NEW YORK – July 20, 2020 — KeyMedia Group is proud to announce the release of ShiZ’ka’s second album of solo piano performances, BRILLIANCE & FERVOR LIVE, featuring music from Scarlatti, Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Prokofiev. Recorded as a live streaming concert it was initially broadcast on June 20 at St. John’s in the Village with MUSAE, KeyMedia Group and ShiZ’ka producing the event. With the ongoing challenge in the arts, live streaming has helped to save the livelihood and state of mind of millions of musicians while providing a respite to audiences worldwide. The audience response to ShiZ’ka’s concert, “dazzling performance,” “a force of nature,” “deeply moving to the point of shouting out brava in my own apartment!” describes the intensity in which the young pianist faces the present climate and future of live music. With the ongoing struggle in the classical community to engage new young audiences, ShiZ’ka 26, represents a new bold and vivacious group of up and coming female classical artists, serving as a beacon for young people to embrace classical music.
Shizuka “ShiZ’ka” Saeki is a classical pianist who began playing at age 4. She studied with renowned Japanese teachers, Toshimi Sakou, Keita Kosaka, Makoto Yamahata, and Mako Okamoto, before she built up her reputation as an exciting and nuanced performer. Her talents have taken her throughout Japan and the United States. At the age of 17, ShiZ’ka was a finalist in the Japan Classical Music Society competition. In college, she studied at Doshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts, supplementing her classical training with studies in jazz. While living in Japan, she studied with famed jazz pianist Makot Takenaka and then with Yoko Yamamoto, at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Dr. Kela also conducts an online weekly series LET’S TALK THURSDAYS with DR. KELA HENRY through her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DrKelaHenry. Her vigorous and dedicated schedule to promote NIA & THE NUMBERS GAME continues in 2019 as does her commitment to helping empower teenage girls. She believes any young lady can accomplish anything when supplied with the right educational tools, encouragement, and motivation.
Dr. Kela Henry is a Southern-bred physician with strong ties to her community. She is a valued and respected primary care physician in Buford, Georgia. She graduated medical school from Drexel in 1999 prior to returning to her home state of Georgia and completing her residency program at Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. While in medical school she earned two prestigious awards.
In August of 2019, she was a featured author at the National Association of Black Journalists Conference and Career Fair. While there she was awarded A Salute to Excellence Certificate, for her debut book NIA & THE NUMBERS GAME, A Teenager’s Guide to Education, Relationships & Sex.