SOCORRO DE CASTRO

Ogie Alcasid HELLO OGIE ALCASID

2012-03-03T16:23:00.000-08:00

Socorro de Castro - The Audacity of Hope

2012-03-03T01:06:00.000-08:00

The 84th OSCARS

2012-02-27T12:35:00.026-08:00

http://oscar.go.com/

You can't miss the OSCARS! The OSCARS is Glamour, Glitz and Glimmer!!!

Jeniffer Lopez is a goddess!

Angelina Jolie is Glamour personified! She and Brad Pitt is, undeniably, the hottest couple in Hollywood!

George Clooney is red-hot gorgeous!

Jean Dejurdin is dashingly handsome! And he definitely deserves the BEST ACTOR. Plus, The Artist, without a doubt, as BEST PICTURE, DIRECTING by Michel Hazanavicius, along with BEST ORIGINAL SCORE by Ludovic Bource! (Did I hear he didn't have any formal schooling in music?? - I'll be darned!!)

Billy Crystal is the best host ever - Incomparable!

And ultimately... Meryl Streep is EVERYTHING AND BEYOND!!! She is TRANSCENDENCE defined.

Afterword

2012-02-24T12:42:00.007-08:00

Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

Leave the rest to God.

Making a Difference in People's Lives

2012-02-24T12:22:00.011-08:00

This is a true story and it will give you the chills.

This is a beautiful and touching story of love and
perseverance.

Well worth the read.

At the prodding of my friends I am writing this
story. My name is Mildred Honor and I am a former elementary school
music teacher from Des Moines , Iowa .

I have always supplemented my income by teaching
piano lessons - something I have done for over 30 years.

During those years I found that children have many
levels of musical ability, and even though I have never had the
pleasure of having a prodigy, I have taught some very talented
students.

However, I have also had my share of what I call
'musically challenged' pupils - one such pupil being Robby..

Robby was 11 years old when his mother (a single mom)
dropped him off for his first piano lesson. I prefer that students
(especially boys) begin at an earlier age, which I explained to
Robby. But Robby said that it had always been his mother's dream to
hear him play the piano, so I took him as a student.

Well, Robby began his piano lessons and from the
beginning I thought it was a hopeless endeavor. As much as Robby
tried, he lacked the sense of tone and basic rhythm needed to excel.
But he dutifully reviewed his scales and some elementary piano pieces
that I require all my students to learn. Over the months he tried
and tried while I listened and cringed and tried to encourage him.

At the end of each weekly lesson he would always say
'My mom's going to hear me play someday'. But to me, it seemed
hopeless, he just did not have any inborn ability.

I only knew his mother from a distance as she dropped
Robby off or waited in her aged car to pick him up. She always waved
and smiled, but never dropped in.

Then one day Robby stopped coming for his lessons. I
thought about calling him, but assumed that because of his lack of
ability he had decided to pursue something else. I was also glad that
he had stopped coming - he was a bad advertisement for my teaching!

Several weeks later I mailed a flyer recital to the
students' homes. To my surprise, Robby (who had received a flyer)
asked me if he could be in the recital. I told him that the recital
was for current pupils and that because he had dropped out, he really
did not qualify.

He told me that his mother had been sick and unable
to take him to his piano lessons, but that he had been practicing.
'Please Miss Honor, I've just got to play' he insisted. I don't know
what led me to allow him to play in the recital - perhaps it was his
insistence or maybe something inside of me saying that it would be
all right.

The night of the recital came and the high school
gymnasium was packed with parents, relatives and friends. I put Robby
last in the program, just before I was to come up and thank all the
students and play a finishing piece. I thought that any damage he
might do would come at the end of the program and I could always
salvage his poor performance through my 'curtain closer'.

Well, the recital went off without a hitch, the
students had been practicing and it showed. Then Robby came up on the
stage. His clothes were wrinkled and his hair looked as though he had
run an egg beater through it. 'Why wasn't he dressed up like the
other students?' I thought. 'Why didn't his mother at least make him
comb his hair for this special night?'

Robby pulled out the piano bench, and I was surprised
when he announced that he had chosen to play Mozart's Concerto No..21
in C Major. I was not prepared for what I heard next. His fingers
were light on the keys, they even danced nimbly on the ivories. He
went from pianissimo to fortissimo, from allegro to virtuoso; his
suspendedchords that Mozart demands were magnificent!

Never had I heard Mozart played so well by anyone his
age.

After six and a half minutes he ended in a grand
crescendo, and everyone was on their feet in wild applause! Overcome
and in tears, I ran up onstage and put my arms
around Robby in joy. 'I have never heard you play
like that Robby, how did you do it?

