Boston hibiscus in Maui

The announcement of a new acryllic painting by my friend Rob Judkins in Columbus, Georgia made me stop and ponder.

Rob (whom I’ve always called Robby) and I went to high school in Okinawa, Japan where hibiscuses are very common. We have a variety of flowers in our garden in Utrecht, Netherlands — but no hibiscuses. After many years of not seeing such tropical and subtropical flowers in Europe, I nearly forgot how beautiful they are.

When I went to Maui in 2010, I saw them again. Hibiscus reminds me of my wonderful childhood in Okinawa.

Boston Hybrid Hibiscus 4x36 acrylic on canvas by Rob Judkins

Rob Judkins wrote in his e-mail of “Rob’s Latest Painting” the following passage:

The Boston Hybrid Hibiscus is one of my favorite flowers in my yard. The blooms are as large as a dinner plate and last only one day. The plant is about five feet tall and five feet wide. Every morning during June and July and into August there are 10 to 15 new flowers.

Dutch guitarist Robert Bekkers is on his way to Boston. I presume the Boston Hybrid Hibiscus comes from Boston otherwise it wouldn’t have the name. I am on my way to Maui. We will live apart for some time to come — he pursuing full-time studies in Boston while I find my feet in Maui juggling my passions of yoga, music, writing, and more.

I hope to see a Boston Hybrid Hibiscus when I am in Maui.

Benefit concerts to fundraise for Japan

The earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan on 11th March 2011 has ignited various fundraising events for the Red Cross and other relief organisations. Among them are benefit concerts organised by musicians.

At time of writing, I have been notified of three forthcoming benefit concerts for Japan that are initiated and/or given by my musician friends. It’s a brave undertaking that requires extra effort beyond a normal concert.  As I am unable to attend any of these concerts due to my current location in Maui, I share these here and invite my readers to pass it on.

Wednesday 30 March 2011 @ 5:30  pm
Church of St. John the Evangelist
35 Bowdoin Street, Boston

Thursday 31st March 2011 @ 7 pm
JP Concerts
1 Roanoke Avenue, Jamaica Plain (a neighbourhood of Boston, Massachusetts, USA)
GANBARE JAPAN! FUNDRAISER FOR JAPAN

Linda Kernohan, composer, pianist, organist, and prolific blogger of Miss Music Nerd, will be giving two concerts in Boston. I met Linda at the  first concert of 5-week USA tour on 21st  October 2010. Her husband had worked in Okinawa, where I spent 11 years of my youth. Since meeting Linda, I have followed her on Twitter and her blog. The concert features herself on the organ together with a host of other musicians, including countertenor Yakov Zamir.

Miss Music Nerd, Linda Kernohan flute extract from her website

Friday 1st April 2011 @ 8:30 pm
Amstelveen (a neighbourhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Doors open 8 pm for 8:30 pm start
Pop concert at Poppodium P60

Keiko Kotari, my classmate from Utrecht Conservatory, and her husband Marten Tilstra, both concert pianists initiated this charity pop concert. Keiko was in Kobe when the previous big earthquake hit Japan in 1995.

I had immediately assumed when Keiko mentioned her intention to organise a charity concert on the Facebook wall that it would be a classical concert and that she would play. What a surprise to learn last week that it was to be a jazz, latin, rock and pop concert.

The concert features highly acclaimed blind Dutch pianist Bert van den Brink whose performances have inspired many people. I don’t know the other musicians, but you can hear the sultry voice of Latin singer Denise Rivera here. The website of the 5-member experimental rock band NiCad takes awhile to load, but it’s worth visiting to see how they met and skyrocketed to fame. The concert ends with the 14-member party band “Night Flight to Rio.”

Tickets are € 15 and can be ordered through the website of P60. The complete revenue of this concert will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross, for immediate relief for the victims in Miyagi prefecture. More info at SOS Japan Website.

SOS Japan Benefit Concert, Amstelveen, Netherlands 1st April 2011

Wednesday 6th April 2011 @ 7:30 pm
Central London (near Warren Street tube station)
Bolivar Hall, 54 Grafton Way

Algerian singer and artist Houria Niati and her duo Habiboun will be performing in a mega concert featuring many artists of that genre: flamenco, arab-andalucian, and latin music. Tickets are 12 pounds each by reservation or at the door.

