Dreamer: The Encounters Finale

This is it! Here is the Encounters finale! It has been an incredible journey to take with you all and I hope you have enjoyed this project. Thank you to all of the 9 to 5’er artists who participated in Encounters and thank you to the audience members of the Encounters community who have followed this story since it started four years ago.

(If you are interested in my new projects, I encourage you to check out the Engineering page of this website.)

And now, without further ado, I present to you the Encounters finale featuring my original song entitled, Dreamer. Enjoy!

(P.S. If you want to skip my intro, the official Encounter starts at 02:58)

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With that, I will end this story of Encounters with these final words:

We All Matter, We All Inspire.

………The End.

Encounter #23: Mediterranean Beats with Christos

This month’s Encounter is with 9 to 5’er artist, Christos. Christos is a chemical engineer originally from Greece who works in the field of environmental protection. Outside of his 9 to 5 job, Christos has a passion for writing and is a published poet. For his Encounter, Christos shares his passion for both music and poetry. The first half of the Encounter features Christos’ performance on vocals and drums with a Greek folk music band and the second half of the Encounter features one of Christos’ poems. For a treat, all of the art featured in this Encounter is intertwined with the beautiful backdrop of Greece. If you would like to learn more about Christos and his passion for poetry, I encourage you to check out his story on The Characters page of this website. Also, if you would like to learn more about his work as a chemical engineer in environmental protection, check out the Engineering page of this website. As always, I have included a brief written story of my Encounter with Christos below.

And now, without further ado, I present to you our Encounter with Christos. Enjoy! (P.S. If you would like to skip my intro, Christos’ story begins at 03:50 and his artistic Encounter begins at 08:06, with the poetry beginning at 12:23).

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I’ve been procrastinating this one. This post.

Why? Is it because it is my father’s and I feel the need to do it justice? Is it because it is my last guest featured 9to5’er artist and I feel a responsibility to be prolific? Or is it because it is the second to last post of this entire series and maybe, it is the step right before your last that is the most difficult one to take.

Either way, I am so glad that there has been a natural circularity to the Encounters series that makes it feel it was destined to be. The series started off with my mother, a visual artist, as my first guest featured 9to5’er artist and it now reaches the end with my father, a writer, as the last featured 9to5’er artist. Sure, in some ways, I orchestrated the line-up, but everything for this project seemed to fall into place without much effort or push. Each story happened at its appropriate time and now, the stories of our featured 9to5’er artists lay nestled and protected between the stories of those who are the pillars of my own creative life: the stories of Ellen and Christos.

My Baba has taught me so much. He has taught me how to be a disciplined and thorough engineer. He has taught me everything I know in the world of music, and not in a technical way of understanding music theory and the like (which neither of us do), but as the open-minded explorer; diving in and just feeling with no expectations or thoughts, just honesty and a connection like no other. My Baba taught me to be curious in everything and to find joy and pleasure in the little things. He was the one to show me that we can discover music within our words. My Baba has always been the one I “feared” the most - wanting to meet his expectations - and revered the most because it is he who has taught me how to truly live a full life regardless of your circumstance.

Christos is the rebel of the family, whom I take after very much. He is guided by honesty and hard work and is never afraid to speak his mind when it is rooted in logic and especially in the cases when the well-being of others is compromised due to injustices. He is a passionate engineer who gives everything in his job to clean up our environment and protect it and he is a role model to me in that regard. His accomplishments as a poet are an inspiration and his poetry itself is a practiced art done with such care and thought. Christos’ mind is a vast library of literature and in his works, he is not afraid to let the voices of the legends guide him in his own narrative. A true artist is not afraid to welcome in the world and its diversity of perspectives and languages, and Christos opens that door through his writing, constantly exploring different sounds, styles, and words.

I am so proud to be the daughter of Christos and Ellen. Together, they have shown me that dichotomy can truly exist within oneself. They have shown me that valuing education and being technical does not necessarily mean you are always serious and boring. They are forever young to me because their passion for the arts comes from a continuous curiosity to learn about the world around them and a playfulness of creative minds willing to push boundaries and see things differently. There is a laughter in their love, a love that is real, and it is rooted in their connection through art. And for me, that is what Encounters has always been. It is my expression of love to those around me; an homage to all the creative individuals who have touched my life and shown me how amazing this world can be when we share who we truly are.

Encounter #22: World of Things (A City of Extremes)

This month's Encounter is a Demi Encounter. For this Encounter, I am sharing my original song entitled,  World of Things (A City of Extremes). World of Things is a song from my first ever music album,#demisongs, which I will be releasing this April so stay tuned! A big thank you to my sister and my friends, Al and Matt, at The Loft Recording Studios for helping me bring this song to the next level. If you enjoy reading, I encourage you to check out the story behind my song below.  

And now, without further ado, I present to you, World of Things.  Enjoy!  (P.S. If you would like to skip my intro, the song begins at O5:07).

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If you live in a city, chances are, that at some point in your day today, you passed by someone who was homeless.

Sitting at the corner, on the sidewalk, on a park bench. Sleeping in a subway car.

How did it make you feel? Wanting to help but feeling helpless? Scared? Sad? Angry? Guilty? Or did the scene not even register with you because it is a scene that, unfortunately, you have become too accustomed to?

This is what my song, World of Things, explores. It has been my way of diving into my emotions and thoughts on this issue of poverty in the United States; something that I witness everyday. World of Things is my message on an issue that is too prevalent, and an issue that we can solve if we sidestep greed and truly honor the fact that, We All Matter.

For this post, instead of a story, I want to share data. To raise awareness, which in turn is the first step towards actionable change.

Before we become obsessed with new virtual realities, let’s first fix the problems in our current one.

Excerpts from “Report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights on his mission to the United States of America”, Human Rights Council, United Nations:

• “[In the United States] About 40 million live in poverty, 18.5 million in extreme poverty, and 5.3 million live in Third World conditions of absolute poverty. It has the highest youth poverty rate in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)…”

• “The United States has the highest rate of income inequality among Western countries…in 2018, the United States had over 25% of the world’s 2,208 billionaires…The share of the top 1 percent of the population in the United States has grown steadily in recent years. In 2016, they owned 38.6% of total wealth.”

• “The United States now has one of the lowest rates of intergenerational social mobility of any of the rich countries. Zip codes, which are usually reliable proxies for race and wealth, are tragically reliable predictors of a child’s future employment and income prospects. High child and youth poverty rates perpetuate the intergenerational transmission of poverty very effectively, and ensure that the American dream is rapidly becoming the American illusion.”

• “In 2016, 18% of children [in the United States] (13.3 million) were living in poverty, and children comprised 32.6% of all people in poverty…Contrary to stereotypical assumptions, 31% of poor children are White, 24% are Black, 36% are Hispanic, and 1% are indigenous.”

• “On a given night in 2017 [in the United States], about 21% (or 114,829) of homeless individuals were children.”

