Music and Media Focus

Artist: Uma
Website: www.umasilbey.com

If this artist profile about Uma were to delve into detail about every facet of her life’s work, it could easily fill 10 pages or more. So the challenge is to present as complete a picture as possible within the scope of this feature article. The use of the word “facet” in the above sentence is not incidental, as we’ll soon see. For me, having been a new age music journalist and magazine columnist for over 35 years, I’m quite familiar with Uma’s music, and the 18 albums she has released since the early 1980’s. Continue reading →

Artist: Dave Reynolds
Website: www.thedavereynoldsproject.com

For guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and composer Dave Reynolds, music has been and continues to be his passion and calling in life. From his extensive education to his remarkably diverse experiences as a performer, Dave is a consummate musician on a quest to use his considerable talents in service to others. In his own words: “I want my music to spread joy and peace, to give people a break from their human existence. To put them into a heavenly space even if just for an hour, a few minutes, or a few seconds is an incredible gift.”

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Artist: Shastro
Website: www.malimba.com/shastro

Multi-instrumentalist Shastro, who was born in Venice, Italy, has spent a good part of his life traveling the world on a quest for musical and spiritual inspiration. Although he began his professional career as a fashion photographer, all that changed one day on a crowded street in India. In 1985, Shastro left Italy to live in a spiritual community in India. As he describes: “I saw along the street a young Indian boy selling bamboo flutes. Without hesitation I bought one for 50 cents and I remember distinctly a voice inside me that said ‘now you will no longer be a photographer but a musician.’ Continue reading →

Artist: Sherry Finzer
Contact: www.sherryfinzer.com

People are drawn to playing, recording, and performing music for a wide variety of reasons. And like other aspects of our lives, those reasons can evolve over time. For international award-winning flutist and composer Sherry Finzer, this is certainly true.

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Artist: Tim Neumark
Contact: https://timneumark.com/

With the release of his fourth album, aptly titled Opus Four, pianist and composer Tim Neumark has been gaining recognition and is making a name for himself among the ranks of solo piano artists. The recording has received award nominations for classical and new age tracks, and it was nominated for Neoclassical/Classical Album of the year at SoloPiano.com. He sees his music as a blend of new age, classical and inspirational styles with influence by artists such as David Lanz, John Tesh, Yanni, Kostia, and Antonin Dvorak. Tim’s inspiration comes from his feelings and thoughts about the world and people around him. Continue reading →

Artist: Karen Olson
Contact: www.karenolson.com

From her years of performing in orchestras and chamber music ensembles, as well as in the New York Pops playing hundreds of shows with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr. and Tony Bennett, to her work with new age sound healing, jazz, and world music, the career and viola artistry of Karen Olson represents a veritable rainbow of musical experience. Continue reading →

Artist: Gordon Hempton
Contact: http://soundtracker.com/
and: https://quietplanet.com/

It is my great pleasure to shine a spotlight on Gordon Hempton, a man who is not only known for some of the world’s finest recordings of nature sounds, but also for having devoted his life to protecting our few remaining silent havens in the natural world from noise pollution. As a self-described “acoustic ecologist,” working under the name The Soundtracker®, he has circled the globe three times over the last 30 years in pursuit of Earth’s most rare nature sounds – which can only be fully appreciated in the absence of man-made noise. Gordon’s work with recording and preserving the sounds of the natural world has been compared with Ansel Adam’s capturing its’ beauty on film.  Continue reading →