Songs from the Garden

This note was cross-posted at The Standing Room, a blog written by M6er Sidney Chen.

“Be Still” (photo by Luigi Anzivino)

I had seen the beautiful image taken by Luigi Anzivino above, but today I happened upon another stash of performance photos, by James Eilers, of my performance at this year’s Garden of Memory, an annual new music extravaganza in Oakland, California. Nearly two months after the fact, I hope folks will still accept a belated thanks for coming out to hear me. It meant a lot to have you there, especially those who stuck it out in the heat for a whole set, who came up to introduce themselves afterward, and who told other people to come for later sets. I wish I could have thanked each of you individually.

For those who missed it: on what felt like the hottest day in the history of the world, I performed four half-hour sets of solos from Volcano Songs and from Songs from the Hill, plus two duets from Facing North, in essentially a greenhouse with no circulation and sunlight beaming down through skylights to intensify the broil. Facing North, I’d like to point out, was originally created in the dead of winter in northern Canada. So while I was trying to envision seeing my breath in crisp, clear Arctic air, I was also trying to ignore the river of sweat that was coursing down my neck and back.

Here are the photos I mentioned above. Thanks again to everyone for their support and to the incomparable Sarah Cahill for masterminding the whole event.