On April 13, 2014, Cherry Yuan and I went to perform at the SF Tower. First, we introduced ourselves to the audience and gave a short introduction about the pieces that we were able to perform. Cherry and I then opened with some short, lively duet pices written by a composer who was born during the Baroque Music time period. After that, Cherry played two short solo pieces: Love's Greeting by British composer Edward Elgar, and Meditation by French composer Jules Massenet. These two pieces are very sweet and gentle. The listeners seemed to enjoy the music a lot. We were glad that our music was able to bring happiness and joy to the people of San Francisco.

On Feb. 16, 2014, Jo Griffin and I took the Bart and met with Gaby Berbey to perform at SF Towers. This was our first time performing there. At first, three of us introduced ourselves to the audience. Then Gaby started playing a solo piece by Kreisler. Her dramatic and emotional performance gave a good start to the program. After Gaby, I played a piece, Allemanda, by Bach. Followed me, Jo also played a solo piece, Gavotte en Rondeau, by Bach. Then Jo and I performed several duet pieces by I.J.Pleyel. These pieces are lively with familiar tunes. The residents seemed to enjoy them a lot. We were happy to be able to entertain them with our music.

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On January 19th, 2014, Irene Jeong and I performed at SF Towers. I started the program by playing Bach’s Sicilian and Presto in g minor. Then Irene gave a short introduction to Haydn Cello concerto 1st movement, which she was going to perform. Her sensitivity and musicality were expressed in her playing beautifully. After Irene, I played a technically difficult piece named Caprice No. 2 by Paganini. At the end, Irene and I performed the first movement of Ghost Trio by Beethoven. Without the pianist, we transformed Tiro to Duet but it still turned out nicely. Though the program was short, we were glad to be at SF Towers and performed for the audience who seem to come to our performance every month. We wish them well and will come back again next month with different repertoire.

On Dec. 22, 2013, Children in Need members, Cherry Yuan, Mirah Ray and Sophie Phillips spent early Christmas with residents at SF Towers by performing holiday songs and classical music. Cherry started the program by playing Ave Maria by Shubert. Then, three of the members, Cherry (1st violin), Mirah (2nd violin) and Sophie (cello) played a slew of trio pieces:

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring by Bach

Badinerie by Bach

Humoresque by Dvorak

London trio by Haydn

Hungarian Dance #5 by Brahms

Edelweiss by Rodgers

Por Una Cabeza by Williams

Moon River by Mancini

“All I Ask of You” from Phantom of the Opera by Webber

With high energy and beautiful musicality, CIN members gave a wonderful performance which was well liked by the residents. We were glad that the residents had a taste of early holiday joy from our music.

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On November 24, 2013, Club President, Cherry Yuan and guest performer Irene Jeong performed at SF Towers. This concert was dedicated to the typhoon victims in the Philippines as the club’s first fundraising effort for this cause.

Both Cherry and Irene are students of San Francisco Conservatory of Music Preparatory Division. Irene started the program by performing Après un Rêve by Gabriel Fauré and The Swan by Saint-Saens. Before each of her performance, she gave some background information on the composers and pieces. Her matured and artistic performances had warmed the audience. Then Cherry played Fuga in g minor by Bach. Her flawless playing made the difficult piece sound pretty and fascinating. After Cherry, Irene played a piece by Astor Piazzolla called Le Grand Tango which had a different flavor from the rest of the program. Cherry concluded the program by playing a touching and enchanting piece called Estrellita by Manuel Ponce. The audience was greatly captivated by Cherry’s beautiful music.

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On October 13, 2013, club members performed at SF Towers for the 5th time. This time we added new blood to the performance and they were Shinda Huang and Henry Smolen. Both Shinda and Henry are pianists. Shinda is 6th grade while Henry is 10th grade. The program started with Cherry’s violin playing of Bach in G minor. Her superb performance attracted many people’s attention and came to listen by the door. Then Shinda played Pour Elise by Beethoven which lured the audience to hum along with his playing. Cherry’s playing of Mediation by Jules Massenet and Melody by Jacqueline kept the audience mesmerized in the beautiful melodies. Shinda played a piano piece by Bach which was short and sweet. Then the highlight went to Henry’s piano playing of Beethoven’s "Appassionata", 3rd movement. After his performance, he received many applauses. The program ended with Cherry’s playing of Sarasate’s Zigeunerweise with Henry’s accompaniment. Their passionate performance won many bravos and praises from the audience. While people were reluctant to leave, we promised them we will be back next month.

