Helen G. Liu

aloha, from the “other” sea

mrs helen — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 09:28:21 +0000

Dear friends, it has been too long since I’ve written and I apologize. Too much has happened in the last few months. If you haven’t heard already, Randy and I have gathered up enough courage to make the Big Move… the move back to Hawaii! But before we did that, I spent two long months at a opera festival in Castleton, VA, we packed our cluttered apartment in less than a month, and then we went on a 10-day cross-country road trip, basically to ship our car from San Diego to Hawaii (heck, it was only $1000). So we did it! I am now writing this entry from a high-rise apartment in Makiki in downtown Honolulu. Life’s been pretty good and the weather has been consistently beautiful everyday. I already have teaching jobs lined up: after school violin lessons at Punahou’s music school and undergraduate applied lessons at Brigham Young University in La’ie. Randy is lucky to keep his faculty job at NEC and is still doing his cocktail mixology thing on the side. We’re surrounded by family and friends so we never feel lonely. Life is sweet right now, so enjoy the pics…

Meet Poni

mrs helen — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 06:32:05 +0000

I am happy to introduce a new member in my family — Poni the betta fish! When I brought him home from the Petco in Cambridge in October, he was so happy. I can tell because he kept wiggling his tail in a way that reminded me of hula dancers moving their hips (?) Which, of course, led me to come up with a suitable name, one that describes his “purple/violet” color and his lively movements. With the help of Randy and a Hawaiian-English dictionary, we settled on Poni (the color of purple).

I haven’t had a pet for several years now. The last betta I had was in 2006 and it didn’t last very long. Maybe it’s because of experience, or my old age, that I’m becoming more aware of how I take care of things. I have to admit that I didn’t do much research before getting Poni, but once I got him, I knew immediately that I needed to take care of him the proper way. I read many many different blogs and discussions boards on betta care. I made sure to get a good size tank (2.5 and 5G) and some reputable tank heaters (by Marineland). I swear by Amquel and Novaqua for conditioning the water and getting rid of ammonia. I’ve also stocked up on meds when disaster strikes. With such basic items, I made sure to look for quality and value. I think Poni deserves all the best things a pet store has to offer.

The things I love most about Poni are his positive attitude, voracious appetite, and his attractive dance moves. He makes a great practice buddy and lets me know that he is listening to every mistake I make! He’s been through some tough times in the past couple months that has taken a toll on his physical appearance. For Thanksgiving, he had to live without food and water changes for 5 days. At that time, he was sharing a tank with another betta, Jaide, who passed away. Luckily, he didn’t get infected and I was able to nurse him out of depression. Over Christmas/New Year’s, Poni had to stay with my brother. I think the commute from Boston to Providence was tough on Poni and his fins started shrinking. He looks like he got a haircut!

Now we’re back to normal life on a semi-regular schedule (he still stays up til 1AM with us) and we’re a happy family. I change his water and move his temple around so he doesn’t get bored. For V-day I’ll get him some yummy Betta pellets to indulge on and maybe a new silk plant to play with. Enjoy your moments with your lovable pets! I sure do… :)

Luna in concert

mrs helen — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 03:08:51 +0000

Hello! I just want to let you know about a chamber music concert LUNA DUO is giving in Bellport, NY (Long Island). The concert will be at 3pm this Sunday at the Bellport Methodist Church, thanks to our friend Hsuan-Wen Chen, who will also be performing with us. Our program includes works by Mozart, Martinu, O’Connor, and Piazzolla with a couple short solo pieces by Monti and Elgar. It’ll be lots of fun! Joining us will be Randy and Hsuan-Wen for the finale. If you’re in the area, please come by!

The Job of a Musician

mrs helen — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:42:15 +0000

Recently I’ve read a short, but good, article on the life and duty of a professional musician. They are both well-written and succinct, but gives the public a better understanding of what we do. For those of you who are curious, please read — you will know better where I’m coming from and why I teach the way I do. No matter if you’re a serious musician or you’re just getting your feet wet, we are all learners and we should embrace that journey of exploration of ourselves because we’re never too old to learn and improve.

Making Music: The work of a Syracuse Symphony Orchestra musician isn’t as effortless as it sometimes seems

For my students

mrs helen — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 19:49:30 +0000

This is most exciting time of year when everything is starting back up again out of the lazy, relaxing summer. I was fortunate enough to teach one day a week during the summer to a bunch of dedicated students who wish to keep playing music and learn new skills. By September, that handful number of students exploded into 30+ students for this semester! While I’m excited to be touching people’s lives with music and knowledge, my schedule is filled to brim with driving up and down the Massachusetts coast. Haha, this is surreal! Let’s hope I don’t burn out too quickly. Aside from teaching almost everyday, I have to keep up my playing chops and expand my freelancing career in Boston. I’m definitely being more proactive about taking auditions and hopefully I can make good use of my musician’s union connections and bonuses.

