Cindy and Isaac Practicing Before Singing for Husband's Birthday :)

I know it has been a while since I have blogged.  I have been away from home for a few weeks now.  I had a couple of interesting things happen during my roadtrip to Chicago, and things have been a bit busy with settling in at one sister's house and then the other sister's house, and then back to the other sister's house; and, of course, I had to and I am still getting used to the crazy Chicago weather again after being away from it for a couple of years.  The cold and snow seem to be never-ending. It is interesting how fast you become accustomed to NOT becoming accustomed to the crazy weather even though you lived in it for most of your life.  Yup, I have become as my Chicago friends would say...a wimp, or one of "those" people. :)  Obviously, I saw my agent and went on a few auditions in the city, and I also saw my parents, so I guess things have been fairly busy.

Plus, if you have been on facebook or following me on twitter, you may have seen my posts and tweets about my dog, Isaac, and you may have seen a video I have posted of him and my other dogs (my other dogs in that video have sadly passed on since that video and I miss them everyday obviously) "singing".  Whenever I sing at home or vocalize at home, Isaac looks at me, perks up and "sings".  Okay, he howls.  I know he is probably telling me to "be quiet!", but I must say that he looks extremely cute saying it! :)  You may have also seen my posts and tweets that because I was going to be away from home on my husband's birthday, I was going to call my husband and sing for my husband on his birthday.

So, since I needed to practice and since Isaac tends to join in whenever I practice, here is a video I posted on my facebook.  I know this may make me a "stage mom", but I will admit I think my baby is adorable so I am a proud mom. :)

To see more videos of me and Isaac, you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook!  Tell all your friends!  :)

O Holy Night by Cindy Chang NOW AVAILABLE for download...FREE!!!

As a personal thank you to all those who have been kind enough to give me so much encouragement this past year to not give up my dream to sing professionally, as well as, to help a cause close to my heart, this English and Korean bilingual, recorded live, simply from the heart version of O Holy Night is now available through CDBaby to download for FREE!!!  (You may also download for FREE from the sample below!) 

I really wanted my first single recording to be a thank you labor of love project. I wanted to be able to just give my first single away for free to people as a way to say THANK YOU to everyone for all their support. I wanted my first single to be available and accessible for everyone and everywhere, as much as possible, no matter where they were in the world, or no matter what their financial situation was (i.e., I didn't want even $0.99 to be an issue for anyone since for some people, you never know, even every penny may count in their lives right now); AND I wanted to DO something with my first single recording and try to make a difference somehow for something that meant a lot to me.

Many of you know I am a HUGE dog lover (all animals actually, but definitely dogs!), and Hope for Paws and The Fuzzy Pet Foundation are two organizations that I have personally been a fan of and have been a follower of for their amazing work in helping abused, neglected, homeless animals that need medical attention, a home, love, and someone who will speak up for them and give them a much needed voice. So, it was a natural choice for me to want to use my first single as a way to help these two organizations! 

I have had the honor to personally speak with Eldad Hagar from Hope for Paws and Sheila Choi from The Fuzzy Pet Foundation on the phone, and they are wonderful, down-to-earth people with extra-ordinary hearts who are willing to go out there and do what they do and help animals in need. I am in awe and humbled by what they do. I know the sad reality is that we are, unfortunately, not going to be able to save all the animals that need help, BUT it is because of knowing that, I feel the need to still do SOMETHING because EVERY little bit helps. It just has to.

Below is a video of a fairly recent rescue that these two organizations did together. (They are separate organizations and do their own rescues, but this is an example of them combining their efforts.) Now, thanks to this rescue, Apollo and Sky now have a loving, forever home!

Please consider a donation to Hope for Paws and/or The Fuzzy Pet Foundation so that they can continue to do their amazing work and help animals in need!

PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT meant to pressure you to donate, and donating is NOT a requirement to receive O Holy Night for FREE. O Holy Night is available as a FREE download for everyone regardless of whether you donate or not and is my simply from the heart way to say thank you for your amazing support you have kindly given me this past year! Please do not feel any pressure. I know everyone has different circumstances. Donation is completely voluntary. I just want to try to help two organizations that I believe in and a cause I personally care deeply about - helping animals that need help.

You are welcome to spread the word about this as well!

Thank you again for all your support! Hope you enjoy!



Special thanks to David Cunniff (piano and arrangement - arr. briefly includes the four-note ostinato motif from Carol of the Bells composed by Mykola Leontovych) and Dave Wheeler and Aron Hethcox (Studio 603) for all their help with this recording. 

Thank You My First Music Teachers

This Thanksgiving Day, I want to thank my very first music teachers...my parents.

I am...

...Thankful to my parents for always having classical music playing at home or in the car. We got to listen to some of the greatest composers that ever lived and to some of the greatest pieces of music ever composed (even though I did not know who or what I was listening to at the time).

...Thankful to my parents for taking us to church and making me sing in my father's church choir. I got to see my father in his element, and not just as the strict father but also as the strict and talented choir director. He could take a group of normal, everyday people who were doctors, teachers, housewives, dry cleaning business owners, senior citizens, college students, etc., who were not trained musicians by profession but just had a love for music; and he would be able to create really beautiful music of high caliber with us.

...Thankful to my parents for making us go to all their Korean Oratorio Society of Chicago concerts that my father conducted and where my mom sang every Christmas at church over the years. I got to listen to beautiful music like the Handel’s Messiah and see my parents share their love for music with the Chicago Korean community.

I may not have been able to study or major in music and voice in school (my parents meant well. I know they just wanted me to have a better life than they did), and while I can't lie and say it wasn't heartbreaking and extremely painful not being able to and not having the support to pursue my dream to sing professionally for so long; I must say that I owe my childhood of being exposed to beautiful music to my parents. Because I grew up in a house surrounded by music and was able to listen to classical music growing up, I was able to absorb music.

So thank you my parents for being my first music teachers. That exposure to music you gave me will always be a part of me and still helps me to this day.