Productions
and Presentations 2009-2010
Thank you for coming to my myspace page. I keep this page open because some people I know still use this as one of their primary means of communication. But the inability to screen who “friends” this page has lead to posts and links from people who have no real understanding or interest in what I do. So I have since culled my list (formerly near 1000) to only those whom I have actually met in person.
To the well-meaning people who still followed my page, I mean you no offense if you have found yourself deleted, but any chance of communicating with you here was already seriously limited by what was effectively spam.
To everyone who has reached this page, i hope you enjoy what you hear and read here, but I would rather interact with you via my own web page and other sites, and am not currently accepting new friend requests here.
I will attempt to keep my performance calendar and music player up to date, but only after my own website, et al.
I believe we are reborn each day through music, both in the sense of
wonder, and the power to shape the elements of our pasts and cultures
into something that reaches out to others. By studying the history and
mythos of the music we love, we can extend our experiences beyond the
limitations of our egos or the situations of our lives. Music with
roots is music that bears fruit.
I also love to share the stories behind the music that I make,
telling people more about the (often unusual) instruments I play, the
origins of a melody-be it a composer, a tradition, or spirits of
inspiration, and the cultures from which these tunes arise.
As a performer, I specialize
in what I have dubbed "Faetrad"-
traditional
tales and music of the Otherworld: the Faeries and other
creatures and spirits, whose stories tell us as much about ourselves
and the cultures of humankind as about the hidden world around us.
I have gathered this repertoire from many places. My
academic
background in linguistics and English, as well as my professional
experience
working in libraries and archives, has given me research skills I have
used while travelling throughout the United States, as well as to
Ireland and Scotland, to find these tales and melodies. I have learned
about the faeries from people in my life as well: from an early age, my
great-grandmother and other members of my family told me stories about
direct contact with the Otherworld and its inhabitants. Learn
More
about the basics of Faetrad here.
The instruments I choose tend to be rich in
harmonics and in a variety of world tunings. I play many kinds of
traditional flutes (including Irish flute and whistle, panpipes,
Japanese shakuhachi, Middle Eastern nay and kaval, ocarinas and an 8
foot shower-curtain rod,) jaw harps, the kantele- a lyre used for epic
singing in Finland and Karelia, mbiras, and singing bowls. For
an up to date list of my instruments, please look here.
I also compose many of my own pieces, ranging in
style from neo-mediaeval estampies, to Native American-influenced flute
solos, to ambient music using fractal synthesis. My inspirations for
these melodies include my closest friends, music I hear in dreams, my
favorite salsa picante (and
its chef), and one melody that a frog gave to me (you'll have to ask me
about this at one of my shows if you want to hear the story.) My
original recordings are available on my first two CDs: at a loss for
words and Planxties for
Pan.
As a mostly solo performer, playing at festivals gives me
the opportunity to collaborate with a larger creative project. I can
custom design a series of performances and workshops for your event.
Past venues have included faerie festivals, renaissance and fantasy
faires, Celtic festivals, Harry Potter book release parties, churches,
pagan festivals, schools, and 24 hour cafes.
If you also share a passion for Faetrad in its many
forms, or other music that I perform, and would like to collaborate,
please feel free to contact me.
Kaade:
at a loss for words
Traditional,
early music, and original pieces inspired by ancient instruments:
wooden flutes of europe, asia, & the americas, Finnish kantele.
