Our Philosophy
Why this work exists, what "NADO" means, and how the pieces fit together.
No One Should Feel Alone in a Difficult Place
A hospital room, a waiting area, a senior community, a classroom far from home — these can be isolating places. WE ARE WITH YOU exists to put something human in them: a song, a letter, a visit, a familiar face that comes back.
The goal is not only to offer encouragement, but for encouragement to keep moving — from one person to the next.
The Visit Ends. The Connection Doesn't.
Most of our work starts in person — a performance in a lobby, a letter on a table, a lesson in a classroom. But we don't want it to end when we pack up our music stands. Someone might meet us once at a performance, keep one of our flyers, and find us again weeks later.
That is what this website is for. If you met us somewhere, you can reconnect here: watch performances, read and send letters, request a song or an activity, and see what students are making now. Physical distance doesn't mean the relationship has ended.
We also believe community service should build relationships, not just count volunteer hours — and that every generation can participate, not only receive. A resident who shares a memory, a parent who requests a song, a student who writes back: they are all part of the work.
So even when we are not standing beside you anymore, we can still say it: even here, even now, we are with you.
From NADO to WE
"Nado" (나도) is Korean for "me too" — the decision to participate instead of watching. When one person who chose to participate meets another, they become a WE. That is the whole idea, and it is where the name WE ARE WITH YOU comes from.
Two Parts, One Practice
GYCO is the student organization where learning happens — rehearsals, teaching, research, and service projects, planned and led by students. Students pick up a skill, make it their own, use it for someone else, and grow from the experience.
WE ARE WITH YOU is where the learning goes: performances, letters, and programs for patients, families, older adults, and students in partner communities.
What students experience in the community shapes what they learn next — so the two parts feed each other.
How One Act of Encouragement Travels
In Our Own Words
On what an "opus" means
In music, an opus is a numbered work in a composer's life. GYCO borrows the word for its larger bodies of student work: each one begins as an idea, grows through collaboration, and is offered to others. WE ARE WITH YOU is OPUS 1.
On returning, again and again
GYCO values consistency. By returning to the same communities, students build trust and familiarity. Each visit is prepared thoughtfully, shared respectfully, and grounded in listening. That practice became the foundation of WE ARE WITH YOU.