ARTIST 
   STATEMENT

Vak: Song of Becoming is the result of many years of personal exploration into Indian yogic ideas on sound and its affect on our experience of self.  Vak, the Goddess of Sound, first appears  in the Rig Veda about 3,000 years ago, yet I have found the yogic teachings about vac still hold great value today. At the time I was approached by the YBCA about creating a concert rooted in yogic sound philosophies I had been teaching the subject to large groups of people, often returning home in a state of awe at the beauty of the untrained voice, and the powerful experiences people had when singing.  It seems that something once central to being human has been all but lost.  Even young mothers ask me for CD recommendations for their babies, not knowing that their voice is the only voice that their baby wants to hear!   Vak: Song of Becoming is meant to reconnect us with the very human, experiential nature of sound so beautifully articulated in the ancient texts of India. I feel especially inspired to do this project as we move into technological era, a time when the sense of hearing is giving way to the predominance of sight, and technological progress challenges us to find ways to remain connected to our humanity.






Pictured: "SivaShakti", Rajasthani Tantric Meditation Painting, from the book "Tantra Song" by Frank André Jamme