' Through the microphone Robby explained: 'Well,
Miss Honor ..... remember I told you that my mom was sick? Well, she
actually had cancer and passed away this morning. And well ...... she
was born deaf, so tonight was the first time she had ever heard me
play, and I wanted to make it special.'

There wasn't a dry eye in the house that evening. As
the people from Social Services led Robby from the stage to be placed
in to foster care, I noticed that even their eyes were red and puffy.
I thought to myself then how much richer my life had been for taking
Robby as my pupil.

No, I have never had a prodigy, but that night I
became a prodigy ........ of Robby. He was the teacher and I was the
pupil, for he had taught me the meaning of perseverance and love and
believing in yourself, and may be even taking a chance on someone and
you didn't know why.

Robby was killed years later in the senseless bombing
of the Alfred P. Murray FederalBuilding in Oklahoma City in April,
1995.

And now, a footnote to the story. If you are thinking
about forwarding this message, you are probably wondering which
people on your addresslist aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive
this type of message. The person who sent this to you believes that
we can all make a difference!

So many seemingly trivial interactions between two
people present us with a choice

Do we act with compassion or do we pass up that
opportunity and leave the world a bit colder in the process?

You now have two choices:

1. Delete this; OR

2. Forward it to the people you care about. You know
the choice I made.

Thank you for reading this.

May God Bless you today, tomorrow and always.

If God didn't have a purpose for us, we wouldn't be
here.

Here' Sharing

2012-02-15T07:37:00.003-08:00

My song, The Audacity of Hope, and supporting the re-election of President Barack Obama this election 2012 -

http://youtu.be/vgT6hVV8pRs

Hello, Love & Music

2012-02-14T13:43:00.002-08:00

HAPPY VALENTINE!

LET'S MAKE LOVE AND MUSIC TOGETHER FOREVER!!

MORE AND MORE AND MORE!!!

Whitney Houston (1963-2012) - Super Bowl XXV (1991) - The National Anthe...

2012-02-14T13:40:00.000-08:00

More on Whitney

2012-02-14T13:34:00.000-08:00

Can't get enough of Whitney, the best pop, R&B, singer of all time, the best singer - ever!

http://www.ascap.com/Playback/2012/02/action/Whitney-Houston.aspx

And the GRAMMY Goes To...

2012-02-13T12:43:00.001-08:00

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/grammys-2012-adele-sweeps-jennifer-hudson-delivers-stirring/story?id=15571619#.T0vqm2BhKGo

Whitney Houston 1963-2012

2012-02-12T14:18:00.000-08:00

Can't believe it! For me, her greatest song is "The Greatest Love of All" -

http://youtu.be/4_eiCnk79Dk

You'll be missed, Whitney! Rest in peace now.

http://www.france24.com/en/20120212-whitney-houston-troubled-superstar-death-pop-singer-diva

Peter Horvath

2012-02-01T01:30:00.000-08:00

Great pianist and good friend, Peter Horvath! I took some lessons with him, great teacher! Wish I had continued but... well, maybe next time around, Peter!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5yrf-p6To8&feature=player_embedded

http://youtu.be/q5yrf-p6To8

"Keys and Frets" - Landsberg and Brewer 2/4

2012-02-01T01:20:00.001-08:00

http://www.piedmontpiano.com/Webpages/Norman&Terrence.html

BERKLEE VIDEO CLINICS

2012-02-01T01:17:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL354A7F87523BDC6B&feature=plcp&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonuKTAZKXonjHpfsX66u0tUaK%2FlMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4AT8VnI%2FqLAzICFpZo2FFaH%2FKecIVF

Performing at Yoshi's

2011-12-21T11:58:00.001-08:00

http://www.yoshis.com/oakland/jazzclub/artist/show/2349

Here's Sharing

2011-11-06T13:12:00.000-08:00

Rudolph Nureyev at Muppet Show

www.youtube.com

Perfect Fit

2011-11-03T14:01:00.000-07:00

My friend, Brenda, and I finally hooked up to do some music at home. We've been talking about it for awhile. She plays classical and is now studying jazz vocals at the Jazz School, while I play jazz and am trying to get back into playing classical again.

Last weekend, we learned our first classical piece together, ARIOSO, she on cello and me on piano. Then on to jazz, she sang "Cry Me A River" which she learned in school, and I backed her up on piano. And since I wanted to learn vocals anyway, I started singing the song too later. Now she just has to pass on the songs she learns in school to me. That'll get me motivated to keep singing until I learn to just sing naturally!

Not bad for a first day! It was fun. We really enjoyed. A perfect fit, all right!

Here's to MUSIC, Brenda... and more!

