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We're sitting on the sidewalk. This young lady was playing a piano. I am so excited

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that we're going to turn it over to Mickey and she's going to play whatever God put

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in her spoon to play. The Gather Here Tour, it's a project where I travel around the country with

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the piano in a van and yeah I play in community gathering spaces instead of formal concert halls

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where you know not everyone might feel welcome or they might not even have geographical access

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you know. So I bring the music to the people really and all my concerts are free. It's all

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about making classical music you know available to everyone who wants it or who may not even

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know that they want it. You know like a lot of people I play for have never gone to a

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classical concert. Yeah and they show up because I'm playing in their local cafe that they like

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to go to so. But the tour is really about getting to know America really deeply on a level that not

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many other people are and trying to find common humanity with everyone who's you know on different

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sides of political spectrum, the economic spectrum, you know these racial tensions,

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everything in America that can keep people apart. I'm trying to find something that brings us

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together which can be classical music. Classical music can't be enjoyed by more people than is

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currently and it's a matter of being brave and where you take your music, thinking outside the

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box, being aware of current events and what people are talking about and what issues and how can

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classical music interact with that. It's the country that lets me be who I am like it is very

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free being in this country like of course we always talk about the problems but also like it

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is a privilege to be here and yeah to like to do this crazy thing and people appreciate that I'm

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doing this. I'm starting to be able to say that I understand America more than most people. Yeah

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you too. Join us this Tuesday, February 6th at 8 p.m. Eastern for an inspiring conversation with

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Miki Sawada, classical pianist and CEO of Gather Here Inc. streaming on Piano Pod's YouTube channel

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and available on your favorite podcast platforms. Hit that subscribe button, spread the word and

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don't forget to follow the Piano Pod on social media. Catch you Tuesday!