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On September 7th, 2013, we concluded the Celebration of Hope tour in the San Francisco Bay Area at the Webster’s House in Palo Alto, California. The day before, club member Ethan Tsai performed at two retirement centers in the south bay with the New Hope orphans. When we arrived to the Webster’s House, the place was nicely set up. We ran our normal repertoire, after which the dancers received a huge applause. Matt interviewed multiple dancers during the performance. Most of the children interviewed wanted to be doctors in the future, since the healthcare system is extremely poor in Cambodia, so they want to help. The audience was intrigued by their stories, and even by their hairstyles.

After the performance, club members Cherry and Caitlin had to say goodbye forever to these lovely children. It was hard because they had formed a real friendship among them. They exchanged email addresses so they can keep in touch in the future. Hopefully, Children in Need members can perform in Cambodia and meet them again.

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On September 5, Children in Need hosted another concert on the Celebration of Hope tour, this time at SF Towers. When we arrived, all the residents were already prepared for the performance. To begin the performance, club co-founder Caitlin Gowdy held a short talk about Children in Need and its connection to SEAPC and the Cambodian orphans. The dance group performed its three cultural Cambodian dances as well as one of their hip-hop dances. In between each of the cultural dances, club president Cherry Yuan played a piece for the audience. In total she played Salut d’Amour by Elgar, Gavotte en Rondeau, Gigue, in E major by Bach, and The Song of the Fisherman’s Harvest by Zi Li Li. During the performance, Matt also interviewed one of the Cambodian children, Deborah, asking what she hoped to be in the future. She replied she wanted to be a traveler, but it seems she is already on her way as she has spent 6 weeks in America on this tour, visiting Washington D.C., Florida, Pittsburg, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

After the performances, the children walked up to the audience and gave the residents hugs, and practiced their English with them. The dancers also bonded with Children in Need members Caitlin and Cherry. They called the two teenagers sister, asked them countless questions, and took turns hugging them. It was hard to say goodbye to the smiling faces, but the dancers were tired and hungry after days of performing. We had no choice but to break the party and say goodbye to each other.

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On September 3rd, Children in Need and the New Hope for Orphans dance group held their first concert in the Celebration of Hope tour around the Bay Area. The performance took place at St. Paul’s Towers in Oakland. The concert was a huge success, with 80-90 people attending. That day, dance group had traveled 8 hours from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and arrived at the place around 5 pm.

At 7:00 pm, the room was all full. When the dancers started performing their first traditional Cambodian dance, the beautiful costumes, beautiful dance formation and beautiful Cambodian music were well received by the audience. The second dance was called the Coconut Dance, after which Children in Need’s president, Cherry Yuan, was introduced by Matt Geppert and performed Gavotte en Rondeau, Gigue in E major by Bach as our tribute to this dance tour. After the third traditional dance, the audience was shown a video clip about the testimony of Pastor Sinai Phouek who grew up in the border of Cambodia and Thailand, a place full of land mines and poverty. Because 11% of Cambodia’s population are orphans, Pastor Sinai decided to begin an orphanage, starting with just 5 children, but has now grown to supporting 350 children.

After the video clip, the dance group performed 3 modern songs. Between each dance, the founder of SEAPC, Mark Geppert, interviewed some of the dancers and asked them about their dreams for their futures. One wants to be a future governor and another wants to be a medical doctor. At the end of the last performance, dancers gave hugs to the audience. Their shyness and natural manners drew a lot interest and curiosity from the audience. Some of them were asked for their autographs. Numerous audience members even asked how they could help these children. This was a great night with lots of energy and support.

On the next day, September 4th, I met with the dance group at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, California. We were honored to be chaperoned by people who work at Google. First we had breakfast at their cafeteria, then we toured the compound. After that, we all sat down and chatted with our speaker about what Google does around the world. It was a very special experience, and we would like to thank Google for giving us this wonderful opportunity.

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On August 25, 2013, I went back to perform at SF Towers again. This time I started pieces from Salut d’Amour by Elgar, Violin Concerto 3rd Movement by Mendelssohn, Schindler’s List by John Williams, No 2 Partita in d minor by Bach and ended the performance with Song of Spring by Mendelssohn. I wanted to entertain the seniors with pieces from different periods and styles. They seemed to enjoy my performance because every time I finished a piece, they gave me warm applause. All of them were on wheelchairs with nurses by them. They could barely move their bodies so giving me applause meant a lot to me. I wish my music could bring happiness and fond memories to them. Before I left, they were asking when I would come back already. It was a short but sweet performance. It is always good that I could connect with them with my music.

Related photos: http://www.childreninneedclub.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=14923484