Here are the pdfs for some of the scores that will appear on this album:

These are all works-in-progress, so please feel free to recommend any edits or ask any questions that come up. I am so honoured that anyone would want to play my music - please let me know if you play these songs anywhere. My email is clara [at] sidewalkcellist [dot] come if you wish to reach me.

Side note: the East Vancouver Community Music School has a free event next week: a repertoire seminar shedding light on some amazing composers that have been left out of the history books (spoiler: because they weren't white men!). This session will be online and in person, if you can't attend the session on the day of the event, there will be a recording of the session made available. Click here to register (free!)

I have traveled to Cambodia six times in the last six years and this fall I am planning on moving there. "Forever!?" everyone asks, but nothing is forever. This will be the next big step in my one precious little life. Surely there will be other steps, other moves, we shall see.

"Why Cambodia?" is the next question on everyone's lips and perhaps it is time to explore and answer. The magic that I have experienced there is beyond words, is beyond explanation, and to truly "get it", you have to see it for yourself. If you want to come and visit, let me know.

Cambodia is a country where you can shine your heart and share your love everywhere you go. People will look you in the eye and smile back at you. They will hold space and receive whatever you have to offer, so it is very important to remain mindful, humble, and discerning so that one does not offer something that is not needed. Cambodia is a country where so much is needed, I feel it is a place where I can reach my potential, where I can be my best self.

There are a number of organizations and projects that I have been a part of for the last six years and they are growing and blooming before my very eyes. The first organization that I became involved with was Music Arts School where my skills as a musician, music teacher, collaborator, arranger, conductor, composer, improvisor, and administrator have all been put to good use. 

Music Arts School was the second NGO founded by a wonderful American man named Drew McDowell after the success of his first NGO: Empowering Youth in Cambodia (EYC). EYC runs four outreach elementary schools in the poorest neighbourhoods of Phnom Penh. They offer English and computer class, various sports and extra-curricular activities, a weekly medical/dental clinic for students and their families, and many other programs that give these incredible children an opportunity to find themselves, find their strengths, and pursue an education. Many of their students get scholarships to study secondary school and post-secondary school both domestically and abroad. Many of their alumni return to their communities to serve them - beating the brain drain that is so common in developing nations.

My friends and I were encouraged to visit the four EYC schools and perform music for the children and we quickly discovered how talented many of them were. My dear beloved friend Linda set out to bring music classes to all of the schools by donating a good quality electric keyboard to each school (weighted keys and a pedal) and establishing the funding for a Cambodian piano teacher to visit each school once a week and teach the children.

Keyboards were the obvious instrument because of their versatility and accessibility. Although I would have loved to see celli in every school, the need for different sized celli for different sized children, maintenance and upkeep of the instruments, etc would be very difficult. The children of EYC now have music as part of their weekly education. Some of them take piano lessons, some of the older children learn guitar, and our friend Samnang is teaching beginner violin to two students at one of the four schools due to the generous donation of two violins from friends abroad.

...and then we realized that there were room for gardens, that the EYC students were very interested in learning about growing gardens and we began to dream that these schools could become little oases of greenery and life in the middle of the slums. That is how "Earth Club" was founded. I learned about gardening in Cambodia (a very different climate from Canada and so I needed to re-learn almost everything that I knew about gardening) and my friends and I set up a garden wall at one of the schools and a composting system for one of the other schools.

Yes, that's only two of the four schools - you see why I have to go back? It's not fair otherwise!

And then there is the World Peace Project started by my dear friend Dara. Dara was the first female certified yoga teacher in Cambodia and she is inspired to teach yoga to children as a practice that offers liberation, healing, and health benefits.

My friends and I went along with her to play music after the yoga class and also participate. Goofing off and having fun as well as finding moments of calm and relative quiet. Dara rents a van, fills it with her yoga-teachers-in-training, meals, and goes out into the provinces of Cambodia to schools in remote cities and over the course of two days teaches yoga to around 500 youth. It is absolutely incredible and so so much fun.

While spending time in Asia, I have also visited Nepal and have connected with a music school there called Musica Music Institute - a big name for a very small space that was founded by a wonderful young man named Dinesh. Linda introduced me to Dinesh and he instantly treated me like family. He connected me with the music scene in Kathmandu, countless friends of his, and showed me one very simple way I can make a difference in Nepal: show young women that girls can rock! There is a very healthy music scene in Kathmandu, but the bands and performers are 99% males. 

​There are zero red-headed, female cellist-singer-songwriters in Nepal. That's my cue!

You may recall, Nepal suffered a devastating earthquake in 2014, one that the country is still recovering from. Millions and billions of dollars of financial aid was poured into the country but most of that money disappeared into the hands of the government. Many Nepali people have given up waiting for their government to solve their problems and are taking matters into their own hands. Dinesh and his friends fundraised and then built ten homes for people that had lost their homes. Another new friend of mine, Dn, works for an organization called Good Earth Global that builds homes, schools and medical clinics year-round.

On my most recent visit to Nepal, I was there for two weeks, which was not enough time to train with Dn's organization, travel to the areas where they are building, and help with some of the construction. Next time I visit Nepal, I want to be there for long enough that I can make a meaningful contribution. It also gives me good incentive to get into better shape!

Aaaaaaand then there is my friend Tsa Le, whom I met at the Gitameit Music School in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma). He is a world-class guitarist who is starting a library and music-making space in his home village on the Thai boarder to help prevent local youth from drifting astray into drug use and other unhealthy habits. Right now he is in the beginning stages: clearing the land of bamboo and jungle, and is then going to start building the structure. Then he will need books and instruments. If you'd like to support him you can listen to his album (below) and download it by donation. I will deliver the funds to him personally (Bandcamp takes 15%, so if you'd like to make a larger donation, please contact me).