• “[In the United States] The official point-in-time estimates of homelessness in 2017 show a nationwide figure of 553,742, including 76,501 in New York, 55,188 in Los Angeles, and 6,858 in San Francisco. There is ample evidence that these figures underestimate the actual scale of the problem.”

• “Sleeping rough, sitting in public places, panhandling, public urination, and myriad other offenses have been devised to attack the “blight” of homelessness. The criminalization of homeless individuals in cities that provide almost zero public toilets seems particularly callous. In June 2017, it was reported that the approximately 1,800 homeless individuals on Skid Row in Los Angeles had access to only nine public toilets. Los Angeles failed to meet even the minimum standards the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees sets for refugee camps in the Syrian Arab Republic and other emergency situations.”

• “[In the United States] Poverty is frequently treated as a form of “child neglect” and thus as cause to remove a child from the home, a risk exacerbated by the fact that some states do not provide legal aid in child welfare proceedings.”

• “In both Europe and the United States, the richest 1 percent earned 10% of national income in 1980. By 2017 that had risen slightly in Europe to 12%, but massively in the United States to 20%. Since 1980, annual income earnings for the top 1 percent in the United States have risen 205%, while for the top 0.001 percent the figure is 636%. By comparison, the average annual wage of the bottom 50 percent has stagnated since 1980.”

• “High inequality undermines sustained economic growth. It manifests itself in poor education levels, inadequate health care, and the absence of social protection for the middle class and the poor, which in turn limits their economic opportunities and inhibits overall growth.”

• “Health care is, in fact, a human right. The civil and political rights of the middle class and the poor are fundamentally undermined if they are unable to function effectively, which includes working, because of a lack of the access to health care that every human being needs.”

• “…there are indispensable ingredients for a set of policies designed to eliminate poverty. They include: democratic decision-making, full employment policies, social protection for the vulnerable, a fair and effective justice system, gender and racial equality, respect for human dignity, responsible fiscal policies and environmental justice.”

No Matter the Politics. The Change Can Start With Us. We Have the Power.

Encounter #21: Destination Singing with Panit

This month's Encounter is with 9 to 5'er artist, Paint Chantranuluck.  Panit is originally from Thailand and she is an actress, singer, and flight attendant. For her Encounter, Panit blends her passions for singing and travel by sharing a montage of songs performed in the different destinations that she has visited as a flight attendant.  If you would like to learn more about Panit and her passion for the performing arts, I encourage you to check out her story on The Characters page of this website.  I have also included a brief written story of my Encounter with Panit below.  

And now, without further ado, I present to you our Encounter with Panit.  Enjoy! (P.S. If you would like to skip my intro, Panit's story begins at 03:05 and her artistic Encounter begins at 05:01)

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How do you see this world that we live in?

Until recently, I used to believe that there was only one “correct” way to see the world. That perception of life and this shared reality was clearly written down by Society, guided by pragmatism and science. This belief caused me some internal struggle because my mind wanted so much to accept Society’s guidebook but, by its nature, it could not. One of my mind’s favorites to question was the concept of reality. My mind wandered through ideas about the self in relation to the outside world, the relationship between cerebral and physical, and individual versus shared perspective; a nebulous landscape, which to this day, I am still quite unable to make sense of. These thoughts made me feel that I was straying from the guidebook that I believed everyone else was following and therefore, I needed to “correct” my mind fast.

But then, Encounters happened, and it gave me insight more than ever before into the beauty and complexity of the human character.

From the stories of the 9 to 5’er artists that I featured, I came to realize that our reality is naturally fragmented. It is broken into millions and millions of pieces, each piece unique to each individual. Life, this shared experience, is interpreted differently by each piece; a dancer may experience it through touch, a musician through sound, a painter through sight. Listening to a speech, some may pay attention to the actual words, others to the musicality of its diction, others to the intention behind them, and for some, maybe it’s simply the breath?

Encounters showed me the endless possibilities of how we can see this world.

Each of us does live in our own reality to an extent; who we are as individuals forms our perception of this shared world that we live in.

And to me, that is why art exists. Art enables us to show the world as we see it and consequently, create new worlds by combining our perspectives.

Panit is the second to last 9 to 5’er artist who I am featuring before the conclusion of the Encounters story. I wanted Panit to share her story near the end of Encounters’ final chapter because I think that her Encounter perfectly captures this idea of perspective.

As a flight attendant, Panit has traveled the world and encountered so many different cultures. Travel opens our minds and shows us how life is interpreted differently depending on where you live. Our values, our perspectives are shaped so heavily by the terrain in which we live. In the man-made concrete jungle of New York City filled with 8.6 million people (and millions more tourists), efficiency and speed are what is valued by its inhabitants. In the Mediterranean, where the sun heavily beats down in the middle of the day during the summer months, life is rearranged and the towns and small cities take a pause. Businesses close, people take siestas or mesimeris, and come out at night to continue the hustle and bustle of their lives. Here, the people respect and value nature because they have a closer connection to it than those from the man-made jungle of NYC.

Although we may look at life differently depending on where we are from, Panit lays down a common thread connecting all of the different places in this world, through song. As seen in her Encounter, Panit finds connection to the places that she visits through her passion for music. Each different piece of the globe inspires a different song. Working as cabin crew, Panit’s perspective is constantly changing, whether it’s being in Tokyo or England or at 41,000 ft. elevation in the sky, but it is the music that is her continuous reality, her “home”.

Panit is an artist and performer who I have always been inspired by because her love for the performing arts is so honest and pure that it’s transcendent and consequently, uplifts those around her. Now, with all the different perspectives that Panit has encountered through her travels, I can only imagine that her art will grow, evolve, and resonate with even more people, unknowingly sculpted by the millions of pieces around the world that make up this shared reality.

Encounter #20: Slacklining with Witek

This month's Encounter is with 9 to 5'er artist, Witek Gawlik.  Witek is a sustainable energy engineer from Poland who currently resides in Italy. Outside of his engineering studies, Witek has a passion for the sport of slacklining.  For his Encounter, Witek shares his slacklining talents in an array of beautiful backdrops of seasons and locations, from Italy to Greece.  If you would like to learn more about Witek and his passion for slacklining, I encourage you to check out his story on The Characters page of this website.  I have also included a brief written story of my Encounter with Witek below.  

And now, without further ado, I present to you our Encounter with Witek.  Enjoy! (P.S. If you would like to skip my intro, Witek's story begins at 03:05 and his artistic Encounter begins at 08:08, with a special treat at 12:49)

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Balance (noun) : that ever elusive intangible thing that many of us strive for in life

Ok, so this may not be the Webster’s dictionary definition of “balance” but I think referring to the actual definition explains why the above statement is so true - “Balance” is the “equipoise between contrasting, opposing, or interacting elements”. In this current era, so many of us find balance to be elusive because our fast-paced lives hinder our ability to achieve it. We have our careers, our families, our friends, and our passions that we must squeeze into less than 24 hours a day. Many of us want to give each aspect of our life the same attention and care but it is a difficult juggling act. I am one of those people, and so when I Encountered Witek and got to see how slacklining embodies this elusive quality of balance, I found it extremely beautiful and calming and knew that I wanted to share this balancing art with the Encounters community.

