Through Our Lens: Conversations with Asian American Artists

This is such a special episode! Emilie Kealani brought forth an idea a while back about hosting a panel discussion with her AAPI initiative, Kapwa. It brings forth AAPI members from different organizations. Alice Chung and myself from Wear Yellow Proudly, Robert Feng from Asian Opera Alliance, and Everett Robinson from WHYY make up this fabulous panel with Emilie moderating. We had some serious and fun discussions throughout that highlight leadership and advocacy. I got to learn so much from my panelists and got to know them better as well. Come check them out!

My guest for this episode is Emilie Kealani, a Filipina-Hawaiian soprano that is the curator and producer of Kapwa, multi-disciplinary performance that brings Asian and AAPI artists together. We had a terrific conversation of foods we grew up with, being homesick while on the road, our culture, and, most especially, her current project, Kapwa. She is a fantastic performer and discusses what it’s like being a producer. I am incredibly excited to share this episode with Emilie!

For this week’s episode, I was incredibly fortunate to bring on a long time friend, Laura Bleakley. We catch up, reminisce, discuss her Asian identity, and expand on her experiences as a collaborative pianist. I used to think she was the coolest person ever, and after having had the immense honor of getting to know her through the years, that statement could not be any more true. She is one of the realest people I know and she brings the most fun energy, a very candid attitude, and the warmest friendship. It is so refreshing to have her for this episode!

This week, Hannah Chua joins me on the podcast! Hannah is a graphic designer in New York. This is a special episode for me because she's someone I've known for over half of my life, and is a very close friend of my sister, yet I didn't know as much about her as much as I would've liked to. We were able to meet up and talk about her work, her life, and living in New York. Come get to know Hannah with me!

Happy August! Since we will be releasing two episodes this month, we will be having our first two-part episode! Similar to last month, I bring on Lisa Buhelos and Randy Ho. Lisa shares about her Japanese heritage and how she descends from the Samurai class and Randy shares what it’s like growing up as a Vietnamese-American in Colorado.

This episode is about…me! Friends Randy Ho and Lisa Buhelos take over the podcast and turned the tables on me. They asked me about myself, my stage management, videography, photography, my culture, and what Wear Yellow Proudly means to me. It’s a fun twist of events, and it was a humbling experience being the interviewee. I am excited to share with you guys a bit more about myself and what I do! Join us and come learn about Julius Sanchez.

For this episode, we have Julian Gau! Julian is our assistant conductor for the show I am currently in. We are also currently housemates! He delves into the ensembles he conducts, including Horizon Ensemble, a Boston-based orchestra he founded with his friends, and The Chinese Music Ensemble of New York. We also get into the topic of Taiwanese and Chinese culture, Asian queer identity, and masculinity. I learn so much from him from the Chinese instruments he has played, the dishes he cooks, and sharing similar Asian and queer stories. Join us this week to hear his story!