Hello! My name is Jipan Xie from Pasadena CA. I am helping my dearest friend, Shu Tran (also known as Judy Gallego) and her two boys (Luciano and Michelangelo) who lost their home to the Eaton Fire. As most of her assets are not covered by insurance, I hope to raise money to cover the immediate needs and to rebuild her life with beautiful music.

As you all know, the Eaton Fire has destroyed many homes, including Shu's, except that hers is more than a home for her and her two boys. Her house is also the music studio she has built from scratch, Lieb der Lieder Haus. She has poured her heart and love to build a community there, where she taught piano and vocal lessons to so many students, hosted numerous concerts each year to spread the joy, and sourced the inspiration to create her first album "Morpho".

She is not an ordinary piano teacher -- she is someone who touches the heart and soul of each student she has taught and their families. Despite living a modest life with her two boys, she is always generous and never hesitates to give to the community and to society. Her love and care never stop - not during COVID, not during or after the fire. She provided free lessons to support her students and has hosted many outdoor concerts during COVID. When the fire started, she drove to our area and tried to evacuate my mom while we were thousands of miles away. Even though she and the boys left the house with nothing but the clothes they wore when the fire hit, she still reached out to her students after the fire to support them for the piano certificate exams (Certificate of Merit).

This is how my 12-year-old daughter describes her beloved piano teacher:

"She would always hold concerts and classes there for us and was always willing to help. She was always there to support us through tough times and would always spread joy to everybody. She would always treat us with respect and always taught us with passion and energy. She spread love to whoever was with her. Although her house is gone, the memories and love she gave there will never be forgotten."

The Eaton Fire destroyed not only her home but also her biggest fortune, her four beautiful pianos, that she used to practice, teach, perform, and create music with!

As she processed the loss of her pianos, she expressed,

"I had many plans to have my students learn how to fix their own pianos using this Baldwin Hamilton, and to strip and paint it together. Now, those plans will not come to fruition.

I believe every instrument has a soul, and they all came into my life and blessed me in ways that were far beyond what I deserved. At one point in my life, I was homeless with two young children and a dream to have one good piano to make music with. God is so good - He gave me four."

Although all four pianos are now gone, the memories and love she gave will never be forgotten. Not only that, if we all support her with the the love and generosity she has given, she will soon rebuild the music community again!

If you feel her story resonates with your heart, please contribute any amount you can to help her and her boys get the necessities and rebuild her music studio. If you are financially unable to support them, please send them beautiful prayers from your hearts. I am sure the impact of your support will go beyond her family and her studio, as she will be able to use these to continue creating and spreading music to heal the world!

Thank you!

Musically yours,

Jipan