Gather Hear Tour was launched in 2017 when Miki drove around Alaska for three weeks with a piano in a van, performing 25 concerts in settings such as cafes, bars, lodges, galleries, schools, and parks. Gather Hear Tour explores the idea of the piano as a central object of a gathering place - how we can’t help but be drawn to sing, play, and listen when there’s a piano in a room. It explores the social possibilities of classical music when taken out of concert halls and into community gathering spaces. The goal is to perform free concerts in all 50 states in a quest to understand, document, and contribute to American life coast-to-coast through an artistic communal experience.
Following Gather Hear Alaska, Gather Hear West Virginia was completed in 2018, in which Miki performed a new show “A Kind of Mirror” 12 times in 13 days. “A Kind of Mirror,” created by Miki, Daniel Pettrow (theater director), and Brendon Randall-Myers (composer) is a unique and experimental take on a piano concert that reflects “who the audience is” every performance. Theatrical prompts and audience interaction are woven throughout the show, with Brendon’s music acting as the pillars. The show is continually transforming to reveal a deeper connection between the performer, audience, music, and the space and time we inhabit.
Tour Itineraries: WEST VIRGINIA 2018 10/27 Claymont Society | Charles Town 10/28 The Purple Fiddle | Davis 10/29 Preston Community Arts Center | Kingwood 10/30 West Virginia Public Broadcasting | Charleston 11/1 Parkersburg Art Center | Parkersburg 11/2 Hawk Knob Cidery and Meadery | Lewisburg 11/3 The Grove | Fayetteville 11/4 The RiffRaff Arts Collective | Princeton 11/5 The KeyNote | Williamson 11/6 Heartwood in the Hills | Grantsville 11/7 Calhoun Middle/High School | Mt. Zion 11/8 The River House | Capon Bridge
ALASKA 2017 8/20 Cooper Landing Community School | Cooper Landing 8/21 Ninilchik Senior Center | Ninilchik 8/22 Trail Lake Lodge | Moose Pass 8/23 Zudy’s Cafe | Seward 8/24 Veronica’s Cafe | Kenai 8/25 Odie’s Deli | Soldotna 8/27 Bunnell Arts Center | Homer 8/30 Fairview Inn | Talkeetna 8/31 Tri-Valley School/Tri-Valley Library | Healy 9/1 KUAC Radio and Bear Gallery | Fairbanks 9/2 Pioneer Park | Fairbanks 9/3 Tonglen Lake Lodge | Denali 9/5 Kenny Lake School and Kenny Lake Community Hall | Kenny Lake 9/6: Upstream Learning and Glennallen School | Glennallen 9/7: Slana School | Slana 9/8: Church of Love | Anchorage
With support from: - New Music USA - Classic Pianos - Alaska Humanities Forum - Heifetz International Institute of Music
Bio:
Miki Sawada is a pianist passionate about classical music’s future as it evolves to reflect and improve current social conditions, while keeping in touch with its rich history and traditions. In the 2016-17 season, Miki performed on the Dame Myra Hess concert series in Chicago (broadcast live on WFMT radio), the Helsinki Music Centre, as well in Japan, Belgium, Canada, and throughout the U.S. In the past she has performed at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center Stage on Holland America Line ships, and countless others. She was the resident pianist and founder of the piano program at Music Haven, an organization which empowers and connects young people through tuition-free music education, mentoring, and performance by resident musicians in the heart of New Haven, Connecticut. Miki currently lives in Brooklyn, and holds degrees from Yale School of Music, Eastman School of Music, and Northwestern University. For a full bio: www.mikisawada.com
Learn More: http://gatherhear.com