Music of the World,
Music in the World

Ever on the prowl for new music that brings forth ancient cultural connections, I have studied and performed with dancers, percussionists, vocalists, and instrumentalists from around the world.

And my latest collaborations involve harp and koto with members of Silk Strings, harp and dousongoni with members of Seattle's West African musical community, and harp and flute with flutist Ann Lindquist, who is featured on the "Full Hearts, Empty Mind" cd. Please see: www.annlindquist.com for some of Ann's musical work.
Go here to see the results of Shiho, Ann, and Linda's collaboration as ShAnLí!

The Puget Sound Folk Harp Society (www.pugetsoundfolkharpsociety.org) is a registered Washington State nonprofit corporation whose purpose is to promote the awareness and appreciation of the folk harp in the Puget Sound area and beyond.  The Puget Sound Folk Harp Society was officially incorporated on January 15, 2004, and has secured federal 501(c)(3)
nonprofit status. Beginning January 2005, Reigning Harps on-line newsletter is the official
newsletter of the Puget Sound Folk Harp Society. Keep up with all the harp news in the Pacific Northwest... visit Reigning Harps Newsletter: www.reigningharps.com.

Open Mics in Seattle...there are a number of them, but I especially LKwant to mention Victory Music, one of the longest running Open Mic hosts in a variety of venues in the Puget Sound area. Victory Music (www.victorymusic.org)  is a non-profit organization founded in 1969 to support local acoustic, jazz, blues and folk music and welcomes your membership and participation! "Full Hearts, Empty Mind" cd was reviewed by Tom Peterson in the October issue of  Victory Review, the monthly publication.

I am also actively performing, recording, and directing music in a wide variety of contexts. I accompanied Jan Kraft on Jan's cd, Meditative Affirmations.

A founding member of the Samsara Meditation Ensemble of Seattle in 1999, I was a composer, performer, arranger and temporary director of SME. After a change in directorship and focus in 2001, I continued with the World Meditation Ensemble as a composer and performer until 2004. WME's two cds, Spirit Fusion (2003) and Sacred Sojourn (2006) can be ordered on Amazon and Spotify.

In the early 1980's I was one of the fortunate few working and studying at the Creative Music Studio (www.creativemusicstudio.org) in Woodstock, NY. Arriving from Vancouver, BC with small daughters and a harp in tow, I quickly found that it was the perfect setting for an unprecedented musical and cultural exploration. Musicians who traveled to CMS to teach, perform, jam, and just hang out with us were (and still are) the creme de la creme of jazz, improvisation, and world music. Some of my experience at CMS is described an interview by Bob Sweet. Bob's book, "Music Universe" chronicles the inception, growth, and change that CMS experience from the early 1970's to the late 1980's. The CMS legacy is still active within my own musical explorations as seen on this page.

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