Now back to teaching. For students who do read my blog, I want to encourage you to view a website called Violin Masterclass by Kurt Sassmanshaus, a well-known violin pedagogue in the traditional method. I especially find great inspiration when watch his videos on basic things like the violin stance, bow hold and tone production, and various technique builder exercises for both hands. Please take a look when you have the chance and bring some questions in your lessons for discussion.

dwindling summer

mrs helen — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 12:58:51 +0000

Wow. My tropical vacation in HI ended so abruptly that it’s hard for me to focus right now. I’ve been back in Boston for a week now, and the only thing that’s forcing me to be productive are my summer students. Sometimes, being a teacher is the most difficult job… but I love it.

The week at PMI started out slowly, but we ended up working so hard that time felt like it just flew by. I was very impressed with all the students there who exhibited focus, persistence, and determination, and maintained the high level in all the performances. I had the pleasure and honor of coaching the first movement of the Mendelssohn Octet (one of my favorite pieces of all time), and it was a learning experience for me and the students. It was a technically challenging piece for them, and I’m glad they pulled it off in 5 short days of coachings and rehearsals. I’m already think of the piece for next year… maybe Barber’s Adagio for Strings? This PMI was also special in that most of the clinicians performed alongside the students in the concerts. Thanks to them, I was able to recount all of my youth orchestra moments :) BRAVO to all the PMI students and it was great working with HYS and the coaches once again!

Pacific Music Institute 2010

mrs helen — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 04:51:09 +0000

Only one more day left then I head off to beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii where I coach sectionals for string orchestra and string quartets at the Pacific Music Institute. This will be my fourth year (!) there, and I have to say it feels like a second home to me. Unfortunately, many strings players go abroad for summer festivals and what not, so it’s a little disheartening to have so few strings this year. But we’ll make the best of it and it will be so much fun! If you are a local reading this and play a stringed instrument, please join us! PMI, here we come~~

Happy 4th!

mrs helen — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 20:08:16 +0000

It’s wonderful to spend a holiday on the east coast. There are many places to go, and so much to see. This Fourth of July, Randy got a gig with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Pops, so that was a great excuse to hit Providence and see the fireworks. Milton, my brother, was off-call that weekend, so it was great to hang out too.

Sunday started off with Randy and I playing in two church services where our good friend Greg works as the music director. Both services were as different as night and day. The first one featured a country/rock praise ensemble, which was hilarious in itself because the semi-serious congregational was punctuated by rambunctious, lively jamming from these guys. The alternating contrasts was so absurdly shocking that I had trouble holding in some giggles. The second service was more conservative; there was more classical music and a feeling of meditation over the congregation. Both services ended with a national anthem of some sort to get everyone in the holiday spirit. Chee-hoo!

We arrived in Providence around 1pm. For lunch we stumbled upon Not Just Snacks, an Indian restaurant that received pretty good ratings on Yelp. The food was yummy and cheap, though I think it’s a different style of Indian food. I had my usual Palak Paneer, which was unusually creamy with stringy spinach, but tasty.

The rest of the afternoon was a blur: shopped at Providence Place, took a nap, watched Star Wars III…. Finally, we set foot to India Point Park for the concert and fireworks. It was really nice out and not too many people on the lawn yet, so it was good soak up the scenery and chat with some friends in the orchestra. The orchestra did a nice job and the fireworks were better than I expected. It was a good day indeed!

A bunch of things

mrs helen — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 04:16:08 +0000

So here’s a quick update… The month of June was full of traveling. I had gone to Buffalo, Fort Lauderdale, and then finally Lake George, NY during three out of the four weekends. The two latter getaways were tiki festivals—Hukilau and Ohana: Luau at the Lake—where I participated for the first time as a music vendor and attendee along with my husband and Waitiki bandleader, Randy. Not having to deal with the stress of performing and traveling with instruments, I actually enjoyed the nice change. We did surprisingly well in our sales of CD albums, vinyls, comic books, and other related merch. For those who don’t know, Waitiki 7′s new album came out on June 7th and is selling like hotcakes! Get yours NOW. Also available for download on iTunes and Amazon.com.

The weekend that I managed to stay in Boston was also eventful with super nice weather. My brother who had just moved to Providence, made his visit for the weekend, and that coincided with a visit from my cousin’s family, the Davis’s.

My cousin Cathy is a budding professional photographer, and has her own business: Cathy Clicks Photography. She does a lot of her artistic work in Maine capturing young love and families, but is also interested in traveling and working with musicians and working professionals on the side. We had a great photo shoot in the North End, which had really nice backdrops for shots. Her beautiful pictures can be found throughout this site. I hope you like her style as much as I do, and if you do, don’t hesitate to contact her based on my referral.

I’ve also been really happy with the student recitals at Bradford. The quality has definitely gone up not only in terms of student performances, but also the organization and expectations of teacher, student and families. Congrats to all my students who performed and I look forward to the next one!

Student Recitals

mrs helen — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:27:46 +0000

Saturday, June 19 at 11am and 1:30pm in the Osgood Auditorium!!

Bring your family and friends and join us for a day of wonderful music by our talented students at the Bradford School of Music. Admission is free; non-perishable food donations are welcome at the door. There were will food and drinks after each recital.

Best of luck to all my students!!