“I learned about Sid Gold's from a Columbia colleague. It’s a piano karaoke bar, where it’s not expected that you play perfectly or anyone sings perfectly or anything. It’s just people having fun. I thought it was awesome. I started playing piano when I was 3 or 4, and in high school developed an interest in playing pop music. Ever since, I’ve listened to songs on the radio and tried to play them by ear. So I asked the manager if I could play at Sid’s, and he was happy to have me. I try to have a wide variety of music in my song list—songs in different languages, from different eras, in different styles. I think it’s fulfilling to see people light up when they look at my list and find a song they love. I enjoy sitting there at the piano, connecting people. It’s something I can do on the side while being primarily a researcher.”