Witek’s talent for slacklining is impressive because it is also creative. I can tell you from personal experience that it takes tremendous skill to make a first step on the line. As Witek explains, you must work hard and persevere to first achieve the balance and only after you have achieved balance, can you move forward (just like in life). Witek pushes the boundaries of this unique sport by combining it with his other passion, yoga. With extreme focus, he is able to balance on a line while holding his foot in the air in and with extreme strength and flexibility, he manages to even hold a split on the line. The acrobatics are indeed a testament to Witek’s tremendous athletic capabilities but beyond the athletics, Witek also has a talent of capturing the artistic side of slacklining through film and music. As you will see from Witek’s Encounter, there is something visually uplifting and empowering about slackline as we see these athletes defy nature while simultaneously embracing it; what comes to mind is the image of the slackline athlete walking the line with the horizon in the background.

I am so happy that Witek is sharing his passion and story with the Encounters community because he is an individual who has shown me that barriers in life can be overcome with persistence, dedication, and connection to one’s true self. As Witek explains in his bio, the balance of slacklining helps him in balance of the mind and, in addition to slacklining and engineering, he is leading the way for improved education and awareness of mental illness in his native country.

This Encounter is dedicated to all of those who feel balance will always be elusive and to show them, it is not. It just takes time, practice, and perseverance before we can make that first step. But once we do, the heights we can achieve are limitless!

Encounter #19: Rent Control with CT Marie and Eric

This month's Encounter is with 9 to 5'er artists, CT Marie and Eric Doviak.  In addition to their "9 to 5" jobs, CT Marie and Eric are writers, directors, and actors in their new show called, Rent Control.  For their Encounter, CT Marie and Eric share behind-the-scenes of the making of Rent Control as well as a few clips from this upcoming web series which will be released this winter.  If you would like to learn more about CT Marie and Eric and Rent Control, I encourage you to check out their story on The Characters page of this website.  I have also included a brief written story of my Encounter with CT Marie and Eric below.  

And now, without further ado, I present to you our Encounter with Rent Control and its creators.  Enjoy! (P.S. If you would like to skip my intro, the official Encounter begins at 03:59)

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As my sister says, New York City brings together the odd edges of life...

and that is what the show, Rent Control, examines through its own unique and humorous lens.  I Encountered it's co-creator and co-star, CT Marie, a long time ago as we are close family friends.  I always remember having such imaginative and exciting playdates with CT Marie as kids.  Together, we'd make up stories often centered around magic (in which I would often try to incorporate Santa Claus, regardless of the season) and CT Marie was never short of new characters and their voices to match!  I am so happy that as we grew up, that sense of play never left us as we pursued our own creative endeavors.  Our families are bonded by a likeness in our passion for art and affinity for the eccentric and strange and I am forever grateful for this connection to such a talented, unique, and lively family.

When CT Marie shared with me the premise of the show, Rent Control, that she was co-writing with her friend, Eric Doviak, I thought it was perfect.  The apartment in which Rent Control was filmed exhibits a physical conglomeration of ideas, thoughts, and feelings and that is what this show examines: snapshots of the lives of New York City eccentrics.  I was invited to be a part of Rent Control in a small role and while I was on set, I Encountered Eric for the first time and was excited by the passion that he and CT Marie exuded for the show, their creation.  Every little detail during filming was discussed and carefully considered and they talked so freely of the characters as though they were real people that I started to believe them!  To me, that is the sign of great writers and actors, when you dive into their world so readily without hesitation.  Furthermore, the number of people who were a part of this project, as film personnel or actors,  outside of their own 9 to 5's, is a real testament to how many of us believe in CT Marie and Eric and this show.

Rent Control will be released as a web series this coming winter and so I hope you guys will tune in!  To stay up to date, you can follow the show on Instagram at @rentcontrol.theshow  

Encounter #18: Waiting

This week's Encounter is a Demi Encounter.  For this Encounter, I am sharing my first original song with lyrics entitled Waiting.  Waiting is my first professionally recorded song so a big thank you to my friends at The Loft Recording Studios for helping me bring this song to the next level.  If you enjoy reading, I encourage you to check out the story behind my songwriting below.  

And now, without further ado, I present to you, Waiting.  Here's to the first of many more Demi songs to come on Encounters! :)  (If you would like to skip the intro, the song begins at O4:52).

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Q: How can we elevate our words?

My Answer: By uncovering the music behind them.

Since high school, I have been composing on the piano for fun.  I love creating melodies on the piano (which often times end up sounding like the soundtrack to the life of a fairy)  but in the past, I would get frustrated that I could never sing with the piano.  First off, I never thought of myself as a singer and secondly, the notes that I determined I could sing, for some reason magically seemed to not exist on the piano.  It was a love-hate relationship that I had with my piano for the longest time because, while it spun out beautiful ethereal melodies, it refused to let me sing with it.  I am a loquacious person and for me, words are how I emote.  They are my strength and writing has always been  "easier" for me than other things.  I mean this in the sense that, when I do allow myself to let go, the words will flow out of the pen on their own and know exactly how to stand in a line to form that precise feeling that cuts through the air and into the soul.  This entry is not the best example of it but when it does happen, it is, ironically, indescribable but wonderful.

4 years ago, I was given a gift.  Interestingly, it came at a time of pain and loss and I was looking for a way to release and find some solace.  So I sat down at my piano and played 4 chords.  I kept playing these 4 chords because I wanted to sing.  I was desperate to put words to the emotions; to describe my internal world and make sense of what happened in the outside world; and to find connection again.  I wanted the music to speak.  And somehow, magically, that day it agreed to do just that and Waiting was written.  

Waiting was the tipping point for an overflow of songs that poured out of me in the following four years.  Songwriting was this gift that comforted me and allowed me to go on an adventure, exploring the relationship between melody and lyrics, how to develop beats, and, most fun for me, developing harmonies.  Although Waiting was written at a time of sorrow and sadness, it has ironically led me down a positive and enlightening path as I learned about music and myself.

This year, I decided on a gut feeling to professionally record some of the songs that I have been writing over the past few years.  As a chemical engineer, I had no idea where to start to record music.  The music world in general was an unknown to me but learning about it this year has turned out to be an exciting adventure that I am happy I get to experience together with my family (they are music aficionados as well).  I have learned so much about music and recording this past year and I give a big thank you to my new friends at The Loft Recording Studios who recorded Waiting.  Matt and Al at The Loft are such great and talented people to collaborate with; they understood my song and instinctively knew the vision I had, even if I couldn't put it into words.  They are the masters of their craft and the coolest and nicest guys I have met in the music world.  Collaborating with the team at The Loft has been one of the greatest gifts for me this year.

There is so much more I could write about music, songwriting, and this experience but I think I will stop here for now.  I have been recording over the past 6 months and I look forward to sharing with you these songs.  For me, music elevates words and I look forward to sharing my musical stories about loss, love, poverty, hope, and dreams in the coming months.

