Welcome to Monterey!

FLAMCO is thrilled to host this year’s CLTA conference in beautiful Monterey. Although you may already know Monterey for its breathtaking scenery and world famous aquarium, it is also known as the “Language Capital” home of the Defense Language Institute, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and Language Services.  It is very common to hear various languages while strolling downtown Monterey any time of the day. 

This year’s  conference “Cultivating and Promoting A Sense of Belonging” invites us to return to our very human ability to connect or reconnect with each other (and ourselves) through listening, sharing, and imagining together. 

While you are in Monterey, you must walk or jog the coastal trail by Fisherman’s Wharf down to Pacific Grove while you are here. Don’t forget to bring a light jacket though as the ocean breezes can be chilly in the morning and at sunset. Monterey also offers so many great restaurants from up-scale to casual dining and even pub-fare along Alvarado Street. 

If you drove up or have access to a car, you might want to explore the very charming village of Carmel-By-The-Sea (Carmel Beach is my favorite place at sunset!), or relax at “The Refuge” - a unique and sprawling spa with salt-water hot and cold plunges in Carmel Valley. Adventurous? Try a close hike at Jack’s peak or further south at Pinnacle’s State Park. There is also wine-tasting in Carmel Valley or exploration of the woods along the coast towards the south in Big Sur! Are you a Steinbeck fan? Head over to Salinas to visit the excellent Steinbeck Museum and have a craft brew and lunch in Old Downtown Salinas. 

Whatever you’re called to do, don’t forget to return to Friday night’s “Bash-by-the-Bay” event back at the Hotel! 

FLAMCO hopes you all have inspirational times and invigorating professional exchanges during the conference - all while exploring Monterey and the surrounding areas. Please feel free to ask me or other FLAMCO members about other recommendations before trying Yelp☺ .

Yo Azama, 

FLAMCO President

“Dr. Pianist” Makiko Hirata, D.M.A

An international pianist with ten released albums, Makiko Hirata is “Dr. Pianist” with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Rice University, on a mission to promote the power of music to heal and unite us. She collaborates with scientists to quantify the benefit of music and promotes the power of music to enhance our individual and social well-being through speaking engagements, workshops and writing. She is a US-Japan Leadership Program Fellow, and a founding member of TEMPO: Music for Climate Action. She was a recipient of Coeuraj’s 2022 “Global Courage Fellow” that honors industry leaders around the world to focus on trust and bridge building in an era of polarization.

Dr. Hirata has given recitals, lectures, concerto performances and outreach concerts in the Americas and Eurasia with ensembles and artists, such as the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, the Pecs Hungarian Symphony Orchestra, conductor Leon Fleisher, and clarinetist David Krakauer. She has taught at New York University, Colburn Conservatory of Music, Rice University, and Lone Star College, and given master classes and lectures internationally. She is an instructor for the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), and a staff pianist at the Colburn Conservatory of Music. 

Dr. Hirata is a Shigeru Kawai Artist. 

More on Dr. Hirata is at: 

http://musicalmakiko.com/en/ 

https://www.youtube.com/c/MakikoHirata 

THANK YOU TO OUR 2024 CONFERENCE SPONSORS