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UID:20130525T211419CEST-0902vXEjUF@www.yoshis.com/sanfrancisco
DTSTAMP:20130525T190519Z
DESCRIPTION:When Helen Jane Long is composing music\, she wants to attain n
 othing less than tranquility. Not the tranquility of numbness or sleep\, b
 ut tranquility through affirmation\, through a music that aspires to an el
 egance and civility rarely found in this world. In other words\, the music
  of Helen Jane Long makes you feel good.\n\nHow good? She was named to the
  UK&rsquo\;s Classical FM Hall of Fame in 2011 for her album\, Embers. Her
  music is used commercially for Volkswagen\, British Airways\, National Ge
 ographic\, Discovery\, the BBC. But probably the most significant sign of 
 her success is that there are dozens of musicians and fans covering her mu
 sic on YouTube. &ldquo\;Expression&rdquo\; from the &ldquo\;Porcelain&rdqu
 o\; album seems to be a particular favorite.\n\nAll of this is from a prod
 igy who was born in 1974 in sleepy Hampshire on the southern coast of Engl
 and. Helen Jane Long began playing piano when she was four. Her older brot
 her was already studying the instrument\, but after his lessons were over\
 , Long would slip onto the piano bench and replicate what her brother was 
 being taught. He went on to become an architect\, Long\, encouraged by her
  parents\, went another way.\n\nClassical music was her path\, but like ma
 ny young composers\, Long didn&rsquo\;t see many prospects for getting her
  music performed by classical ensembles\, so she formed her own virtual or
 chestra. The idea came to her when she borrowed her grandmother&rsquo\;s C
 asio keyboard\, an early digital instrument that allowed her to over-dub h
 erself. Once she realized she could do it herself she began bouncing track
 s on cassette players.\n\nShe solved the problem of finding other willing 
 musicians by learning cello\, violin and guitar. Her first cello was made 
 by her father and she still plays it to this day.\n\nOn Intervention\, Hel
 en Jane Long included a string quartet of violins and cello\, including ce
 llist Nick Holland from the famed Balanescu Quartet. But she still compose
 s in the same solitary fashion and the music still comes from a deeply pri
 vate place. Many of her songs emerge from personal experience. &ldquo\;Fin
 ding\,&rdquo\; from her album &ldquo\;Embers&rdquo\;\, was written for her
  father when he was in a coma. &ldquo\;Intervention&rdquo\; was written in
  the wake of several deaths in her family\, among them her grandmother.
 &ldquo\;When I recorded &lsquo\;The Aviator&rsquo\; in Air studios\, the a
 dvertising crew were in tears at the emotions of the piece... Very real em
 otion. The weekend I wrote &lsquo\;The Aviator&rsquo\; my Grandmother was 
 dying. Monday scoring music\, Tuesday Grans funeral\, Wednesday British Ai
 rways recording...sometimes controlling emotions is the only way to get th
 rough stuff.&rdquo\;\n\nAnd that&rsquo\;s what Intervention is. Music to g
 et you through stuff\, a sound that takes you away from your troubles\, ev
 en while affirming your turmoil. Helen Jane Long&rsquo\;s music is the sou
 nd of hope.\nHelen Jane Long's website\nHelen Jane Long on facebook
DTSTART:20130129T200000
DTEND:20130129T220000
DURATION:PT3H
LOCATION:San Francisco
SUMMARY:HELEN JANE LONG & The London Players
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