The Independent Press –Wednesday, July 28, 1999

Actress Paslaru-Sencovici finishes humanitarian tour around America

By Timothy Jecko

   Summit resident Margareta Paslaru-Sencovici continues in her humanitarian effort to help victims of the Balkan crisis, devising project after project and showing no signs of slowing down.
  Her career as singer, songwriter, lyricist and actress began in Romania more than 40 years ago. Now a legend of Romanian pop music, she sings in 13 languages, and fluent in English, French and Italian.
   This past May she completed a tour which she called her Humanitarian Gala – seven weekends of recitals in Romanian communities in Florida, Philadelphia, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago and New York City- singing and selling her cassettes (available at www.margareta.com) to raise money for refugees of the Balkan Crisis.
   In a recent discussion over coffee, she explained. "The domino effect in the Communist bloc in 1989 was an awakening for me", she said. "As a mother and an artist I realized that I had to do what I can, especially for the helpless children, to give them a drop of hope. I wanted to be a spokesperson for them, to speak in their names, to become a voice for the voiceless".
   The list of her achievements and awards is formidable, but there’s no contemporary irony in her conversation. She is genuine, sincere and zealous about her work. Her enthusiasm is perhaps old-fashioned, but she unhesitatingly uses it to confront the challenges of the age of technology. "Through technology," she said, "we learn instantly. We become aware of a crisis in time to give a hand." She gobbles up possibilities. "It’s not a perfect world."she says. That’s why it’s so exciting, because we can fix things. In America, there is a diversity of activities, a palette of colors. It’s a tough, extraordinary school, and I’m eager to learn, to absorb everything I can."

   Margaret’s grandfather was a sculptor of large, historic monuments. She, to, shapes the space in which she lives in her own dynamic way. She is a spiritual daughter of the great choreographer Agnes de Mille, who spoke of the "divine dissatisfaction of the artist." Margareta beholds the world, and sees countless situations begging for change.
   Through her company,"M"Soul Productions, she directs and produces for TV36. Her current series, "Impromptu,"explores the exhibitions and behind-the-scenes activities of the New Jersey Center for Visual Arts in Summit.
   With Lisa Ciarrocca, director of the Child Life Program at Overlook Hospital, she initiated a program of song ("Music Is The Medicine") and bedtime stories ("Sleeping With a Smile") for hospitalized children and senior citizens.
   She has worked with SAGE’s Meals-On-Wheels program, delivering meals herself. She produced a video to document the organization’s activities and currently preparing a related video project on The Food Bank in Hillside.
   What is her daily work schedule? How does she keep all those plates spinning? "No two days are alike," she says,"and I find wonderful people who want to work with me, everywhere I turn." From near and far,(literally spanning the globe) she has assembled musicians, artists, hospital administrators, television producers, writers, and school teachers as eager collaborators in her humanitarian efforts. "I am so grateful to the East Coast organizers of my tour, Cristian Socianu and John Baleanu, my guests Sergiu Cioiu and Lia Lungu, and especially my musical director Radu Goldis, from Los Angeles. I also must thank art teacher Lynn Celler,"she adds, "and her students from the New Providence High School Community Service, for collecting and donating hundreds of toys for Romanian orphanages."
   Margaret moved with her husband and daughter in 1983 to the United States, settling in Summit. "That’s a long story,"she says."Now my husband has his own computer business, and my daughter has graduated from college and has a good job in Philadelphia."
   One has the feeling that Margaret is always in the eye of an event that is just about to happen. She’s a bundle of primal energy, a determined work in progress. "Now is the most exciting time of my life,"she says,"because now I can experiment. When we are young, you know, we struggle to make a name for ourselves. Becoming mature, we must use the name in helping others. This has become my motto."