Spiritual Journey
Even more than a musical journey, Yoshiko's life has been a spiritual quest for truth. Raised in Kyoto as a Buddhist, she felt an emptiness which eventually led her to pilgrimages in India as well as China and Europe, seeking answers through meditation and extensive study of yoga and other Eastern disciplines. One particular mystery which always provoked her curiosity was the question: Who is this God that moved the great European musical masters to write so beautifully? Why did J. S. Bach inscribe every work “SDG”, an abbreviation for “Soli Deo Gloria” (to God alone be the glory)? The answer came soon after she moved to Los Angeles in 1987, where she began to learn of Christ and the God of her musical mentors. Within a year she became fully convinced that the truth she had sought was completely revealed in the Bible, and with this “new birth” she committed the rest of her life to follow Christ. Yoshiko now sees music as a normal and vital part of God-given life, and she is happiest when she can share with others the rich joy she has found. She and her husband sing together each day as a means of praising God, and they sing in choral groups which do the same. She strives for her music to be edifying, not just to impress. Her desire is that her musical gifts can nurse the hearts and lift up the spirits of her listeners.
Yoshiko's Notes On Cancer
The CD “Life” was originally scheduled for recording on July 5, 2005. Ironically, the discovery of a rare, aggressive ovarian cancer in stage IV put me under the knife on that very day. My husband, Steve, and I were scheduled to leave for Italy with the Cathedral Choir the following week, but with this unexpected surgery I couldn't go and he refused to leave my side. Right then our good friends Chuck & Jean Gahagen, both MD's, entered with the best of all solutions: They brought me from the hospital to recuperate in their home and sent Steve on with the choir. I was continuously pampered by two loving doctors, and Steve phoned every day so the entire choir had all the latest news in praying for my recovery as they sang their way through Italy.
Chemo ended in December and by February 2006 enough endurance had returned to make the recording. That was interesting because the nerve damage from chemo still prevented my fingers from feeling the keys, so I had to record without benefit of any tactile feedback. Now “Life” is out, and I'm blessed with remission and working on more music to record: Bach and Handel are next, and later Debussy, Ravel and Scriabin. So much wonderful music! Whether I'm on earth for a few hundred days or ten thousand more, there is nothing to regret and nothing I would do differently. There is life on earth and life eternal, but all life is a gift from God. Let's celebrate life!
.