This creative endeavor has been a dream and I am so grateful to share it with my family.  My sister, who is affectionally now called "The Producer", has come to every single recording session (some lasting as long as 4 hours!) and always lets me know when we need to drop a beat, add a snare, or an "egg shakey thing".  My mom, "The Manager", as the most curious and adventurous one of the family, was the one who discovered The Loft and planted the seed of this idea.  My Baba, "The Fan and The Founder", places a dollar on the fireplace every time he listens to Waiting - his version of iTunes.  I recently discovered Baba's own musical recordings from his university years when he was a drummer and singer in a traditional Greek music ensemble; the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.  Without these 3 pillars in my life, I would not be living out this dream and so I thank them for raising me in a world of creativity, curiosity, passion, and magic.

Encounter #17: Wild Heart Ballet with Suzana

This month's Encounter is with 9 to 5'er artist, Suzana Stankovic.  Suzana is  a professional dancer, mother, and business owner of her new dance studio, Wild Heart Performing Arts Studio, in Astoria, Queens, New York.  For her Encounter, Suzana shares a collage of her dances throughout New York City.  If you would like to learn more about Suzana and her passion for dance, I encourage you to check out her story on The Characters page of this website.  I have also included a brief written story of my Encounter with Suzana below.  

And now, without further ado, I present to you our Encounter with Suzana.  Enjoy! (P.S. If you would like to skip my intro, Suzana's story begins at 04:39 and her artistic Encounter begins at 10:14)

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I Encountered Suzana two years ago in an adult ballet class.  She was the teacher and I was the student.

Ballet is like the siren's call of dance.  Its ethereal lines and grace are intoxicatingly beautiful and are what attracts so many to the art form of dance.  It is only until you try dancing ballet that you come to discover that, in addition to the beauty, ballet also has an underbelly of struggle, which you will experience constantly as you try to achieve that ethereal form that can feel forever elusive.  Ballerinas flutter and prance and twirl but what is kept as a secret from those who watch in awe is that the grace and lightness is rooted in tremendous strength, work ethic, and resilience.  

Ballet and I have always been at odds.  Ballet would constantly remind me how inflexible and undainty I was and in return, I would criticize it for being archaic and unexpressive as an art form.  How can I express how I feel if I am told how to exactly place my fingers or point my toes?  Where is the originality and individuality in that?  

Suzana was the first teacher to end the vicious cycle of a love-hate relationship that I, and many other recreational adult dancers, had with ballet.  How?  Simply, her  intense love of ballet blended with her incredibly compassionate personality and all-encompassing philosophy of art and life was the perfect antidote to the adult dancer's blues.  Suzana welcomed all types of dancers, including those who were trying ballet for the very first time as adults, and she showed genuine confidence in their vision to be as graceful and beautiful as a prima ballerina.  Suzana was the first ballet teacher I had as an adult who gave me the confidence to believe in myself and truly believe that I could achieve anything with "courage, commitment, and love", which is a philosophy that I now extend beyond dance to  all parts of my life.

Suzana's classes are this magical escape where her students can dream, believe, learn, and work hard to achieve the yearnings of their wild heart in a world where there are "no labels, no limits" - the mantra of Suzana's dance studio.  I thank Suzana for reaching out to the community of adult recreational dancers, who at times can feel bashful or inadequate because of a lack of training at an early age or misconceptions about "dancer physique",  and help us realize our full potential and give us a place where we can truly be who we are: fearless, passionate, strong, and beautiful. 

Encounter #16: Fairies Dance (the music video)

As promised, this is the second half of the Demi Encounter entitled, Fairies Dance.  I present to you my first ever "music video", which  I have filmed for my composition Fairies Dance.  This video is a collaboration with my sister, who is a structural engineer, architect, and visual artist, and whose art forms are featured in the video.  The purpose of Encounters is to share our creative voices and our stories and so, I have included my story behind the Fairies Dance music video below.   Enjoy! (P.S. If you would like to skip the intro, the official Encounter begins at 04:45)

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Home where my thought's escaping, Home where my music's playing, Home where my love lies waiting, Silently for me - Homeward Bound, Simon & Garfunkel.  

For the past 28 years, home has always been the same for me.  Literally.  I never moved from my childhood home.  The big move for me was down the hall from my childhood apartment and into my mom's art studio during those "liberating" years of college.  Then I moved to Italy this past year for 6 months and home became a concept for me to rediscover.  With a Greek father, Europe has been a constant in my life and I feel like I have a second home in Greece as well as Amsterdam (where my sister had lived).  The difference with Italy was that I knew no one, let alone have any family there.  This was truly a foreign place for me where I would have to figure out how to live, survive, and thrive on my own.

Fairies Dance, the video, turned out to by my personal exploration of finding home in Italy.  

I have an older sister who is a structural engineer and architect by profession and who has an incredible eye for the visual arts and aesthetic design.  She creates little forms when she has an idea (which is often) and so, throughout my apartment, you will find these forms sprinkled around, seeking refuge in the nooks and crannies of my bookshelves.  I wanted to share these forms with the Encounters community as just a glimpse into the creative visions of my sister therefore, I decided to make a film to my song, Fairies Dance, with her forms as the focal point.

It was through my journey with my sister's forms that I came to realize how I found home in Italy.  Walking around the small Italian town where I lived, Piacenza, I began to see my sister's forms in the architecture of the old Italian town.  This sparked a realization that there are constants in life no matter where we are.  Visually, these constants were my sister's forms as I uncovered them in the architecture of sleepy Piacenza and the cityscape of my hometown.  From my experience in Italy, these constants were love, a "family" meal, and camaraderie.  

And so, what began as a desire to artistically collaborate with my sister, became a deeper exploration for me of the journey to find home.  Although our path in life is unpredictable, we leave behind a thread of footsteps wherever we go that tells our story, and as we venture into the unknown, those constants await us, masked in a different form but ready to be rediscovered. 

Encounter #16: Fairies Dance (the song)

This week's Encounter is a Demi Encounter entitled, Fairies Dance.  Fairies Dance is an original composition of mine that I composed on piano back when I was in college.  I will be sharing this Encounter in two parts.  The first part is the song that I am sharing with you now and the second part is my version of a "music video" for the composition, which I will be sharing next week.  The purpose of Encounters is to share our creative voices and our stories and so I have included my story behind Fairies Dance below.  I hope you enjoy Part 1 of this Encounter and stay tuned next week for Part 2!  Enjoy! (P.S. If you would like to skip the intro, the official Encounter begins at 04:13)

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Music sustains me.  

It breathes out notes that give intention to words and meaning to emotions.  It transcends but it also connects.  Music has always been a form of magic for me and composing, it is a treasured gift.  I get excited to explore each time I sit at the piano, navigating the melodies and rhythms in the hopes of finding that exact tune that resonates with how I feel.   Fairies Dance came out of a place that was inspired by the romance of classic literature.  It was inspired by a story and was my attempt to capture the bittersweet relationship between love and the passage of time.  It's a composition that reminds me of trains and journeys therefore, I thought it would be a fitting composition to share as we begin our new journey this year on Encounters.

