🎶 Meet Michelle & Rosy before Sunday's music

Every Soul Care Sunday is made special by the people who bring their gifts to the room…which includes you.

On September 14, pianist Michelle Lau and cellist Rosy Zhang will hold the space with meditative classical music. Soothing you into relaxation, reflection, and presence. Helping you reconnect with yourself while sharing the experience with others.

They’re both part of The Balm Collective, a growing circle of collaborators who embody shared values of curiosity, care, and creativity. The Collective is about more than performance…it’s about connection, support, and shaping experiences that feel nourishing for everyone involved.

Before you hear Michelle and Rosy play, I’d love for you to meet them as people. Their grounding rituals, the music inspiring them this season, and the joys they’ve found in our community.

This is just the beginning of season two, and I’m so excited to introduce you to more of The Balm Collective in the months to come.

✨ Meet Michelle Lau, pianist ✨

She lights up a room with her sensitive piano playing. And lights up just as much when talking about how we care for ourselves as artists and humans.

During a rehearsal, Michelle surprised me with advice for stretching a pulled glute. Knowledge she gained from a deep dive into massage therapy. A career she once considered. Makes sense, pianists have strong hands.

A creative chameleon, she also teaches piano, tells her stories through social media content, and helps other musicians do the same. Michelle makes music for the service of others.

Michelle’s Soul Care stats:

🌱 Grounding Ritual: Morning matcha latte, piano practice, and nighttime journaling/doodles
🎶 Song of the Season: “Dirty Work” by aespa
💫 Wellness Curiosity: Exploring breath work
🍲 Comfort Food: GOMTANG! (Korean beef soup)

✨ Meet Rosy Zhang, cellist ✨

She brings wonder, curiosity, and storytelling to everything she does. Rosy is a creative explorer. She connects people through music, making it playful, accessible, and deeply honest. All while championing environmental sustainability by thrifting, borrowing, and repurposing.

While rehearsing Ave Maria by Bach/Gounod, Rosy joyfully shared how Gounod improvised the melody in 1853 to the harmonies from a prelude that Bach wrote in 1722. Playing it now with Michelle in 2025 reminds us of music’s timeless connection.

Rosy’s Soul Care stats:

🌱 Grounding Ritual: Journaling and braindumping to clear the mind
🎶 Song of the Season: Chopin’s Ballade No. 4
💫 Wellness Curiosity: Going for a run. There’s something about pounding on the ground as a form of release and idea of building endurance that I think I need for myself. And the simple idea of leaving things behind me!
🍲 Comfort Food: Soup nooods 🥣

🫶 An Invitation

There are 9 spots left for this Sunday and we’d love to maximize time and melt the clock away with you.

✨ Soul Care Sunday: a sacred space to breathe, soften, and recharge
🗓️ Sunday September 14, 10:30am-12pm
🎶 Cello by Rosy Zhang & Piano by Michelle Lau
📍 Society Clubhouse at 967 College St, Toronto
🎟️ Register here

Psst…Did you know that a Balm membership will save you money, make it easier for you to share the experience with friends, and get you into a rhythm of rest and connection?

✌️ Final fun fact: This photo was taken after the very first Soul Care Sunday in May 2024. It was also the first time Michelle and Rosy met in person. And a decade after Rosy and I first crossed paths at Classical 96.3FM. Little did we know that we’d arrive here together.

Like Bach’s prelude finding new life in Gounod’s melody more than a century later, connections unfold across time to bring us here together. What else is possible when we gather with intention and care?

😍 Karen

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