Donna Stoering is an award-winning recording artist, concert pianist, educator, and social entrepreneur who has served as Artistic Ambassador for both the UK and USA to countries worldwide. Founder of an award-winning global nonprofit (ListenForLife.org) and a protégé of the late Sir Georg Solti, she has been the subject of special programs on the BBC, Hong Kong Radio & TV, Brazilian national television, RAI (Italy), NPR and PBS stations, and the national networks of many other countries. Donna currently has an extremely busy and fulfilling life as a concert soloist and collaborative pianist, teaching artist, performance and masterclass coach, producer/performer/host of television, radio and video programs on music; TEDx presenter, keynote speaker, journalist, author, founder of several new concert series and music festivals, and Executive/Artistic Director for Listen For Life projects worldwide.
FWM: How has music been the conduit for collaboration and celebration during the global crisis?
That’s an interesting question….musicians, in general, have been most powerfully impacted by the pandemic because all in-person teaching and concert performances have been cancelled for 1-2 years, and this not only crushes financial livelihoods but also the spirits and the “sense of purpose” or “being”, for most musicians. We are so used to real-time feedback from performing, in-person interaction with our audiences or music students – that all disappeared very suddenly and even the most robust psyches had some real adjusting to do….and as with anything else in life, the only way to turn that sense of loss or discouragement around is to focus on an action of service and see where there are needs in the community that can still be met through music. Within ListenForLife, for example, we made three huge initiatives during the crisis:
1) We developed online global broadcasts of our NotesForNourishment concerts, (which formerly took place in live venues of various communities), so now we can share these special concerts with audiences around the world.
2) We heard educators, school districts and homeschooling parents were all having trouble finding inspiring online content to teach core curriculum subjects in a way to keep the students’ attention, so we erased the subscription platform for our award-winning TravelsWithMusic series (which teaches K-12 social studies through cross-cultural music videos and interviews) and we made the series free to all online, while investing our own funds to create a new website that provides info and lesson plans for the teachers who use the TWM program.
3) Early on in the global pandemic, we learned that neurologists and critical care nurses treating Covid and other seriously ill patients, were searching for a specific device that could block the constant noise of monitors while delivering intentionally-created healing harmonies and rhythms to these patients. We spent many months developing the requested music on Cds and a special mp3 device (to put on the pillows of patients), thus creating our new award-winning Music For Medicine project, where we now donate our growing library of music-for-medical-healing tracks, to all hospitals, hospices, medical personnel, PTSD counselors, caregivers and patients, who request them.
I know that other music organizations, such as choirs or ensembles, have had to develop or adapt to new technologies that allow real-time collaboration in rehearsals from a number of locations. And there have been several selfless musicians who have donated their time to celebrate the gift of life by playing outside hospitals and hospice rooms, for example. But I suspect that for most musicians, the idea of “celebrating” through music will only come when they/we are able to safely share their music with live audiences in full venues once again, whether that be churches, music festivals or concert halls.
FWM: What are you currently working on?
Two new album releases, learning some 200+ pages of music for new concert repertoire, choosing the filming/recording location and first 3 episodes of an upcoming new broadcast series, co-producing a summer music festival from long distance (I won’t get to be there this year), writing a book, and trying (thus far unsuccessfully) to find energetic new visionaries to take over the different projects of Listen For Life and carry them forward to serve and inspire the new generations of musicians. My new website is DonnaStoering.com and hopefully I will get time to start putting upcoming events on there…. 🙂
FWM: Tell us about “Listen for Life.” How is it transforming and elevating the human spirit?
I first founded ListenForLife in 1998 when I was based in London and serving as an Artistic Ambassador for both the UK and US to countries worldwide. In that role, I met countless master musicians around the planet, who were all struggling so hard to sustain and save their music cultures and traditions against the onslaught of global pop media. They begged for the chance to share their music with the world as well. So ListenForLife began as a network of music listeners, performers, producers, educators – all working together to restore the classical music of all cultures as a “channel of communication” that would indeed transform and elevate the human spirit. Over the years, communities or organizations around the globe, such as U.N. related groups in Geneva, asked me to design specific LFL projects that would address particular issues or needs through music. LFL then gradually became an all-volunteer global umbrella organization for a large variety of projects, products, programs and productions, all designed with a heart of service through music. Now, 24 years later (in March 2022) we define our mission as “inspiring and empowering musicians of all cultures to use their gifts in the service of others”.