Encounter #15: Tasty Masterpieces with Joanna

This month's Encounter is with 9 to 5'er artist, Joanna Ma.  Joanna is a native New Yorker who now resides in California where she works as a biomedical engineer. Outside of her engineering profession,  Joanna has a passion for cake art and in 2013, she founded her own cake decorating business called, It’s Jo Cake!   For her Encounter, Joanna shares with the Encounters community a few of her cake masterpieces as well as provides a glimpse into the creative process of cake decorating.  If you would like to learn more about Joanna and her passion for cake design, please check out her bio on The Characters page of this website.  I also encourage you to check out Joanna's blog entry on the Engineering page to learn more about about her profession in biomedical engineering.

I first Encountered Joanna in my freshman year of college when we both were members of our school's step team.  Due to different majors and years, Joanna and I did not hang out much but I always thought that she was very sweet.  A few years after we had graduated, while perusing aimlessly on Facebook, I came to discover that Joanna's knack for sweetness extended beyond just her personality.  I am a fiend for sweets so any pictures of said "food" will always catch my eye.  One day, I saw that Joanna had posted a few pictures of very beautiful and whimsical cakes and, as a sweet tooth, I felt it my duty to investigate further.  What I came to discover was that Joanna had started her own cake decorating business and I was impressed by not only the intricacy and creativity of her cake masterpieces, but also by her ability to start her own business.  From experience, the balance of passions, career, and personal life, is not easy therefore, I find those whose passion drives them to see their dreams actually come to life to be inspiring, since it takes a lot of hardwork, determination, sacrifice, and dedication.  To me, Joanna is one of those inspiring individuals.

Joanna's cakes are creative and intricate works of art and at times, complex feats of engineering (check out her purple dinosaur cake!).  As Joanna describes in her Encounter, the wonder of cake decorating is how these structures and forms are all made with edible materials and the joy of it is just that - you can eat them!  I have yet to try one of Joanna's amazing cakes (since, what seems to be my very bad cake luck, I do not live in the Bay area) but, from the looks of what I've seen, they are bound to be incredibly delicious.  For her Encounter, Joanna provides a glimpse into the cake art process and it becomes evident that Joanna is passionate about this art form through the time that she puts in to creating her masterpieces, from baking and sculpting the fluffy cake foundations to her meticulous attention to detail as she takes icing and turns it into art.  Joanna is a true definition of a 9 to 5'er artist and I am so happy that she will now share her story and tasty masterpieces with the Encounters community.

And now, without further ado, I present to you our Encounter with engineer and cake designer, Joanna.  Enjoy!

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Welcome back to Encounters - Season 2!

Welcome back, Encounters community!  To kick off Season 2 of Encounters,  I thought I would share with you the inspiration for this project to help set the stage for the next chapter of our Encounters story.  Stay tuned to Encounters this season  as we have a great line-up of beautifully inspiring and deliciously unique 9 to 5'er artists including fearless ballerinas, an engineer/cake designer/entrepreneur, and a flight attendant whose passion for song and music is shared with all the exotic places that she visits.  I am also excited to share a few creative creations of my own that have been inspired by the amazing people and places I have Encountered this past year.

And now, without further ado, I present our first Encounter of the season.  Enjoy!

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Thank you to the arts for being food for the soul.

Its transformative power is nothing beyond magic.  I am so grateful to my family for raising me with an appreciation and exposure to all forms of art - dance, theatre, music, visual art, literature - and for raising me in New York City, the epicenter of diversity in all regards.

Human expression in the arts is one of the most beautiful things in the world to me because it is simultaneously intimate and universal.  How one can write a story about their own personal life and it speaks the narrative of the lives of so many others.  How the guitar diddy that someone plucks away can tug on the heartstrings of a crowd.  How the body of one dancer can reach to the limbs of an audience.  How a capsule of an image can open the eyes of the past, present, and future.

Art stems from the individual but it speaks volumes to the masses.  That is how I feel my connection is to life and to this world.  Through song, through dance, through acting, through writing.  I share these pieces of me and in return, I feel whole.

I have been pinned as the dramatic type, which I can understand, but I essentially will always have to argue that life is dramatic.  Drama is based on life therefore, life must be dramatic in its essence.  Death, heartbreak, love, birth all happen in reality and in strange, oddly higher power planned ways.  

People are characters.  We are the characters that we read.  

My goal is to embrace the drama and characters of life through my blog, Encounters.

Encounters officially returns soon! Stay tuned!

As I put the finishing touches on our first official Encounter of Season 2, I would like to share with you a mini Encounter that I put together for fun from this past summer in Greece.  Greek summers have always been magical for me and so I am happy to share some of that magic in the Greek landscape I filmed for this Encounter.  I hope you enjoy and please stay tuned as Encounters officially returns at the end of this month!

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The Interlude: An Encounter with Siena

Dear Encounters Community,

It has been a while since my last post but I am happy to announce that Encounters (Season 2) will be returning this September so please stay tuned!  It has been quite a busy year in my engineering life (with travel and textbook writing) but I have been working on this project throughout.  With that said, I am very excited to soon share with you the 9 to 5'er artists whom I'll be featuring, as well as some of my own artistic compositions that I have been working on.  

As we await the official return this Fall, I would like to share with you a mini Encounter of mine with the beautiful city of Siena.  I am currently on assignment in Italy for my engineering job and as a result, I have had the wonderful opportunity to visit a few cities thus far in this beautiful country, one of which was Siena.  

This was never intended to be an Encounter.  Siena was a trip with my mother to visit the past (my mother studied there as an art student many years ago).  As we walked around this quiet, dusty, red clay city, abandoned by its residents during the day to escape the ruthless heat of the sun, I began to see our journey into the past captured in the cityscape.  An old stairway, the Siena Duomo framed between two bushes like an old photograph, a hiding spot amongst the trees peering back at the city.  Therefore, I decided to capture the story of Time that Siena laid out for me so beautifully and I decided to do it through dance.  

My story of my Encounters with dance are for another day but, in summary, I am not a trained dancer and decided to take it up only recently as an adult.  With that said, I am tremendously obsessed with this art form.  Through dance, you can see music and I hope that, one day, I can capture that beauty.  So, there I was in Siena, dancing to no music with no music in mind, in public, and, in the case of the arched stairway, accidentally danced in what turned out to be someone's private entryway to their home (oops!).  A few weeks later, I was looking at my footage and heard this beautiful Halsey song and from there it all came together to make this little Encounter Interlude.  

