We were lucky to catch up with Sasha Ono recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sasha, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is founding Lotus Chamber Music Collective. Initially, this project was a way for me to organize accessible chamber music performances for communities while I was working as a full time teacher. I connected deeply with the underlying philosophies of chamber music – open creative dialogue, ongoing pursuit of artistic development, and true artistic collaboration.

I began to think about the impact my teaching curriculum was having on my students. I saw how deeply they were affected by world events, a small word from a teacher, discussions buzzing around the school, and how history was presented to them in their textbooks.
At that time, people of color, women, and historically marginalized communities were not represented the textbooks or repertoire we were teaching. I couldn’t continue this tradition in my teaching or artistic career and this was the impetus for the current iteration of Lotus Chamber Music Collective.

I found the underlying principles of chamber music aligned so well with a renewed mission to diversify the field of classical music and make it a radically inclusive space. For LotusCMC, “the collective” includes communities/audiences, composers, and performers – all three being essential parts of our LotusCMC community and conversations. Since this became the mission, I quit my full time teaching job to pursue this project and LotusCMC has presented over a dozen concert programs featuring only historically marginalized composers and performers, LotusCMC has reached people across the US through virtual book clubs about the history and present day issues of race and gender in the classical field, and we are currently working on releasing our first EP titled “In Her Voice”. In the spirit of community, LotusCMC also offers resources for the musician community. In working towards a more equitable future, we have also worked with the Lift Music Fund to raise money for micro-scholarships for historically marginalized music students, Harambee Chamber Orchestra, Third Street Settlement Music School, and Sound Off: Music for Bail. We’ve performed in wineries, one church that was transformed into a winery, co-working spaces, museums, parks, many living rooms, bookstores, artisan collectives, women’s festivals, and many more spaces that you might not expect to find a classical music string quartet.

While issues surrounding gender, race, and sexuality can be a complex and heated subject area to address, we come from the point of view of telling the real life stories of composers and performers. We’ve found that stories about overcoming adversity are incredibly relatable to people of all classes, genders, and political viewpoints. Through this process of accepting and welcoming all, we hope to change the classical landscape to be one where all people feel comfortable enough to experience the joy and magic of live chamber music.

I’m sure much of this motivation comes from my own upbringing. Growing up in a mostly white and wealthy neighborhood, I faced many forms of racism while I was going to school. From a more classic experience of kids making fun of a homemade Japanese lunch to hearing how some teachers openly still resented Japanese people for the attack on Pearl Harbor. As a mixed race person of Japanese and Ashkenazi Jewish descent, I grew up being told the histories of oppressed people. My grandmother was horrifically interned in the Japanese American internment camps in the US and at the age of 13 was forced to leave her home in California with just one suitcase and slept in horse stables until she was transferred to a barrack in Montana. My parents and grandparents were open about sharing their stories of interracial marriage, immigration, experiences with racism, and experiences of both struggle and joy. My grandfather, one of the last living WWII veterans in New York, talks frequently about how he has been motivated to fight injustice through various times in history. Teaching students and reflecting back on my family’s experiences motivates me to make tangible change for current and future generations in the music field.

Despite their many challenges, my parents opened our home to artists, musicians, and everyone from our local neighborhood (local butchers, grocers, taxi drivers, etc). to come over and enjoy a home cooked meal while musicians and artists performed. This spirit of welcoming all and providing a space of community is at the core of how Lotus Chamber Music Collective executes its mission.

Right now, LotusCMC is raising funds to release an EP called “In Her Voice” featuring the works of Fanny Mendelssohn, Florence B. Price, and Niloufar Nourbakhsh, recorded by an all femme string quartet. This EP aims to preserve the works of women composers, past and present, for generations to come. We are so excited for it’s release and upcoming tour dates to perform this music!

Sasha, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grew up in a very artistic family – my father, Shunzo Ohno, was a Jazz Messenger and my mom was a dancer who studied with Martha Graham. My maternal grandmother, Motoko, was an incredible visual artist – working with oil paints, wood cut prints, and photos. I started playing the cello in my public school when they offered orchestra and fell in love with playing cello right away. Whatever obstacles I’ve had with the many logistics of being a freelance musician, I always come back to my love of playing the cello.

