“This presentation of The HAFU Project is the culminating of years of planning. It is an opportunity to create a space where I can bring my full self into the world of classical music. This is an extremely personal project, where I will be speaking about my innermost experiences of growing up between cultures. In doing so, we are telling a story that represents every part of my lived experience equally without having to compromise,” Kawabata told OperaWire.  “I believe that everyone has a story about feeling that they don’t belong, so I hope that audiences resonate with the emotional journey of this piece. In presenting Japanese and Swedish song together and translating well-known works into unfamiliar languages, we are looking to open minds to the possibilities of representation in classical music.”