I hope you all enjoy and please stay tuned this September when Encounters officially returns!  I hope you all have a great summer - one filled with art, inspiration, and Encounters 🙂

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Encounter #14: A Russian Melody with Roman

This week's Encounter is with 9 to 5'er artist, Roman Yakobov.  Roman was born in Tajikistan, grew up in Israel, and now currently resides in New York where he is pursuing a PhD in chemical engineering.  Outside of his research, Roman enjoys pursuing his passion for singing.  For his Encounter, Roman has chosen to share his rendition of Zhuravli (Cranes) by composer, Yan Frenkel.  If you would like to learn more about Roman and his passion for singing, please check out his bio on The Characters page of this website.

I consider my first Encounter with Roman a unique one because I Encountered the voice before I Encountered the person.  How is that possible?  Well, if you have ever worked in a laboratory, you may notice that the echo in some lab spaces is phenomenal.  As singers, we live for these kinds of spaces.  When we find them, whether they be hotel bathrooms, stairwells, or electrochemistry labs at a university, we cannot help but test out the acoustics.  One evening, after a long day of work at my university, I was waiting for the elevator when, all of sudden, I was startled by a loud operatic voice that echoed down the corridor.  The voice was singing in a foreign language but the power and somber emotion behind it transgressed the language barrier and left me transfixed.  I couldn’t figure out where the voice was coming from; almost everyone on the floor had left for the day already.  It seemed like it was coming from a lab but I was finding it hard to believe that our engineering building was the home of an opera singer.  Perplexed and amused, I listened to the powerful voice continue to sing until my elevator came.  As the elevator doors closed, I made a note to myself that I must track down the owner of that voice for Encounters.

The phantom voice made an appearance a few times more at my university, in stairwells and mystery labs, before I was able to track down the man behind it.  To make sure I wasn’t going crazy, I asked my boss if he too would randomly hear opera sometimes coming from the labs.  Without even looking up from the exams he was grading, my boss replied matter-of-factly, “Yeah, that’s Roman”.  And that, my friends, was my first Encounter with Roman, our resident laboratory singer.

It has been a pleasure for me to feature Roman on Encounters because I got to learn his story, along with the rest of the Encounters community, through this project.  His diverse international life experiences inform his music as he tackles a variety of genres in his song selection and brings to light the beauty in the old and forgotten styles.  His deep passion for his art is evident in the balancing act he manages between singing and the demands of a chemical engineering PhD.  As Roman passionately pursues both of his dreams, I encourage him to keep filling the halls and labs of the engineering school with his songs, even while he is making batteries.

And now, without further ado, I present to you our Encounter with the singer, Roman Yakobov.

P.S. If you would like to hear more of Roman's covers, please click here to check out his YouTube channel :)

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Encounter #13: Polyphonic Guitar with Jeff

This week's Encounter is with 9 to 5'er artist, Jeff LeBlanc.  Originally from Louisiana, Jeff is currently a chemical engineering PhD student at a university in New York City.  Outside of his PhD research, Jeff enjoys playing and composing on the guitar. For his Encounter, Jeff has chosen to share an original composition on the acoustic guitar.  If you would like to learn more about Jeff and his passion for music, please check out his bio on The Characters page of this website.

I first met Jeff three years ago when I began working at a research center at the university he attends.  Although I have known him for a while, it was not until last year when I first Encountered Jeff’s musical talents. 

Jeff is one of those guys who I have always admired for his tremendous passion for science.  To me, he is the ultimate engineer who seems to know everything there is to know in the realm of chemical engineering because he is so curious and fascinated to see and understand our world through the lens of a scientist.  Jeff always has an interesting science factoid on hand to share in any conversation and his quirky and hilarious sense of humor somehow manages to connect trivial day to day things with chemical engineering principles.  

Despite my own dichotomy of science and art, I used to find myself surprisingly dismissive of the fact that people like Jeff, who to me were so immersed in the sciences, would find any connection to the world of the arts, which in contrast, is enveloped in intangible emotions and the idea that nothing is concrete and factual.  But last year, Jeff proved me wrong when he shared with me his long-standing passion for music and the guitar.

The original composition that Jeff has chosen to share for his Encounter is a perfect example of his unique personality and musical style.  Jeff brings it back to his Louisiana roots with his constant heavy rhythm, reminiscent of Cajun influences, combined with a fast paced melody that sprinkles the notes into every crevice of the rhythm.  He captures both heavy and light in his music and reveals the harmony between what most would consider opposites.  As a scientist and engineer, Jeff sees our world at the microscopic level and that ability translates into his musical style where, despite what may be perceived overall as chaotic and sporadic, each note has a defined purpose and placement – it’s musical entropy that is pleasant to the ear (proud Jeff? :p).  Jeff really opened me up to a completely different way to hear and understand rhythm and melody and I am happy that he will now share his original music with the Encounters community.

And now, without further ado, I present to you our Encounter with the guitarist, Jeff LeBlanc. 

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Encounter #12: Acapella with Neil, Michael, and Dan

Hello Encounters community and welcome back! After a relaxing summer vacation, Encounters has returned and is excited to share with you an amazing lineup of 9 to 5’er artists this year.  Before we dive into our first Encounter of the Fall, I just want to take the time to say a most heartfelt thank you to all those who have participated in Encounters thus far, whether it be as a featured artist or a viewer.  Your enthusiasm, curiosity, and passion are what drive this project and I look forward to us continuing to share our art and stories with one another this coming year. 

Now that I have given my Academy Award speech, I think that is the cue for our next Encounter :)

This week’s Encounter is the first of its kind in that it is the first collaborative feature of the Encounters series.  Our featured 9 to 5’er artists are Neil, Michael, and Dan – the pioneers of the first acapella group at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.  Engineers by training, their professions now range from structural engineer to med school student but their passion for acapella still remains.  I have been a big fan of their beautiful acapella harmonies since our time in university together so, being the nice guys that they are, for their Encounter, Neil, Michael, and Dan collaborated with me on an acapella cover of the song, Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen.  If you would like to learn more about this talented acapella group and their passion for music, I encourage you to check out their story on The Characters page of this website.

It turns out I had a lot to say about my Encounter with Neil, Michael, and Dan so for this week's post, I am including the story behind the Encounter after the video feature.  For those of you who enjoy a good story, I encourage you to read on.

For this Encounter, I am including two videos.  The first one is of my collaboration with Neil, Michael, and Dan on Hallelujah and the second one is the cover by just the trio.  Although the first video isn’t a perfect finished product (due to me getting intimidated singing as a soprano), it embodies what I think being a 9 to 5’er artist is all about.  The guys and I got together on a Friday after work, commuting from places ranging from Long Island to Harlem, to meet on the Upper East Side and, after not having seen each other in 5 years, spent 4 hours to arrange, practice, and record our cover of Hallelujah.  That, to me, is the story of the 9 to 5’er artist.  We may not have all the time in the world to dedicate to our art because of our jobs and other life matters but we find ways to make time and make the most of it because it is a part of who we are.   

I hope you guys enjoy this week’s Encounter just as much as I enjoyed collaborating with Neil, Michael, and Dan on it.  I want to give a big thank you to Michelle for being our cameraman and photographer for this feature - we could not have done it without you!  I kept the first collaboration in its uncut version because I think the raw process that you see is what rings true to the beauty of 9 to 5’er artists.  If you want to experience next level ethereal acapella beauty, then please make sure you check out the second video of the cover by the trio.

