Musicians

The Girl Who Heard the Music: How One Pianist and 85,000 Bottles of Cans Brought New Hope to an Island

The amazing true story of Mahani Teave, an award-winning pianist and environmental activist. After becoming an internationally acclaimed concert pianist, with tours around the world, Mahani never forgot the tiny island where she grew up, Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, and one of the most remote. Aware of the islands environmental struggles and sustainability issues with pollution from tourism, Mahani was inspired to help save its environment and culture by creating a music school. The school was built using thousands of bottles, cans and tires in its walls, incorporating rain barrels, solar panels, and a food garden. Not only does Mahani help build a sustainable future for Rapa Nui, she also ensures the music will play on.

The Girl Who Heard the Music is the WOW Recommends book for October 2023.

This book is part of the Worlds of Words Global Reading List for 2023/24.

As Glenn As Can Be

Glenn was a child who knew his own mind ― he liked boats but did not like fishing; he enjoyed puns and pranks but did not like bullying; he loved learning but did not like school … but more than anything else he loved to play the piano. Glenn had a professional performing career by the time he was fifteen; he gave concerts all over the world in his twenties. He became best known for his interpretation of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. But Glenn grew to dislike concerts ― the hall was too cold, or he didn’t feel well, or the audience made too much noise (he didn’t even like their applause!). He discovered that when he played and recorded music in an empty concert hall, he could make it sound exactly the way he wanted. He could do what he loved best, while being completely himself.

Key From Spain

Just as her ancestors were forced to leave Spain during the Inquisition, Flory flees Europe for a new life in the United States, bringing with her a precious harmoniku and a passion for Ladino music.

War Child: A Child Soldier’s Story

In the mid-1980s, Emmanuel Jal was a seven-year-old Sudanese boy, living in a small village with his parents, aunts, uncles, and siblings. But as Sudan’s civil war moved closer – with the Islamic government seizing tribal lands for water, oil, and other resources – Jal’s family moved again and again, seeking peace. Then, on one terrible day, Jal was separated from his mother, and later learned she had been killed; his father Simon rose to become a powerful commander in the Christian Sudanese Liberation Army, fighting for the freedom of Sudan.

The Red Piano

A beautiful and extraordinary account of international concert pianist Zhu Xiao-Mei’s hardships and triumphs while growing up during China’s Cultural Revolution, Stirring and inspiring, this picture book relates the story of a gifted young girl’s passion for the piano in a time of historic turmoil. During China’s Cultural Revolution a young girl is taken from her family and sent to a far-off labor camp. Forbidden to play the piano, she nevertheless finds a way of smuggling handwritten music into the camp and sneaking away at night to practice a piano in a secret location—until, one night, she is caught. Inspired by the amazing true story of international concert pianist Zhu Xiao-Mei, this acclaimed picture book poetically relates an astonishing story of perseverance set against a cataclysmic period of history.

Carlos Santana: Sound of the Heart, Song of the World

Carlos Santana grew up surrounded by music. His father, a beloved mariachi performer, teaches his son how to play the violin when he is only six years old. But when Carlos discovers American blues, he is captivated by the raw honesty of the music. Unable to think of anything else, he loses all interest in the violin. When Carlos finally receives his first guitar, his whole life begins to change.

The Castrato

It is Florence, 1698, and Angelo Montegne has discovered the cost of having a beautiful voice. Soon, the young castrato is at the center of court intrigue as he struggles with his new reality and those who wish to use him and his soaring soprano singing for their own purposes. As he comes to terms with his altered future, Angelo must choose between a life of fame as the protege of the Prince de Medici or a very different, far humbler destiny with the lovely daughter of the court composer.

El Violín De Ada (Ada’s Violin)

Ada Ríos creció en Cateura, un pueblo pequeño en Paraguay construido alrededor de un vertedero. Soñaba con tocar el violín, pero con escasos recursos para poco más que lo esencial, nunca fue una opción…hasta que un maestro de música llamado Favio Chávez apareció. Él quiso darles a los niños de Cateura algo especial, así que les construyó instrumentos musicales hechos de materiales encontrados en la basura. Era una idea loca, pero una que dejaría a Ada—y al pueblo entero—cambiados para siempre. Hoy en día, la Orquesta de Reciclados toca alrededor del mundo, difundiendo su mensaje de esperanza e innovación.

Ada’s Violin

Ada Ríos grew up in Cateura, a small town in Paraguay built on a landfill. She dreamed of playing the violin, but with little money for anything but the bare essentials, it was never an option…until a music teacher named Favio Chávez arrived. He wanted to give the children of Cateura something special, so he made them instruments out of materials found in the trash. It was a crazy idea, but one that would leave Ada—and her town—forever changed. Now, the Recycled Orchestra plays venues around the world, spreading their message of hope and innovation.

Ada’s Violin is a WOW Recommends: Book of the Month for April 2017.