Aid for Japan concert in central London, Bolivar Hall 6th April 2011

The economics of benefit concerts is the topic of another blog. Concert production is an activity that involves high transaction costs. Benefit concerts require that extra mile to attract people to come, get people to pay, and generate the income that more than breaks even.

One way is to ask musicians give their time and talent (for free or for a reduced fee) while the public (the listeners) pay more than what they would normally pay for such a concert, resulting in above average income for a good cause. For this to work optimally (i.e maximise the funds raised), the venues should have large capacity and need to be filled. Listeners are persuaded to give as much as possible to maximise revenue. Profit maximisation requires not just revenue maximisation but cost minimisation or elimination. In other words, hire the venue for free, get piano tuners to tune without charge, get additional sponsors to defray other production costs, and get all of this done as efficiently as possible.

Remembering the Tsunami

The tsunami that hit Japan yesterday brought back vivid memories of a winter six years ago in the Netherlands. In the comfort of my home, I read about the unexpected tsunami of 26 December 2004 that nearly destroyed my favourite holiday spot in Thailand.  As the tragedy unfolded through the Internet and Dutch radio, I became conscious of how useless and helpless I felt.

It was my first year as a composition student at conservatory. I had neither the money nor the means to contribute anything of value. I could not volunteer at the scene. I did not know anyone that was affected. It was before Facebook and Twitter. Yet I felt as though I had lost a dear friend.

In the end, I expressed myself by composing an elegy to the victims of the tsunami that devastated Southeast Asia. I asked the Indonesian pianist Elwin Hendrijanto to premiere it in Utrecht, Netherlands.

Toccata on an Elegy Theme by Anne Ku

His interpretation was so much more powerful than what I expected. It’s like a tsunami — you see it coming but you have no idea how powerful it could get. Listen below.

Elwin Hendrijanto plays “Toccata on an Elegie Theme” by Anne Ku

I did run for a fundraising event for the victims of Aceh, but it was working on this piano solo piece and getting my friend to play it that released me.

On Friday 11 March 2011, through Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube, I saw what happened in Japan.

Piano and guitar in acryllic by Rob Judkins

I have not seen or spoken to my friend Robby Judkins, as he was called then, since our graduation from Kubasaki High School in Okinawa. His Japanese wood cut print “Kokoro Kara” still hangs in my London home, reminding me of his extraordinary talent for creating something beautiful. It was Keats who said “a thing of beauty is a joy forever.” Everyone who has visited or stayed in that Victorian Cottage in Ealing has seen and experienced the beauty that Robby created.

Kokoro kara wood block print by Robby Judkins

“Kokoro kara” means from the heart. When one creates from the heart, one shares what one feels. I have often wondered about the Japanese wood block print. What were the two figures looking at? What was Robby’s inspiration?

Many years later, I found Robby on Facebook as Rob Judkins. Glancing through his photo album, I saw that he has continued to paint with a clear development into his own style.

I was relieved to see this, for I had heard of too many adults who gave up pursuing their childhood hobby or passion. I nearly did, only to return to music to find myself again. In doing so, I also remembered my dream to be free to travel the world.

I daresay that I am extremely privileged to be on Rob Judkin’s private mailing list — as a recipient of his latest works of art by e-mail.

His latest work is a colourful vision of piano and guitar. Although Rob Judkins has not heard or seen us perform, he has imagined it well. Our music is very exciting –as though the strings fly off the guitar and keys pop out the piano. We always get an adrenaline rush when we play.

Piano and Guitar in acryllic by Rob Judkins (2011)

The painting is 32″x48″ acrylic on boxed panel. Rob Judkins calls it “Anne’s instruments” since it was painted specifically for the Bekkers Piano Guitar Duo and the purpose of an album cover. It will be on the cover of our next CD: Makawao Live — a recording of our first public concert in the USA — at the Makawao Union Church in Maui on 29th December 2007.

When asked what inspired him to paint this, Rob wrote, “I wanted to do something different from your last album cover which by the way I thought was very beautiful, highly styled and cool. But this image is free and uninhibited, a feeling of anything goes…..guitar strings popping and piano keys flying. The instruments are alive. Its like the feeling of the music flowing through your body.”

