Gloria Y's Ursula, interdisciplinary new music

Hello, thank you for considering this fundraiser.

UPDATE: As of November 2023, the focus of this fundraiser has shifted towards the new project: "Ursula." Watch this space for new details. Thank you for your support thus far; it's beyond heartwarming.

Previous context:

This is for the purpose of buying a Yamaha YV3910 3.5-octave vibraphone, an instrument I used to play professionally, but no longer have access to. The video < https://youtu.be/XAqL40bHs0Y?si=jgHI1ixzSGGQOC5A > includes details of why that is the case, why I need your help, and how I plan to use the instrument. A brief synopsis is in the text below.

Here are some links to my playing:

‘it comes in waves,’ a piece written for me by Samn Johnson: https://youtu.be/IuAwYEXJ4Oc

‘four,’ by Olivia Murphy, originally written for her quartet, re-arranged for solo vibraphone: https://youtu.be/q8yR43UL4rc

‘Dreamerfly, and other stories,’ an interdisciplinary project. Music by James Owston, animation by Shiyi Li, I was a co-director, successfully applying for a USArtists International Award grant: https://youtu.be/72bhFgnjgbc

‘Fantasia IIIb,’ by Nicholas Deyoe: https://youtu.be/R7hk-67iq8Q

In the video, I talk about two forms of impact: that which is calculable, and that which is not. Things like how much money to donate to a particular charity to save one life are calculable, but how a piece of music or performance will affect someone, or if a composition will stand the test of time, are not calculable. The fact that you cannot attach numbers to compute the value of a piece of music is exactly what gives it its value.

This is an article discussing this in more detail: https://artreview.com/why-effective-altruists-fear-art/

This is an article about investing in people with ‘nebulous and unquantifiable goals,’ including artists, which is also relevant: https://open.substack.com/pub/ninarimsky/p/consider-giving-money-to-people?r=ndtkc&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Synopsis:

I miss music so much, it hurts. Despite its intensity, this pain is a teacher. It has been informative and mobilising.

Just over a year ago, I sold all my instruments, moved from California to London, UK, and changed my career from music to research. Three primary reasons for this were:

- Psychological discomfort with unstable earnings, linked with a lack of opportunities to create music that I was most passionate about.

- Intellectual curiosity in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, which I have pursued through the past year in an MSc. This was tied to a concern with ‘impact.’

- I (wrongly) felt like I had to make a binary choice between music and health due to this career change. However, I did commit to that choice and am happy to say I’ve made great progress with my health.

The vibraphone was my primary voice as a percussionist, and I hope to share that voice with others again. I am not in a financial position to justify the purchase of an instrument for a few reasons: because I took a year out, it will be a long time before I’m able to make an income from music. The remainder of the money from having sold my instruments previously now needs to be allotted to living expenses: I’m in the final months of a Psychology MSc and searching for jobs. The job market is extremely competitive; thus I don’t know how soon I’ll have regular income.

It turns out, those of us that are musicians don’t have a choice... it’s intrinsic. Music has been pouring out of me in recent weeks through composition. A vibraphone will allow that composition (and many others) to come to life, and I genuinely hope to share it with you.

This is another sort of health problem: no longer having one’s voice. I’m addressing it with this fundraiser.

I would truly appreciate your help.