“It is shelter and shelter is sacred…This is spiritual shelter.” –Shalin Liu
Many only know the name “Shalin Liu” as it relates to our beloved performance center, but its namesake is a true music believer who hopes that the lauded venue, which opened in June of 2010, continues to provide an inspired space for music to enrich the lives of all—both audiences and musicians alike. Said Shalin: ‘These spaces bring people together to appreciate music.” After the building opened, she was touched to see how “people responded genuinely to the experience in the room.” She then shared one of her favorite musical memories:
I was sitting in the Hall alone while a group was recording a piece. Normally when I am sitting in the Hall, I am surrounded by 300 other people enjoying the music. When I realized I was the only one in the room, I felt a spiritual connection with the room, the ocean, the sky and the space. I felt privileged, for the very first time, to see the other face of the Hall. The Hall is almost sacred—it generously embraces us; it quietly supports us with natural beauty and amazing musical experiences individually. I don’t think people who have been to the Performance Center will forget that place.
During the In Concert with You campaign, Shalin not only completed the spendable fund for the maintenance repairs for the Shalin Liu Performance Center, she also approached Rockport Music with the idea of establishing a Building Preservation Endowment that could generate needed funds on an ongoing basis to be used for the preservation of the Shalin Liu Performance Center. Shalin donated the seed money for the Shalin Liu Performance Center Building Preservation Endowment Fund.
Rockport Music donors can earmark donations to this Endowment Fund and know that they will be contributing to the preservation of this very important part of Rockport Music’s mission. The Endowment Fund is already proving to be an important adjunct to the spendable fund for repairs. Last year, when the Shalin Liu Performance Center’s chiller was no longer functional, this endowment fund was integral to replacing this significant investment.
When asked about this incredibly generous gift, she was adamant about safeguarding the building’s future.
I realize the program is important, the musicians are important, artistic leadership is important. But the building is also important, and I wanted to ensure that the building is preserved for the long term. I hope that in my giving to the building, others will be inspired to give towards the building, as well as giving to programming, leadership, and to the education and outreach initiative. For me, I feel the building is as critical to the experience as the music… It is shelter and shelter is sacred. We all need shelter, but this is spiritual shelter.
Shalin also established an Education Endowment at Rockport Music several years ago and has been active in the education programs over the years, especially the HARP (Healing Arts Rockport) program. As part of her involvement in the education programs, she had the opportunity to meet the Harlem Quartet when they were holding a three-day residency at different schools and centers. She remembers how they all came from such different backgrounds and each had their own journey to get to where they wanted in their career. She was particularly inspired to hear how one of them could not initially afford an instrument, but was driven to work towards their goal of creating music. She added, “I wish to help those artists make the world better with music.”
Growing up in Taiwan as the daughter of a teacher, education was a very high priority. Access to musical instruments was not readily available, but around the age of 6, when she heard a solo piano recording, she immediately fell in love with the music. She ran home and asked her father for a piano. Sometime later, he brought home a child’s toy piano. After several years of teaching herself on the toy piano, her father thought she should start piano lessons. She remembers the first time she heard her teacher perform on stage live, explaining it was “beautiful” and how that performance made her realize how music could affect people.
One of her other great passions is nature and she has preserved forty-five acres of nature land in Boylston and opened Summer Star Wildlife Sanctuary in 2014 which has a LEED Gold certified green building, the Trailhead House, including a forest-like Tree Room where performances are hosted. In spring of 2020, Shalin preserved another fifty-five acres of old farm land. Shalin calls it Summer Star Meadow, which is close by Summer Star Wildlife Sanctuary.
An avid lover of both the arts and nature, Shalin wholeheartedly believes that we all can help people to enjoy music, to care about the earth and wildlife, and together we can make our world a more beautiful place to live. The next time you come to the Shalin Liu Performance Center for a concert or event, remember there is a passionate and deeply caring individual behind that name.
If you would like to make a gift to the Shalin Liu Performance Center Building Preservation Endowment Fund, please contact Lori Correale, Director of Development, at lcorreale@rockportmusic.org or 978-546-7391 x.103.
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Top Photo: Shalin Liu with the Harlem Quartet. Credit: Sharron Cohen
