English Blog

Merry Christmas! December 24, 2021

Christmas is forever, not for just one day, for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf. The good you do for others is good you do yourself. – Norman Wesley Brooks

Johannes Brahms Op. 117: Soul Searching… December 5, 2021

Yesterday my student played Brahms’ Op. 117 No. 2 at her lesson. It lit my longing heart. As you may have known, Brahms’ late works have been deep treasures for me for many years. Brahms composed his Op. 117 during the summer of 1892 while vacationing in Bad Ischl. He sent a copy of Op. […]

3rd@1st “Joy of Chamber Music Concert” on Sat. Nov. 20 at 4pm PT November 12, 2021

I am so excited to announce our second concert in 3rd@1st 2021-22 season. I hope you can join us at the concert! “The Joy of Chamber Music Concert” The Third at First concert series continues at First United Methodist Church on Saturday, November 20, 2021 at 4 p.m. with a program of chamber music performed […]

3rd@1st Concert Series: Reopening Celebration on Sat. Oct 16 at 7pm October 11, 2021

Our last in person concert was Feb. 2020, and we have released monthly online concerts during 2020-2021 season. Now we celebrate our reopening! Please come to join us at the concert in Pasadena, CA. If you don’t live in LA, you can still watch it online. We have been figuring out how we manage a […]

Put Peace into Each Other’s Hands by Fred Kaan September 26, 2021

Put peace into each other’s hands and like a treasure hold it; protect it like a candle flame, with tenderness enfold it. Put peace into each other’s hands with loving expectation; be gentle in your words and ways, in touch with God’s creation. Put peace into each other’s hands, like bread we break for sharing; […]

A Movie “ROADRUNNER: A Film About Anthony Bourdain” July 28, 2021

It is my movie theater debut after reopening (with a lot of cautions). It is so wonderful to come back to my favorite movie theater, Laemmle. There were only 4 of us in the theater… The theater staff was very careful, but friendly. “Roadrunner” is still haunting me. What is “Being Happy”? That is all […]

Movie “A Room with a View” June 25, 2021

It is a wonderful comedy with an intellectual approach to love. The story is based on the novel by E.M. Forster. and I have heard the book is more edgy than the movie! Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham-Carter), a young and beautiful Englishwoman, is touring Italy with her older cousin, Charlotte Bartlett (Maggie Smith). Charlotte is her […]

Movie “An Inspector Calls” June 19, 2021

Wow! It is an amazing movie. I am deeply moved and touched. Set in 1912, in an industrial northern town in England, the tragic story, the suicide of a young lady, haunts the wealthy and socially ambitious Birling family. A mysterious Inspector Goole (David Thewlis) visits Birling family’s dinner during the celebration of their daughter’s engagement. This […]

3rd@1st Season Finale on 6/19/21 at 4pm (PT) June 15, 2021

It has been a year since we started the live streaming version of 3rd@1st concert series. We will conclude our online season with Piano Spectacular: Fantasy for 2 Pianos. 2 Piano concert is so special with 2 grand pianos playing together. Please don’t miss it! After this month, we will take a break during the months […]

A Movie: The Remains of the Day June 9, 2021

A Movie: “The Remains of the Day” is a Booker-winning novel by Kazuo Ishiguro.This movie is Kazuo Ishiguro’s sincere portrait of Stevens, the perfect butler, who hides his true feelings. His love was never spoken or expressed. Sir Kazuo Ishiguro is a Nobel Prize winning, British novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. He was born in Nagasaki,  Japan, […]