So.... why Cambodia? Because I can smile, laugh, sing, play music, teach music, grow gardens, teach children about composting, promote sustainable lifestyles, support my friends doing amazing work, make little trips to Nepal to show girls that they can be on stage too, learn how to build cost-effective houses, and fulfill my destiny, work towards my highest potential as a human being and help others do the same.

If you'd like to join me in Phnom Penh, write me an email with your dates and travel budget, I'll set you up for a wonderful time.

"Yeah, but can't you do that in Canada?" they all ask. The answer is no, not without substantial financial backing. A freelance musician's salary doesn't go very far in Canada, whereas in Cambodia I can do two or three gigs a week and make enough money to pay my bills so I can spend the rest of my time volunteering and doing what I love.

If you'd like to support me and help me follow my dreams please listen to my music on Bandcamp (even if you don't pay to download my songs, it makes me look good on paper which helps me get grants and sponsors), and check out my Patreon page. Better yet, make donations directly to these organizations and get a tax-deductible receipt. 

This past fall, when I started on my trip around the world, I left home with one cloth bag, one waxed cotton food bag, a reusable plastic container, a spoon, a metal straw, a travel cup, a few cloth hankies, and a couple plastic bags that I had already reused a couple times.

These few items have helped me avoid hundreds of plastic bags, dozens of plastic utensils, hundreds of plastic and paper cups, dozens of take away containers, and packs of kleenex/tissues. Not only does this reduce how much waste goes into landfills and incinerators, it also reduces the energy consumption of producing these products in the first place. 

Its a small contribution to this planet, but I feel empowered doing my part. When I see images like this one, my heart swells and I am compelled to do everything in my power to reduce my footprint. 

After leaving a piece of my heart behind I had a big adventure day taking two trains and a bus to Hoek Van Holland to then take a ferry across the English Channel to Harwich, then got on another train, and then jumped the tube to arrive at a friend of a friend's house in the North Eastern corner of London (it was a long day but the adventure was less than half the price of taking the direct train). I only had two days in London but I managed to see Platform 9 and 3/4, 22 Baker Street, the Regent Park, Kensington Park, the outside of the Kensington and Buckingham palaces, the Parliament buildings, Big Ben, London Eye, the Tower of London, London Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and ride on the front seat on top of a double decker bus - so so so so cool!!

Actually, all of that sight seeing was on my first day (which was a perfect weather day) and when the skies opened up on the second day I decided to take it easy and stay closer to "home". My host, Valerie, is doing a Masters Degree in directing at the University of Essex and was having a dress rehearsal and table reading of an excerpt of Waiting for Godot that afternoon and evening. She invited me to bring my cello along and improvise some music, and I did, and it was so much fun! We went for a beer after at a good ol' fashioned British pub and the next morning I woke up at 5am to make the 1.5 hour tube ride to Heathrow Airport and fly to Kathmandu!

Two weeks in Kathmandu fllllleeeewww by!! Everyday I'd wake up at my hotel, have a wonderful breakfast, practice my cello, practice my French, then get picked up by one or several friends, drink tea (its the thing to do in Nepal), explore beautiful temples, walk around the winding streets, take in the incredible sights, sounds, and smells, eat incredible Nepalese food, drink more tea, and on a couple occasions jam, witness some incredible festivals, play music for friends and strangers alike, see traditional dancing, and then drink more tea and go to bed!

It was so revitalizing to be surrounded by mountains and I somehow felt very at home. The culture of Nepal is very unique in that Buddhism and Hinduism have mingled and overlapped over hundreds and thousands of years, very beautifully borrowing and exchanging traditions and rituals. Nepalese people are extraordinarily polite, kind, and generous - not once did I feel the least bit threatened or uneasy about walking around by myself or interacting with people, not even late at night. I observed that passersby would either look you in the eye (and smile and return a "Namaste" - the common greeting) or they would ignore you completely.

If you'd like to see some videos of me jamming in Kathmandu, check out my personal Facebook page, or my Sidewalk Cellist Facebook page as that's where they've been posted.

Now that I'm in Phnom Penh and have reunited with my faerie godmother, we've settled into a wonderful new routine: wake up, make our coffee in our little hotel room, head to Music Arts School (MAS), rehearse for a few hours (collaborating with a number of different musicians here and sending music out into the world as the doors are always wide open there), find some lunch, stay cool in the afternoon, and then return to school to make more music in the evening - it's fabulous!

We were honoured to be guests of the first Empowering Youth Cambodia conference and I am so inspired by the stories that were shared. This organization is doing so much to help Cambodians: providing education, medical attention, housing, food, scholarships for promising students to pursue post-secondary education, sports programs, music programs, yoga, mentorships, employment, skill training for parents (so that the children can stay in school and not have to drop out to help their parents earn money), and going the extra mile to help people in extraordinary situations overcome obstacles. Many of their current teachers and staff of EYC an MAS are alumni of their programs, the organization is like a big, ever growing family.

Before I leave Phnom Penh I am making a donation to both of these organizations and I encourage you to so as well. Every dollar will make such a difference! Furthermore, if you are interested in visiting this magical place to see for yourself how extraordinary these people are, I would be very happy to assist you in organizing a trip.

​Email me anytime: clara [at] sidewalkcellist [dot] com

Until next time,
​-Clara