Concert pianist and founder of Bach to Baby, Miaomiao Yu talks to Jane McGowan about music and motherhood...
Trying to balance life as a mum with a career you have worked long and hard for is a tricky business for many women. Striving for that goal when you’re an internationally renowned concert pianist is tougher still. Which is why acclaimed musician and mum of two Miaomiao Yu created Bach to Baby – an innovative art platform that offers parents the chance to enjoy world-class musical performances within a child-friendly setting.
“I was just like most parents in that once you have a child your world suddenly shrinks,” explains Miaomiao. “The cinema, restaurants and especially concert venues become no-go areas and I wanted to change that. I wanted to create a space where both parent and child are experiencing a cultural moment together. What could be more culturally fulfilling than exposing your young child to a world of harmonies?”
Miaomiao set about sourcing a venue that was both good enough acoustically for the concerts and relaxed enough that families felt welcome. Once that was done, she had to find musicians who were happy to play alongside an accompaniment of squeals, sobs and the odd shout.
“Many artists are so passionate about the music that all they want to do is to communicate that to an audience,” she says. “Obviously a lot of them have been in the same position themselves and often once you start playing you become unaware of things going on around you. The hardest part was trying to convince venues that there would be an audience for this type of entertainment.”
So why Bach? Aside from the alliteration, Bach according to Miaomiao was quite the family man, fathering 20 children!
“It was the juxtaposition of the two ideas as well that appealed, the idea of something so typically classical played to an audience of babies.”
As word spread about the concerts, London-based Miaomiao began to look for venues further afield, growing the repertoire to include a variety of classical composers as well as other genres, including jazz and musical theatre. From its humble beginnings, Bach to Baby now hosts more than 600 concerts a year across the UK.
“It started off as something quite small but I think we hit a zeitgeist of parents wanting to explore music not only for themselves but with their children too. All too often we put up these invisible barriers until someone comes along and says, ‘Hey, it doesn’t have to be like that… we can try it this way’.”
All Bach to Baby concerts is performed in buggy-friendly venues and run for around 60 minutes. There are refreshments available and children are welcome to toddle about, enjoy snacks or sleep right through it.
“At most recitals, if people fell asleep you would be quite insulted, but in terms of this audience, it’s fine,” laughs Miaomiao. “The aim is to make music more accessible – to hear great music on your doorstep with the people you love you most.”
Bach to Baby concerts will be held at St Michael and All Angels, Bath Road, Chiswick and St Luke’s Church, 194 Ramsden Road, Battersea on Jan 17; and at All Hallows Church, Chertsey Road, Twickenham on Jan 31. For details, visit: bachtobaby.com