As a freelance cellist, I play for many different kinds of artists in all different genres – classical, jazz, hip-hop, EDM, opera, etc. From living room concerts to big stadiums filled with 20,000 people. I grew up listening to and studying so many kinds of music and combined that with a very strict classical technical training which puts me in a unique position to. play in many different genres. When it comes down to it, it’s about a constant pursuit I have of being a better cellist and musician. I seek out advice from musicians I admire, watch videos, read books, listen to recordings, and always try to refine my own practice of the cello. I will often critique my own playing after gigs – no matter how small – to see where I can improve and what baseline skills I need to master to be even better. As an artist, I use every opportunity to hone my skills and work hard to avoid becoming complacent about my skills as a cellist and I bring all my experiences to every performance.

There are a lot of administrative tasks associated with running your own business and working as a freelancer, but the bottom line is, if your service isn’t top quality, clients aren’t going to want to hire you. It can be very easy to get caught up the minutia and details of running the business and I make sure to set aside specific hours dedicated to honing my skills and indulging my own creative process. I pride myself on spending a significant amount of time preparing for gigs – everything from looking over music and details ahead of time, planning transportation, practicing parts, etc. Clients and artists know they can trust me to be prepared and perform at a high level.

As a cellist, I have the honor of trying to make someone’s vision come true. Whether it’s for a concert, theater production, or an event, someone has envisioned something beautiful for a pivotal moment in their lives. I often work as a music contractor to hire musicians for events or concerts where a client is working to realize a dream they’ve had for a long time. I am honored to be a part of that process and utilize my skills as a musician and contractor to make that happen. I’m also proud to let my clients know that I can provide them with outstanding musicians and part of this is because I aim to create a great working environment for every musician. Clients who value both a high end performance as well as an ethical hiring practice really appreciate this.

Working in a creative field can feel sometimes like an oxymoron. We often think of creativity as something that exists outside of the realm of the business world and it is really difficult to protect the creative self from what needs to be done on the business side – yet! one cannot exist without the other. Building a community of people who inspire me has been essential to me staying in the field of music. I feel incredibly lucky to know so many people who inspire me musically, creatively, and just for being incredible human beings. I know I have so much to learn from every person I encounter and am excited to continue meeting new people.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

A question I get a lot from clients and audience members is, how much did you rehearse/practice? I think it’s really important for people to understand lifelong journey it is to develop skill to pursue a creative practice at a high level. The answer to that question for me is, 20+ years. I’ve been honing this one skill of playing the cello for over 20 years, hacking away at notes, analyzing technique down to the finest details, reviewing recordings, seeking guidance from master musicians, etc. There are times where I’ll spend over an hour working on what amounts of 5 seconds of music in a performance. In this way, artists function in a very different way than professionals in other fields. It’s not always about the time spent on a particular project, but rather about an accumulation of experiences and skill sets.

One way people can support artists is by making time and space for artists to continue this pursuit of excellence in creativity. One way you can do this is by hosting a musician or providing a local artist with an opportunity to connect with your community. If you have a living room, backyard, or driveway you could host a performance or an art exhibit. This contributes so much to the creative ecosystem and gives your local artists a way to reach new people.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

One mission that continues to drive my creative journey is the pursuit of a joyful and diverse community centered around music. My hope is that I can pursue musical excellence as a cellist and use my skills as a tool to create spaces where people can gather joyfully. Whether it be a concert, recording, event or something else, the excitement and joy of live music is incredibly unique and is an experience we can’t afford to lose.

The pandemic was such a big reminder of how much we all need, in person social experiences and connection. Many artistic organizations suffered great losses during this time and it’s more important than ever to invest in creative organizations and creative people to revive this essential part of our society.

Having a mission that related to the wider community really helps me to gain perspective when I’m in the weeds working on a technique or working through a really difficult piece of music. It helps to motivate me to keep going when day to day work gets hard.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sashaono.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cellosasha/
• Facebook: Facebook.com/SashaOnoMusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sashaono/about
• Other: https://www.lotuscmc.org Instagram.com/Lotuscmc

Image Credits
Drew Bordeaux, Elizabeth Maney, Masa Tsujimura