We are most ourselves when we are most intimate with the rivers and the mountains and woodlands, with the sun and the moon and the stars in the heavens; when we are most intimate with the air we breathe, the Earth that supports us, the soil that grows our food, with the meadows in bloom. The excitement and fulfillment of our lives is here. We belong here. Our home is here.
— Thomas Berry
SINGING THE LAND
Singing with the Owl #3
Creating music in nature invites a rewilding of ourselves, a visceral connection to nature. When I sing in nature, I experience a reverence for life that is beyond words. I am singing and being sung at the same time.
Singing to the Trees Workshop at a Studio in the Woods
My hope is that through listening to nature and creating music from that listening, we create music that is healing for ourselves and the ecosystems of the planet. That this intelligence will infuse our creations, and that they will communicate a visceral way of being in harmony with the earth, a way of honoring the sacredness of ourselves and the natural world.
Singing is how I pray, how I celebrate being alive, how I express the depths of my love for the earth and all beings.
LULLABIES FOR THE EARTH UPCOMING ALBUM
“Fairy Forest”
Nature inspired vocal soundscapes infused by time spent in the fertile ecosystems of Louisiana. Wordless vocal music that is a lullaby to the land and its elements-the trees, birds, insects, and water. The mysterious beauty of the wetlands, a liquid land.
Each trio of songs includes a solo with the sounds of nature, a multi-layered vocal soundscape, and a collaboration with some of my favorite nature loving singers and instrumentalists.
“Butterfly”
Music that carries the aliveness I so love about improvisation, and song forms that reflect the organicity of the soundscapes found in nature. Music that is rooted in the natural world.
One of the things I love about singing in nature is how it changes my state of consciousness. When I sing different combinations of syllables, I am with, I feel a part of nature’s language because nature is wordless and speaks in all kinds of tones, textures, and silence. I listen more deeply, take in the sounds of birds, insects, wind and water as nourishment.