FWM: What are the programs offered?
We have designed and implemented over 15 different programs around the globe, impacting over 11 million individuals thus far. Each time we successfully carry out a new project I develop a template for that project, noting each of the steps we took (backwards or forwards) and all of the details in execution, so that any other volunteer, musician or community that sees the same need in their own location can replicate this program while applying their own cultural and musical preferences to the template as needed. Currently our primary focus projects are
Music For Medicine (ListenForLife.org/MFM) donating neurologically based healing music to hospitals, hospices, exhausted medical workers
NotesForNourishment concerts to raise funds for other nonprofits or causes (ListenForLife.org/NFNconcerts)
Travels With Music (TWM) educational series shown on BBC and other networks, now free for teachers/schools on our YouTube channel (see TravelsWithMusic.com)
ListenForLife Productions (ListenForLife.org/LFLProductions) CD releases, digital albums, TV and video series content, all sharing the work of inspiring master musicians with the world
FWM: The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences has selected “Music for Medicine” project for the 2022 Anthem Awards. What does this mean to you?
We actually just received major Anthem Awards for global social impact in two different categories – one in the Health innovations category for the MFM project, and then I was honored personally as silver medalist “Product Leader of the Year” worldwide for creating all of the LFL programs overall.
I was very surprised! Our entire goal for the MFM project is to let ALL medical workers, caregivers, hospice directors, respiratory therapists, PTSD counselors, stroke rehab facilities/patients, critical care nurses, hospital execs, etc, KNOW that these award-winning MFM resources EXIST, and that we will happily DONATE them to these workers or facilities, free of charge – all they have to do is contact us and request them. We have so many really powerful and moving testimonies from those who have used MFM thus far – from nurses, doctors, caregivers and patients – and we have been so deeply gratified to know of the difference it has made in their lives. Right now, especially, with so many frontline workers and exhausted medical staff resigning from their jobs, we would love to be able to “help the helpers” if at all possible, and as quickly as possible.
But our challenge, as I said, is somehow letting them know that this resource exists, that WE exist, and that we want to serve by donating the work of our efforts these past two years. We are an all-volunteer organization worldwide, and we don’t have a budget for marketing or PR or publicity about our services. I am therefore hopeful that maybe these Anthem Awards will help the word get out to a few more press or news reporters, who might in turn let others know to contact us about our donated products and services. Then it will all feel worthwhile.
FWM: You are an International Keynote Speaker. What can we expect to see from you this year?
I speak wherever I am invited to do so, whether live or virtually…and wherever it is possible to have a piano on the stage, I “speak” through music at the same time. For example, please see my TEDx presentation on “the need for Intentional Listening”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDFLP7og1bs I enjoy replicating that TEDx presentation for different purposes or types of conferences.
In general, I have about 20 different topics and speak for a wide range of audiences and because our Travels With Music series is often used in college courses for cultural understanding/diversity training and that issue is in the news a lot right now, I expect (and hope) that will be a hot topic area. I also hope to be sharing inspiring stories of artists from around the world, and their struggles to find a way of service through their music, from my upcoming book, “Change Your Music, Change Your Life” (copyrighted title/URL) But often I feel I also speak through our LFL projects, through the musicians who have a heart of service and with whom I collaborate worldwide, and through my own music performances and hosting/production of programs, in television appearances, radio, podcasts, live concerts, and online broadcasts worldwide.
FWM: Please share your social media.
Websites: DONNASTOERING.COM and LISTENFORLIFE.ORG
https://www.facebook.com/donna.stoering/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnastoering/
Twitter (@donnastoering