Here's Diane Krall's "Cry Me ARiver" - same key and voice range!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9y1vGxPVAA

MANNY MOKA

2011-10-14T17:42:00.000-07:00

Just got back from L.A. with Norman, aka Manny Moka after his gig at the Catalina Jazz Club the other night. Great show, great band, great music! We drove down the other day with Marc VW and Edgardo Cambon and met with the L.A. musicians who played with the band. With Tom Brechtlein on drums, you can't ask for a better drummer - phenomenal player! And with a great horn section, I tell you the whole band from L.A. was superb!

There's just some something about L.A. musicians. It's their attitude, man! I observed that in L.A., being such a big city, you've got to take your ax seriously if you want to make it big there! Competition is tough, you can't just be good or even great, you've got to be consistent with your act! Unbelievable! Same in NY! You've got to have a goal, a vision of what exactly you want to make it there as an artist. NY is a jazz town and all jazz artists want to make it in NY. Whether it's L.A. or NY musicians, you can see why, when they make it there, they make it everywhere - Attitude, man, Attitude!!

What about SF Bay Area musicians? SF is so small that it seems like you don't have to do so much to make it here! It's a hassle, a struggle for lots of artists/musicians, we all know that, but I still think the demographics just don't compare to L.A. and NY. What can I say about SF musicians? From my observations of the SF versus L.A. musicians this week, SF musicians are more health-conscious! What?? Hey, don't get me wrong. SF musicians are as great as any great musicians in L.A., NY, or anywhere! But it seems like, if you seriously want to make it big, you've got to be in L.A. or NY!

Hey, I'm a SF musician and I love San Francisco! Does that mean I'll never make it big for as long as I live here? No, not really, I just have to have an attitude as big as that of a L.A./NY musician - to start with! After all, everything begins from within.

Right on!

Harvey Mason

2011-10-14T17:23:00.000-07:00

I just have to make special mention of Harvey Mason of FOURPLAY. Everyone in the group is a phenomenal musician/instrumentalist, Bob James, Nathan East, Chuck Loeb, big names, man. But Harvey Mason simply won me over with his incredible playing! Yes there are good drummers who can play their drums well and there are great drummers who can play their drums like a musician. They can play loud and soft. They know when to support and know when to show off. Harvey Mason can make his drums whisper... Incredible! For the first time, I heard drums sounding like a pitched instrument.

Incredible, indeed! You're great, Harvey! My hats off to you!

FOURPLAY

2011-10-09T16:38:00.001-07:00

What a treat! With 4 individual musical giants playing as a contemporary jazz group called FOURPLAY - simply grand! They so inspired me to keep going with my music - jazz, (mainstream, contemporary, smooth, etc.), pop, r&b and more, embracing all music!

http://www.yoshis.com/sanfrancisco/jazzclub/artist/show/1979

http://www.fourplayjazz.com/

In retrospect, I had a jazz band in Manila called FOURPLAY specializing in jazz vocals a la Manhattan Transfer and original compositions, et al. Our group was formed in the 80s, 10 years before Fourplay here formed their group in the 90s. Wonder if they got their name from ours! I was going to asked them about it, kinda teasingly. Of course they'd say NO, but I couldn't wait any longer in line to get their autographs.

Terry Disley

2011-10-03T14:13:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite jazz pianists and a good friend, Terry Disley's style is simply tasteful, really classy! Great concepts, great themes, great arrangements! I can listen to his music all day and enjoy it and not get tired of it! I learn so much from him, he inspires me! Thanks, Terry.

http://www.piedmontpiano.com/Webpages/TerryDisley.html

http://www.terrydisley.com/

Lyrics

2011-09-26T13:00:00.000-07:00

These 2 songs have been playing in my head since learning them. Might as well sing them too. I particularly like the lyrics of "For Good" so here it is -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzrGFQysfYU&feature=related

I should really be singing more so let me add the lyrics to "Bill" -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II9sX0u88KU

Music from Broadway

2011-09-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

I'm preparing for a show this weekend and I am really enjoying these 2 songs I'm playing as piano accompanist. Thought to put them here so I don't keep going to youtube to listen and learn the songs. Here's sharing 2 beautiful songs from Broadway. Kristin Chenoweth and Audra MacDonald are magnificent!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtMN3mXmvqU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qYMTOmEQBw&feature=related

One of my wishes is to write a musical - in this lifetime, of course! As Maharishi says, " There's time for everything in life."

I want it in this lifetime. "Don't Stop Believing", as the song goes by Journey - I don't.

Network of Professional Musicians Practicing Transcendental Meditation

2011-09-20T00:52:00.000-07:00

http://music.mumdepartment.com/2011/03/14/announcing-the-international-association-of-meditating-musicians-iamm-transcendental-meditation-and-global-musicianship/

MANNY MOKA in L.A.

2011-09-18T15:47:00.000-07:00

Manny Moka @ Catalina Bar & Grill