You can't really move forward until you look back.[From Remaking America panel discussion at George Washington University]

There is a price to pay for speaking the truth. There is a bigger price for living a lie.

You can't lead the people if you don't love the people. You can't save the people if you don't serve the people.

Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public

Empathy is not simply a matter of trying to imagine what others are going through, but having the will to muster enough courage to do something about it. In a way, empathy is predicated upon hope.

Too many young folk have addiction to superficial things and not enough conviction for substantial things like justice, truth and love.

None of us alone can save the nation or the world. But each of us can make a positive difference if we commit ourselves to do so. (p. 109)

The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of inspiration.

We have to recognise that there cannot be relationships unless there is commitment, unless there is loyalty, unless there is love, patience, persistence.

We are who we are because somebody loved us.

A fully functional multiracial society cannot be achieved without a sense of history and open, honest dialogue.

When we rest, our energy is restored.

Living in the past is a place that has no future.

This is what it means to love someone. This is what it means to grieve someone. It’s a little bit like a black hole. It’s a little bit like infinity.

Once you touch the trappings of monarchy, like opening an Egyptian tomb, the inside is liable to crumble.

My dad don't like lies. He says it hurts people in the long race. He prefers the truth. That hurts them instantly.

The more music you love, the happier you will be.

I didn't accomplish what I set out to do, but I realized I had set out to do the wrong things

Will occur as time grows more open about it.

One thing about me is I try to be honest.

Classical music is a wonderful 1200 year-old tradition that witnesses everything that it has meant and what it means right now to be human.