Explores unique cultures around the world
Program Titles
- Cultural preservation addressed in a very unique way through music
- Positive & negative / violence-inducing effects caused by the lyrics of the songs
- Music as a channel of communication – in any business, community, culture or life.
- The lyrics DO matter
- Value of music and musicians for addressing conflict resolution, cross-cultural diversity
- Music is one of our most endangered natural resources!
- Why ethnomusicologists tell us we are losing musical languages, instruments, and / or performers
- Performers, working together to restore music as a unifying force for good
Donna Stoering, concert pianist and mezzo / contralto soloist (M.A. in music) was awarded a Marshall Scholarship, taught at universities, Oxford and Cambridge, and composed choral works for their great choirs and cathedrals.
She performed throughout Europe while researching the Mozart piano concerti and writing new cadenzas for them.
She directed musicals and opera events in London, conducting choirs, adjudicating international competitions and festivals, and teaching voice and piano throughout the USA and Europe while touring worldwide as a soloist with orchestras in piano concerti and vocal/choral works.
Her recording, an all-Debussy collection, received a Grammy Award nomination. She has since performed/recorded live with the national orchestras of France, Panama, Ukraine, the Republic of Georgia, and the Netherlands.
She has given master classes in performance for graduate students at Juilliard and other major music conservatories in Germany, Norway, Hong Kong, Turkmenistan, Britain, Russia, the Philippines, Italy, Austria, and Latvia. She has been named “Artist in Residence” at Oxford University.
She founded a global music and media organization that creates a worldwide alternative to MTV and helps performers of all musical styles/genres in 40+ countries.
Stoering was invited to coach opera singers of the La Scala and Munich opera houses, conduct choirs, and perform both as a mezzo/contralto soloist and as a concert pianist on television, radio, and music festivals/concert series worldwide.
Donna Stoering has been the CEO of two global companies and a hybrid social venture, which has now had volunteers, programs, projects, and production centers in over 45 countries and has impacted the lives of over 9 million people thus far.
Cultural preservation can be addressed uniquely through music and from a world-renowned musician’s rather unusual background and view. She raises awareness of what is happening to music and musicians in many cultures worldwide.
She uses music to address conflict resolution, cross-cultural diversity training, international education initiatives, and peace-building causes through increased understanding and appreciation of other cultures.
She shares her observations and experience on recruiting volunteers and/or paid employees worldwide and help them grow and prosper professionally and emotionally while keeping them focused on one shared mission.
She has been told that her hybrid model is of particular value since it combines non-profit and commercial activities in a self-sustaining ecosystem.
Her primary goal is to restore music as a unifying force for good worldwide and to achieve that by offering musicians of each culture the chance to serve others with their gifts and create programs that make a difference in their communities while hopefully inspiring the music listeners to help their musicians to survive and sustain themselves, their families and their communities in the process.
Stoering’s ability to reach people also goes far beyond music.
A brilliant speaker, her words are equally moving.
Donna shares penetrating insights on a wide range of topics from music to business to personal lifestyle changes – but she also raises awareness of how each of us can act now to restore the important music traditions which are disappearing at an alarming rate worldwide. She is a true ambassador of culture.”
“…You are such a ball of glorious fire!”
“Your CEO presentation to 1200 technology innovators was refreshing, stimulating, and unlike anything we have ever had. Thank you for your inspiration!’
BBC, NPR, PBS, HKRT, and international TV and radio networks.
As a Grammy nominee and global performer: If you have a baby grand piano at your event site, then she will be happy to give a presentation combining the performance of short classical piano works from many different cultures/countries, talking about each of these works and how they relate to issues of communication, listening skills, relationships, leadership, spirituality, growth, and motivation.
She also is available to do a performance-focused speaking/playing program called “around the world in 80 minutes,” in which she shares short pieces from many different cultures/countries and introduces each piece with entertaining information about each composer and culture.
“Stoering has feeling and fluidity; her expressive voice is intimate. But she is also capable of much energy and a feeling for dramatic shifts of mood, her performance – hard-driving, solid and powerful – evidenced a real involvement with the music.” -Boston Globe
“Her performance was powerful and intensely expressive; a penetrating interpretation with particular musicality and brilliance.”
-Sudkurier Konstanz (Germany)
“…Made a huge impression. Solid technique, fine musicianship, convincing performances – and she showed that she has a true musician’s heart.” -Stavanger Aftenblad (Norway)
“…a striking dramatic thrust…” -San Francisco Examiner
“Donna Stoering captured the hearts and minds of a large audience today…” -Yorkshire Post
“A pleasing directness and strength…” – London Times
“…a most persuasive Beethoven third…her bold, clear playing, long-sighted phrasing, unshakable definition and robust tone unquestionably showed a pianist to reckon with. It was a resounding performance, full of urgency and impact. Stoering is quite a discovery.” -Contra Costa Times
“…her Beethoven was marvelously poetic, at once passionate yet restrained… this was a performance to treasure, reminiscent of great performances by Solomon and Ashkenazy.” -Oxford Mail
”…her fingers found all of the notes with expressive fluency, and her heart seemed to belong to Chopin.” -Los Angeles Times
”…her fingers found all of the notes with expressive fluency, and her heart seemed to belong to Chopin.”
-Los Angeles Times
”A widely expressive style, ranging from the lyrical and light to grand and brilliant.” -Union Leader
The shared experience of a huge crowd at a sporting event is not unlike the shared emotional/spiritual experience of an audience at a live music event, but to convince and encourage people who have never attended a concert, we must begin individually, with one person at a time.
We must organize concerts or musical events that involve a variety of musical genres, a variety of musical performers and host these concerts in unexpected places and informal settings.
We must seek out music education and outreach projects around the globe that deserve encouragement or assistance and get involved.
Many people everywhere are very frustrated with the growth of music as a “product” or commercial tool, losing awareness of its actual existence as a primary means of communication.
Both audiences and performers of the next Millennium have so much to communicate emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. Music is the universal global language requiring no translators. If music listeners, teachers, and performers around the world unite, they can be a very powerful source of Communication, Camaraderie, and uplifting Concert experiences for generations to come.
Book Donna Stoering, M.A. for your Event!