Teen’s Music Inspired by Hurricane

It started with a series of disturbing images on television. Jena Eisenberg of Seal Beach was watching news coverage of the devastating 1998 Hurricane Mitch, which killed nearly 10,000 people in Central America and left another 2 million homeless.

Jena, 12 at the time, was moved to tears. “Seeing the faces of the victims was really sad,” she said. “I wanted to help them out.”

The manner and degree to which she has done so surprised everyone--even her. The gifted young pianist and composer used an acquaintance’s garage studio to record a CD of four songs, including “Storm of Sorrow” inspired by the hurricane. In the past two years, she has raised more than $2,500 for hurricane relief by selling the CDs at holiday concerts in Westminster Mall.

Somehow, the Honduran government heard of her efforts, and she was invited to perform there with the National Orchestra. In what Jena describes as a dream come true, she will travel to the Central American nation later this month to play and personally deliver musical instruments and cash for students at a music school destroyed by the storm.

“We have listened to your CD,” Honduran first lady Mary De Flores wrote to Jena in one of a series of letters. “Your composition . . . is just beautiful. I would love to meet you and attend your concert.”

To help raise money for the cause, Jena has scheduled a recital Friday night at Los Alamitos High School, where she is in the ninth grade.

Jena, now 14, said her mission has its roots in her devotion to music, which she has been studying since her first piano lesson at age 6.

“My mom took me to the lesson, and I really liked it, so I went back,” said the young pianist, who speaks softly and seems uncomfortable when the conversation focuses on herself and her achievements.

By age 10 she had written her first song, a short piece titled, “If the World Was One.”

“She is very talented,” said Chi Asada, who has taught Jena piano since 1995. “I don’t know where it comes from, but she is going to go far. Piano has become her language, and she is very creative.”

Martin Herman, a professor of music at Cal State Long Beach, began giving Jena private lessons in composition over the summer. The teen, he said, “is a wonderful talent. Her music is very lyrical with a wonderful sense of melody. She’s got a natural sense of form and a wonderful sense of timing--it’s music that sings and has drama.”

Herman said he has no trouble imagining Jena becoming a very successful composer, perhaps working in the film industry or writing songs for well-known performers like Celine Dion. “She’s one of those people who could really write her own ticket,” he said.

Jena’s mother, Linda Eisenberg, said the girl may have inherited her musical talent. Jena’s great-grandfather, Gilberto Soto, was a well-known composer and pianist in Mexico. As for her strong desire to help others, she said, that comes from Jena herself.

“I’m really proud of her,” said Eisenberg, who began a career in real estate to support her daughter’s musical aspirations. Among other things, the income has bought Jena a $12,000 grand piano on which to practice. “She’s not only very talented,” Eisenberg said, “but she has a good heart.”

Among beneficiaries of that virtue is the Orange County Chapter of the American Red Cross, to which Jena donated money for hurricane relief. “She’s been very helpful,” Red Cross spokeswoman Rebecca Long said. “She’s an amazing youth.”

Inspired by Jena’s dedication, members of Los Alamitos High’s Interact service club will be plastering the campus this week with posters promoting Friday’s concert and contacting local music stores for donations of instruments for young Honduran musicians.

“I think it’s just awesome,” said Jim Cross, a history teacher who sponsors the Interact club. “It’s commendable that a young teen is so globally aware that she could get something like this done.”

The concert, at 7 p.m. in the school auditorium, will feature several numbers by Jena, some with dancers and at least one with a vocalist. The $5 tickets will be available at the door.

The day after her Oct. 19 performance in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, with the National Orchestra, Jena will appear at that city’s National Music School.

What next? For now, Jena said, her goals are to keep her grades up despite the considerable pressures of rehearsing and performing, and to make a second CD with 10 songs she has written recently.

And of course she wants to do her best at the upcoming concerts. “I hope I play well and a lot of people get inspired,” she said. “Music is a big part of my life, and I want to use it to help people.”