I've been fortunate to become involved with the charity organization,  Sing for Hope . One program they're responsible for, is Hospital outreach. Volunteers visit patient's rooms, and conduct a personal, bedside performances. In addition, a few times each year, they hold a Healing Arts concert where all patients and hospital employees are invited to attend.  I was asked to play a short jazz set in one such concert at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. It was a beautiful space for a concert and I had a wonderful time meeting other very talented performers. This is a video of "Summertime." Enjoy! ~~~ Memorable moments from bedside performances: A Dose of Song A Gift of Song

I decided to post another video from last week's performance at People Kitchen and Lounge because I realized that that was the first time that I've ever performed my song, " I Still Think About You ." I wrote this song in 2004 and never gave much thought until I decided to plow through all of my songs a couple years ago and record them whether I like it or not. This one turned out better than I thought and may even be on the upcoming EP with Modern Vintage Recordings . Funny when I remember how I nearly wrote this one off as no good and condemned it to a life in the" trunk of lost and unfinished songs." So enjoy the video, even though the lighting and sound are horrible.

Last night I performed a 30-minute set at People Kitchen and Lounge in New York City’s Lower East Side. I agreed to the performance very last minute and quickly invited all the people I knew who might be able to make it. I arrived at the intimate, trendy lounge to find absolutely no one I knew had come. Even Eddie was unable to make it on time. As I prepared to begin, I couldn’t help feeling a bit down about it. I looked around at the strangers' faces who were relatively uninterested, and only there to see the performer after me. Just as the manager gave me the nod to begin, I saw someone arrive out of the corner of my eye. It was a friend and fellow pianist I had met when we did a performance months ago. We remained in touch and go to open mic nights whenever possible. And as coincidence would have it, he is also from Nebraska!!! I ran to the door, hugged him in his bright red Husker jacket, and told him how glad I was that he came. And I really was. It gave me a boost of conf...

In honor of yesterday's post , I thought I would keep the theme going with this video shot at Prospect Park in Brooklyn near the carousel. I thought it was an appropriate song to play with the children near by because I just love the message in it. I've noticed something in the little girls from ballet class who put their heart and soul into dancing because it's their dream . I love this lyric from the song: "If your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme. When you wish upon a star as dreamers do." To see photos from the Play Me, I'm Yours project, click here . To see more videos, click here .

This is a video from the Play Me, I'm Yours project. Two of the sixty pianos were indoors, and this one was in the Chelsea Market, one of the neatest places in the city. Inside the former brick meat market are quaint little shops and cafes. This was also one of the coolest pianos, with a plaster frame around it. Enjoy the video. To see photos from the project, click here . To see more videos, click here .

This is one of the four pianos outside Lincoln Center that was set up by Sing For Hope in their  Play Me, I'm Yours project. This was the first time I had ever been to Lincoln center, and look at that, it was to play a piano! I've been back one time since, and that was for an actual performance in a theatre for a World Mission Foundation fundraiser. Enjoy the video! To see more photos from the Play Me, I'm Yours project, click here . To see videos, click here .

This is a video Eddie took at Gantry Plaza State Park in Queens when I toured 60 pianos throughout the city's 5 boroughs for the Play Me, I'm Yours project. This park was right on the water with an amazing view of Manhattan. I felt inspired to play New York New York. The song says, "If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere," but I often find myself thinking, "If I can make it anywhere, I'll be happy. " I'm laughing, but it's so true. Enjoy the video. Forgot to mention it's a duet with random heavy machinery and vehicles driving around and making beeping sounds. Makes it sound very New York New York. To see photos from the project, click here . To see more videos, click here .

I don’t know how one develops a horrible cold in the middle of summer, but somehow I did. What better time to have a sick day than on a weekend, with nothing to do but cuddle up on the couch within arms length of Kleenex, cough drops, and all 4 remote controls (I'm still not sure which goes to what gadget). Oh, but not this sick day. I had a gig in Sparta, NJ which entailed packing and loading up Ray (my keyboard), the stand, microphone, microphone stand, amps, cords, and music. Then driving for an hour in Sunday afternoon traffic (which is surprisingly horrible here for some reason), unloading it all, playing for an hour and a half, re-packing, re-loading….well, you get the point. It’s a lot of work any day, but especially when you’re still hung over from a late night dose of Nyquil. After miles of interstate and winding roads, we finally arrived at quite possibly the largest house I’ve ever been to. The gig was entertainment for a metaphysical church gathering at a parishoner’s ...

It must be a world-wide beautiful day today, at least in the northeast of the US anyway. It was a perfect Saturday to sit under a tree with my husband and dog, and just hang out for an afternoon. Here is another video from the Play Me, I'm Yours project on a day very similar to today. The weather was gorgeous, the sun was shining, and I discovered a gorgeous, small park in upper Manhattan called Harlem Art Park. The name certainly suited the piano that sat on the cobblestone courtyard, as it was brightly painted with New York City landmarks. Under the shade of picturesque trees, in a tucked away sanctuary in New York, seated at a vibrant piano, what else could I play, but "What a Wonderful World?" To see more photos from the Play Me, I'm Yours project, click here . To see more videos, click here .