Now, without further ado, I introduce to you our Encounter with the acapella trio of Neil, Michael, and Dan (in order from left to right in the video).  Enjoy!

P.S.  Interested to hear more of Neil, Michael, and Dan's covers as the Sons of Pitches?  Click on the link  to their YouTube channel

Interested to learn more about the Coopertones?  Click on the link to their YouTube channel

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I first Encountered Neil, Michael, and Dan during undergrad at the Cooper Union through an acapella group called the Coopertones.

As a chemical engineer who always looked to the performing arts as my elixir to help me survive the grueling engineering curriculum, I was thrilled when, in my senior year, I saw a flyer on the announcement board for acapella tryouts at my university.  I have always been a bit shy about singing so I was nervous to try out but it was my fascination with the beauty of acapella that drove me to take the chance. 

When I walked into the study room that had been temporarily transformed into an audition space, I was greeted by 3 friendly faces sitting behind a white desk, arranged in American Idol judges fashion.  They were Neil, Michael, and their friend, Nico.  Freshmen at the time, these 3 roommates were the founders of what would become the Cooper Union’s first acapella group, the Coopertones.  Neil, Michael, and Nico’s friendly smiles gave me confidence as I proceeded to sing but I could tell that these guys meant business.  They immediately became immersed in the music, staring into space and listening intently as though nothing else mattered, picking up every nuance of the melody and letting it resonate throughout their entire body.  After my audition, as I awaited call backs, I remember thinking that even if I didn’t get into the acapella group, I was just happy that these 3 guys were going to add some pizzazz and music to the hallways of Cooper Union, which, in my opinion, were too often filled with frantic shrieks of equations and theorems from exhausted overworked engineering students.

To my delight, I made it into the group and got to spend my senior year at the Cooper Union singing acapella with some of the nicest and most talented people I have ever met.  Neil and Micheal brought together students from all disciplines at the Cooper Union – engineering, art, and architecture – to form the Coopertones and it was a testament to their immense musical talent how they were so easily able to unearth beautiful harmonies and a full cohesive sound from the diverse group of styles and voices that they assembled. 

Dan was a freshman engineering student who made it into the group as well and was someone who stood out to me, despite his generally quiet demeanor.  I was amazed to discover that Dan never sang before joining Coopertones.  He was an experienced pianist who decided to give singing a shot and tried out for acapella.  It was fascinating to see how Dan applied his experience in playing an instrument to singing – you could tell that the songs and lyrics translated into sheet music in his head.  He had this uncanny ability to pinpoint the exact notes with his perfect pitch and what came out of his mouth was one of the most authentic and sweet voices I have ever heard, beautiful in its honesty and simplicity.

Neil and Micheal were a dynamic duo of the Mastermind and the Voice who inspired the group with their talent and their unwavering belief and appreciation of us as individual singers. 

Neil was the mastermind arranger whose deep understanding of music was apparent in how easily he could craft together a new arrangement on the spot.  He did not approach the music with preconceived notions but rather seemed to live in it in the present; he spent most of our practices listening intently more than singing.  Neil's ability to capture the nuances of our individual voices and harness them in a way that was beautiful when woven together was awe-inspiring.  

Michael was, who I considered, the Voice of the group.  Ladies, I just have to say that this guy has the kind of voice that will make you swoon (I hope I am not embarrassing you too much, Michael!).  He can tackle any complicated arrangement or riff that you throw at him with such ease.  Like a musical acrobat, Michael's voice navigates through the jumps, twists, and turns of the melodies with such grace and precision.  Despite his tremendous talent, Michael was always so humble and had more of an interest in helping the group improve singing together than in showing off in solos.               

It was Neil and Michael’s passion for music and their ravenous appetite for beautiful sound that inspired us all.  They taught us that the beauty of acapella can be discovered once we let go of our egos and insecurities as individual singers and instead, simply listen and respond to each other as a group.         

Singing together with Neil, Michael, and Dan was definitely one of the major highlights of my last year at the Cooper Union.

After I graduated, I unfortunately did not keep in touch with the group as much as I would have liked to but I continued to follow the Coopertones on YouTube.  In doing so, I came across a few videos of Neil, Michael, Dan, and Nico in a side group that they started called The Sons of Pitches.  One of the songs that they covered was a rendition of  Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen.  I was so blown away by the beauty of their cover that two years ago, when Encounters was just a vague nebulous cloud of a concept forming in my brain, I reached out to them on Facebook in a message that was along the lines of “Hey, I know we haven’t been in touch since 2011 but I think you guys are really talented.  Will you collaborate on a cover of Hallelujah with me for a project that isn’t real yet?”  Fortunately for me, the Sons of Pitches were open-minded and agreed to participate when, and if, Encounters ever became real.

Two years later Encounters became real and so Neil, Michael, Dan, and I got together for the collaboration that I had dreamed about.  This has been a wonderful Encounters collaboration experience for me and I hope that you guys enjoy it.

I look forward to many more collaborations with 9 to 5'er artists this year on Encounters! 

Encounter #11: Hip Hop Storytelling with Nobuya

This week's Encounter is with 9 to 5'er artist, Nobuya Nagahama.  Nobuya is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher in New York City.  While formally trained in several genres of dance, Nobuya has a special affinity for hip hop.  For his Encounter, Nobuya has chosen to share his choreography entitled, Dance with Suspense.  If you would like to learn more about Nobuya and his passion for dance, please check out his bio on The Characters page of this website.

I first Encountered Nobuya a few years ago in his beginner hip hop class at the dance studio I attend. 

Although I love dance, it took quite a few years before I mustered up the courage to take an adult beginner dance class.  I was never really formally trained and have the flexibility of a 900 year old tree so attending an open class, with dancers who can hold their leg up to their ear and can make leotards actually look attractive, was a very intimidating scenario for me.  But, since I can remember, I could never not move when music was playing and I always dreamed of being part of the dance world in some way. 

Two years ago, when I was going through a rough patch, I decided to get over my insecurities and start taking dance classes because dance is an art form that gives me a sense of release and freedom, which is something that I definitely needed at that time.  Hip hop seemed like the best choice to start with because it was the genre that made the most sense to me.  In my opinion, hip hop is one of the more “welcoming” dance forms because all it asks is that you listen, connect, and then react to the rhythm of the music.  It doesn’t care about your body type, your turnout, your flexibility – hip hop is all about feeling, honesty, strength, and letting your unique personality shine through.

In my first class with Nobuya, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I have come to discover that dancers, especially hip hoppers, are very charismatic individuals who seem to have a persona that exists even when they are off stage - it is carried through how they dance, how they walk, what they wear, and down to even how they point a toe.  I think compared to the average Joe, dancers learn to embrace and develop their unique identity early on because in a performing arts career, that is your calling card.  It still amazes me how 3 dancers trained in the same genre can listen to the same song and yet somehow produce 3 completely distinctive choreographies because their unique experiences, personality, and physicality influence how they interpret and embody the music. 

