A Piano For Dovida

“Dovida Goodman, aka Dovida Ishatova, played the piano beautifully,

combining classical music with her own unique blend of composition and

improvisation. Then bang! Chronic health issues rendered her bedridden for

37 years. And yet, she has healed to the point where she can once again sit

up and longs to play her piano, a piano she sold long ago to pay for health

care. With your support, no matter how big or small, the goal is to buy Dovida
a fine digital piano and specialized piano instruction to regain strength and
dexterity. Help if you can. Thank You.”

  Holly Near

 

     In 1985, the body and life of Dovida Goodman, aka Dovida Ishatova, were

transformed by a severe muscle condition. Playing the piano, her piano

tuning profession, and most normal life activities came to a screeching halt.
Thus began her long journey of healing body, mind, and spirit.

      Dovida, a classically trained pianist, was part of the early years of women’s music. Known for her evocative and passionate playing, lightning speed technique, and beautiful, sensitive touch, she performed at the first Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival in 1976,  also sharing the stage with Kay Gardner. Dovida’s repertoire featured her own intricate and imaginative compositions and improvisations as well as classical music. In addition, she served as the Michigan festival’s official piano tuner for the next eight years. Dovida subsequently went on to perform at, and tune pianos for, many music festivals and concerts.



     Comedian,  activist, and festival entrepreneur, Robin Tyler, recognized Dovida’s talent and offered her a featured spot at the First West Coast Women’s Music Festival in 1980. Dovida’s solo performance received a standing ovation from an audience moved to tears. The next year, Robin invited Dovida back to the Second West Coast Women’s Music Festival. This time, she returned accompanied by her mother, Henia Goodman, herself an accomplished pianist and survivor of Auschwitz, whose musical career had been cut short by Hitler’s invasion of Poland. It was an unforgettable performance of love, laughter, the unshakeable mother-daughter bond, and a celebration of Henia Goodman’s indomitable spirit. The audience was moved by the passion, beautiful music, and humor. Once again tears flowed.

     Dovida is probably best known for the poignant and energizing concert tour she did in 1982 with Henia called "From Mother to Daughter and Back Again - a Celebration of Survival and Resistance.”  The program included an amazing display of  intergenterational, artistic synergy, culminating in a piano duet. Dovida's compositional skills were a highlight. Her ability to bridge artist and audience through the instrument under the command of her fingers took the spotlight.. The concerts were a triumph of Dovida’s commitment to combine art with themes of social justice. As a producer of this unique and memorable series of events, I can attest to the emotional impact their music had on a panoply of diverse audiences.

     
  But this promising trajectory was rudely disrupted a few short years later. Mostly bedridden since 1985, Dovida never gave up searching for answers, addressing all levels of her being. In her words:

For 37 grueling years I have clawed, danced, sung, wept, screamed, laughed as well as tried every conceivable substance or healing modality to find my way back to health. The search for answers eventually revealed that the very search was perpetuating the symptoms. I had to realize that I wasn’t broken and there was absolutely nothing about me or my body that needed to be fixed. This realization, combined with creating new neuro-pathways in my brain, has brought me to this moment in time where I am ready to play the piano once again and create what I hope will be divinely inspired music that reflects the transformation I have had to go through to get here.

How did I get through this? I believe it’s the chutzpah, grace, and grit I have inherited from my mother that has seen me through this long ordeal, as well as my willingness to play the fool and be humbled by my own ignorance.

      And now, Dovida Goodman is  joyfully ready to return to the world of music , to resume composing and playing the piano. As you can imagine, 37 years of chronic debilitating illness and unemployment is not a recipe for financial abundance,  All savings have  long been exhausted and her piano sold to pay for medical expenses. On Dovida’s behalf, I am asking you to please contribute whatever you can towards the purchase of a professional quality electronic piano and specialized piano instruction to restore the agility and strength that will enable those magical fingers to once again fly across the keyboard. 

Photo Credits: Emily O’Brien, Ellen Shub, Diana M. Davies, Susan

Fleischmann, Kim Corsaro, Maile, Shoshana Rothaizer, Kristie Vogel,

Uncle Herman