Rob Judkins loves to paint. The majority of his paintings are in acrylics but he has many oils and some water colors. He has a range of sizes from 8″x10″ canvas to pieces as large as a 36″x80″. The majority of his work is hanging at D’Allens Salon and the Columbus Hospice, in Columbus, GA and some pieces at the Joseph House Art Gallery in Columbus, GA.

Rob spent a year and a half at Auburn University School of Arts but changed his career to the school of business. His passion for the arts still drives him to create and achieve interest and quality in his work. He spent his high school years in Okinawa, Japan taking Chinese painting and Japanese wood block printing classes. That influence can be seen in some of his work. Rob likes a wide variety of styles in painting. He will strive to paint a realistic landscape or an abstract painting. He says it doesn’t matter what the results as long as it speaks to someone or provokes a feeling in the individual viewer he has accomplished his purpose.

Rob Judkins’ art portfolio can be viewed from his website at http://www.robjudkinsartgallery.com/gallery.html 

Puff the magic Hawaii Dragon in Honolulu

WARNING: The following blog post has nothing to do with concerts or music.

Friday 10 December 2010

The pouring rain interrupted my otherwise peaceful night.

“What time is it?”

“Two a.m.”

I tried to go back to sleep but was bothered by having to wake up soon. I did not hear the alarm ring though I did hear my mother next door.

“Get up, Anne. It’s time to get up.”

It was 4:48 am. There was barely enough time to brush my teeth let alone shower and have breakfast. I quickly changed into my long pastel green 100% cotton dress, which I had purchased at Ross Dress for Less — a store I’ve been going to religiously every Tuesday for their senior discounts. I also put on a long sleeved blue denim jacket which I had bought at TJ Maxx in Houston last month.

“Honey,” I shook Robert from his slumber. “It’s time to go.”

It was still raining outside. It was not supposed to rain. My mom had promised me sunshine every single day on Maui. Where did the rain come from? I was confused. Are we on Maui or are we still back in the Netherlands? Sunny days for the sun-starved are interruptions to one’s daily routines. Here in Maui, no one stops what they’re doing to bake in the sun.

When my mother and I landed in Honolulu at 7 am, it was still raining. We waited over an hour for our ride. By then, it was too late to have a sit-down breakfast. The traffic from the airport to downtown Honolulu was shocking: five lanes of cars packed against each other. I asked the cab driver if we could have avoided this rush-hour phenomenon one hour earlier. His reply was dismal. “It’s like this every day, from 6 am to 10 am — worse on Mondays and Fridays.”

My idea of a tropical paradise started to fade. Is Honolulu just like Singapore? A concrete jungle? We had planned to visit Doris Duke’s Shangri La one day. Surely the rest of Honolulu isn’t like this — rainy, gloomy, and crawling in a traffic jam?

After doing various errands, I phoned Rinsei at 10:30 am. He was a puff of fresh air, full of positive and sunny enthusiasm, much needed after the long gloomy morning. “Hey! Where are you? Are you done? Let me take you to Chinatown.”

“Is there enough time?” My sister had told me about Chinatown. I guess she misses it.

We didn’t have time for dim sum or moon cake but had 20 minutes to order 10 parcels of bamboo “jong” and a roast duck to stuff into my green backpack.

Rinsei, who coordinates the Kubasaki Alumni Group in Hawaii, had met Robert and me at the Honolulu airport three years ago on our first visit and again two weeks ago for Thanksgiving Day. It’s was terrific to get that magic welcome again, this time chauffeuring us to Chinatown and then to the airport.

Hawaii Dragons celebrate Thanksgiving in Honolulu 2010

“I’m sorry I can’t stay the weekend. I would have loved to be able to meet Wes finally,” I said. Wes was arriving from Tokyo the next day before heading to the mainland (USA).

“Next time,” Rinsei assured me that I was always welcome in Oahu. “Irene will cook again for Christmas.”

There are magic dragons in Hawaii. They are the Kubasaki High School alumni who graduated much earlier than I did and left Okinawa, Japan for Hawaii. Somehow I got the feeling that everything was going to be all right.

“I’ll let you know next time I’m bringing my mom to Honolulu.”