I had taken a hip hop class once or twice before Nobuya’s and those instructors were very loud, outgoing, tough-love personas.  Nobuya was intriguing to me because, based on first impression, he was the opposite.  He calmly came into evening class in his big sweatpants holding a cup of tea and, after hugging a few students, headed over to the stereo.  There was something serene and graceful about his presence and I wondered how those qualities could even translate into the hard-hitting style of hip hop. Then, Nobuya turned the music on and showed me how.

Nobuya is one of the most unique hip hoppers that I have Encountered because he infuses playfulness and even humor into a genre that I used to equate more with the tougher emotions, like anger, resilience, and strength.  Although I think all choreographers and dancers try to tell a story through their dance, Nobuya stands out to me because he doesn’t just tell a narrative through his movement but rather he completely transforms into the character telling that narrative.  Nobuya utilizes his natural grace to introduce unique variety in his dance style that contrasts between beautiful smooth elegant lines and hard-hitting popping and locking.  When Nobuya was featured on So You Think Can Dance (I know, super cool, right?), the judges described his dance style as amusing and they fell in love with his funny dance character.  I couldn’t agree more.  To me, Nobuya’s “persona” is exciting because it is filled with the unexpected, whether it is in how he approaches a movement or develops a character.  Nobuya embodies the simple joy of dance and movement and I am so happy that he has chosen to share the latest chapter of his hip hop storytelling with the Encounters community.

Now, without further ado, I introduce to you our Encounter with the dancer, Nobuya Nagahama (Nobuya plays the main character in this dance piece.  He’s the stud in the red pants :P )  Enjoy!

P.S. Liked this Encounter?  Then, check out Nobuya's YouTube channel for more of his fun choreography!

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Encounter #10: A Powerful Ballad by Danielle

This week's Encounter is with 9 to 5'er artist, Danielle Verdecchia.  Danielle works as a civil engineer in the construction industry in New York City.  Outside of her job, Danielle enjoys pursuing her passion for both music and dance.  For her Encounter, Danielle has chosen to share her cover of the Adele song,  All I Ask.  If you would like to learn more about Danielle and her passion for the arts, please check out her bio on The Characters page of this website.

I first Encountered Danielle and her singing talents in college.  Danielle and I were in different majors and different years but we got to know each other when we joined our university’s first ever acapella group in 2011. 

Being in an acapella group is an amazing experience because it is an art form that is rooted in the concept of unity.  In acapella, there are no “stars”.  Every single voice plays an essential role in achieving the full sound of the group and we, as sopranos, altos, and tenors, are constantly listening and responding to one another to achieve balance and harmony in our music. In a world that has become increasingly more self-centric and polarized, I am glad that acapella music still exists because it demonstrates the ethereal beauty that can be achieved when we recognize and really listen to one another.

Although Danielle and I sang together as part of a group, her voice always stood out to me.  I was impressed with the ease with which she could sing riffs, making the notes fall like a beautiful cascading waterfall, and I envied the power of her voice.  Danielle’s technical ability definitely made her stand out from the group but it was her love for singing that stuck in my mind so many years later as I was thinking of artists to feature on Encounters. 

Despite our tough and demanding engineering curriculum during undergrad, Danielle made the time to be at every acapella practice and to be an active participant.  She led the soprano section, eagerly auditioned for solos, and she took time to help others in the group, whether it was tackling an awkward chord change or perfecting timing. It was Danielle’s passion for singing that made her memorable in her performances and that same passion is evident in her moving cover of the Adele ballad,  All I Ask. 

As a singer, I always found covers to be challenging because it is the instinct of the audience to compare them to the original versions.  I came to discover that those artists who can “handle” covers are the artists who have the truest sense of their unique identity- they take the song and make it their own, projecting the lyrics through the lens of their own experiences, and letting their unique voice navigate through the nooks and crannies of the melody, finding areas that resonate with them.  With that said, if there is anyone who could take on an Adele cover, it would be Danielle.  In this song about loss, Danielle’s honest and powerful voice not only captures the raw emotion of Adele’s lyrics but manages to uncover the resilience, strength, and hope hidden far beneath the melancholy melody.         

I am so happy to have Encountered Danielle and her singing talents in college and I am excited that she will now share her passion for singing with the Encounters community. 

Now, without further ado, I introduce to you our Encounter with the singer and performer, Danielle Verdecchia.

P.S. If you would like to download Danielle's cover of All I Ask, please click here    

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Encounter #9: Mridangam Rhythms with Akshay

This week's Encounter is with 9 to 5'er artist, Akshay Anantapadmanabhan.  Akshay is an engineer turned full-time professional mridangam artist.  For those of you who aren’t familiar, mridangam is a South Indian hand drum that is the primary rhythmic instrument in Carnatic music.  Akshay moved from the United States to Chennai, India to pursue his dream of becoming a professional musician and has become an ambassador of mridangam rhythms, performing and sharing his music in concerts around the world.  For his Encounter, Akshay has chosen to share a solo piece entitled Mridangam Monologues.  If you would like to learn more about Akshay and his fascinating journey as a professional mridangam artist, please check out his bio on The Characters page of this website.

Although I met Akshay in college, I did not truly Encounter his passion for music until after we graduated.  Akshay was an electrical engineering student at our university and was a year ahead of me.  Due to the difference in majors and class years, I unfortunately never got to the chance to know Akshay beyond an acquaintance but what I did know was that he was kind, smart, an active member of our university’s tennis team, and that he gave impressive performances at our university’s annual culture show with what I would describe as “a cool looking drum”.  It was not until after college, this past year in fact, that I Encountered, through social media, the extent of Akshay’s passion and his incredible talent for music. 

When I discovered that Akshay was pursuing a career as a professional musician, I admittedly began to Facebook stalk him (sorry Akshay!) because I was fascinated by his story: the engineer who decided to take the leap and completely change his lifestyle to pursue his dreams and passion for music.  I think it takes a lot of guts and a strong sense of self to pursue a career in the arts because it is a road less traveled filled with lots of unpredictable twists and turns.  People in general tend to fear the unknown but I think that artists actually embrace it, diving in headfirst as they pursue their passion.  To me, Akshay is one of those brave people and I admire his belief in his vision and his love for his art that together have driven him and guided him on his journey to become a professional musician.

Mridangam Monologues is a testament to Akshay’s skill and dedication to his craft.  The speed at which his hands fly around the drum in this special solo piece is nothing short of supernatural.  Akshay immerses himself in the music to the extent that he seems to embody every sound of the mridangam and as a result, he creates a world for his audience rooted in pure rhythm.

I am so happy to have Encountered Akshay’s fascinating story and passion for music and I am excited that he will now share it with the Encounters community - I highly encourage you to check out his bios on The Characters and Engineering pages of this website! 

Now, without further ado, I introduce to you our Encounter with the mrigandam artist, Akshay Anantapadmanabhan:

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