:57,600 degree in piano and pack up everything and drove all the way from Florida to New York City on my own with my 17 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:04,400 Honda Accord with a U-Haul trailer hitched to my car. How crazy. I don't think I can ever do that sort of crazy 18 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:11,960 stuff anymore. So as I was attending NYU, I also started teaching piano on my own. And within a 19 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:18,040 few months, I ended up building a thriving community through piano teaching in a trendy neighborhood of 20 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:24,840 downtown Manhattan. However, I started noticing a huge gap between myself as a classical pianist and 21 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:33,840 educator, and my students and their parents. I noticed immediately that my students and their parents expectations 22 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:41,400 and my expectations toward music lessons and music education were so so different. Before even thinking 23 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:48,160 about, you know, how or what to teach, I had to face this big question. How can I present the beautiful 24 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:54,200 tradition of classical music to the 21st century audience in a fun, contemporary and engaging way? As a 25 00:02:54,200 --> 00:03:01,240 classically trained pianist and educator, I believed and still believe in the power of classical music, 26 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:09,920 deeply rooted in the tradition and history laid out by great composers, pedagogues, researchers, and 27 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:17,640 performing artists. And classical music is still evolving so that it remains relevant to the people, 28 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:25,440 society and culture of that time. Anyway, going back to my story, in my graduate school year, one of 29 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:32,720 the music department's professors at NYU saw my struggles and concerns and suggested that I start a 30 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:39,000 podcast to create a digital community for classical musicians and music educators to start a 31 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:45,160 conversation about audience engagement. And finally, fast forward to season three, the last season, 32 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:52,000 the direction of this podcast went toward the subject of audience engagement. It took me nearly 33 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:59,280 three years since its launch to finally, you know, meet my goal. Since the launch of the PianoPod in 34 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:07,200 2020, I have had the privilege of interviewing A-list concert pianists, composers, arrangers, digital 35 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:13,640 streamers, influencers, music educators, neurodiverse specialists, and performance 36 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:20,720 psychologists. And particularly in the last season, season three, as you can see the pictures of guests 37 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:28,680 from the season, I have established a wide range of guest lineups from all walks of life in our 38 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:36,840 industry, which I am super, super grateful for. After three years, the PianoPod has nearly 100,000 39 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:46,200 downloads on audio formats and 2000 subscribers on YouTube. Just finished its third season in June, 40 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:53,200 but the show's format remains the same as previous seasons, which is bi-weekly, I interview a guest 41 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:58,960 speaker who has been breaking exciting new ground in the classical music industry. My mission as 42 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:07,280 a detective producer and host of the PianoPod is to provide a platform for classical musicians and 43 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:13,920 educators to reflect and discuss how to keep our industry robust and relevant in this rapidly 44 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:20,120 changing world and move it forward in the post pandemic era. For the new season, season four, 45 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:26,920 which will begin in September 2023. Now that things are back to normal after the difficult 46 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:35,160 three years we've experienced, I'd like to focus on two topics. One is the impact of COVID-19 in 47 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:42,120 the music industry. And the second one is our musical identity. Well, let's see how each guest 48 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:47,160 will lead the pathway through the interview session in the new season. We may end up talking 49 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:53,520 about entirely different topics, who knows? It all depends on where we are as a society at that time. 50 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:58,960 So before we go, please don't forget to like this video. Thanks for watching and listening to this 51 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:26,960 post and hope to see you soon.