In my last blog, I shared the cover of Glimmerings, my upcoming piano instrumental album (I have posted it again below for those of you who missed it). The CD includes 12 instrumental songs, some of which were composed 10 years ago and some very recently were created on the spot. For the spontaneous compositions, I would sit at the piano and play whatever came to my heart. These pieces are very special to me because they were gifts of inspiration. I simply sat at the piano and did my best to get out of the way so inspiration could flow through me. It truly is a magical process. I have shared one of these spontaneous pieces, entitled Commencement, in another blog for you to listen to and I share a little bit about the theme and why I composed it.
Glimmerings is being replicated right now and packaged in the next week or two. It has been submitted to online stores (and will take a couple of weeks to show up on iTunes and other digital networks) and is in the process of being uploaded onto my new web store. I look forward to sharing it will you when it’s ready.
My son recently graduated from middle school. I can hardly believe how fast he has grown into a compassionate, caring, knowledgeable and capable young man! The day after his graduation, I sat at the piano thinking about my son and his special qualities and played what came to my heart on the spot. I have called the piece ‘Commencement’ and have dedicated it to my son, Taraz. The song will be included on my upcoming instrumental CD which I hope to release sometime in the fall. I look forward to sharing more about the CD after the summer.
Have a listen when you have a moment and let me know what you think.
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We’re having a summer special on our Birds of Love gift sets. It was originally priced at $29 but is now on sale for $19.95. The video below shows you what’s inside the booklet so you have a better idea of what it looks like. It is a perfect wedding or anniversary gift or even a special present to any loved one. If you would like to order 10 or more please contact me for further discounts. For more details about the package and how to order, please click here.
I had a wonderful recording session a couple of days ago in my producer’s new studio in Beijing. We have been waiting to record a new song entitled, ‘My Adored One’ which is a spiritual love song. It is prayerful and full of feeling and emotion! One of the main instruments is the acoustic guitar which is one of my favorite instruments to add to my compositions. It brings a Spanish element to the piece which I love and is performed by Eric Harper, a hugely talented guitarist!
One of the challenges when recording is being able to let go completely and be comfortable in one’s surroundings so that the vocals come out smoothly and naturally. When a musician thinks too much about the technique of the vocals and perfection, it can become a hindrance and takes away from allowing the performer to truly let go. I find that my best recordings happen when I am by myself as I am able to let go more easily especially when the piece is newly composed and there is a fresh spirit and lots of excitement which is hard to reproduce. I am learning to let go of the barriers that I have created for myself and recently recording with my patient and encouraging producer allowed me to feel the song completely and let go of the perfection and high standards I have set for myself. Once I was able to do that, the vocals and emotion flowed. It was a blissful experience and I look forward to recording more vocals very soon!
Below are photos of my producer’s new studio in Beijing. It is a beautiful and large space and has a wonderful feel about it. It’s any artists dream to be able to record there!
I recently returned from a rejuvenating, spiritual, joyous and meditative journey at the Baha’i World Centre in Israel. The renovation of the dome of the Shrine of the Bab was recently completed and was a beautiful sight to see. I took a few photos of my time there and wanted to share them here. I also spent some time visiting with my sister who works there and my parents were able to join us from Kenya also!
One of my highlights of the trip was a musical evening at my sister’s home. We shared some prayers and sang together on the guitar. The music added so much spirit to the evening. Another highlight was meeting talented musician, Ali Youssefi, who also sang some of his compositions that evening on the guitar. We will be collaborating on some new music together soon.
I feel so privileged to have been able to enjoy the beauty of the Shrines and gardens and the serene atmosphere of one of my favorite places anywhere.
Most recently Taraz and I completed a photoshop project that we started a few weeks ago. Since he has been on holiday, he has been teaching me how to use photoshop by adding beautiful quotations to photos that I have taken of flowers from different trips we have been on. We chose 10 quotations from the first Ruhi series book called ‘Igniting the Heart‘. We designed them in English and Chinese and decided to get them printed in sets of 10. Here are a few of my favorites:
