Concert Friday February 5th, 2010 7pm Tickets are $10, however all sales benefit the artist directly. |
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On Friday February 5th at 7pm Shumei International Institute, in collaboration with the Hazlerig Music House will host Leigh Ann Phillips for an evening concert atop the mountain at the beautiful Shumei Center. Leigh Ann Phillips is an award-winning singer songwriter, sound healing practitioner, lecturer and teacher. She is on a mission of merging sound and music to assist people in leading more fulfilling lives in healthier bodies. Her work is taking her all over the world and back to her nest in the San Luis Valley of south central Colorado. Leigh Ann started piano lessons at age 8, and started performing in musicals, dance recitals and piano performances by age 12. She started writing songs and poetry at the age of 11. She was accepted to the Boston University Tanglewood Institute for voice, where Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copeland and Seiji Ozawa. It was a life- changing experience, and also made her realize being classically trained in voice and piano was not her destiny. After receiving a Bachelors in journalism and music at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Leigh Ann moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico to study massage therapy and alternative health modalities. Shortly after graduation, she moved to Stuttgart, Germany to teach English and practice massage at a mineral hot springs. When she moved back to the States in l994, she went back to the music, performing as a singer songwriter, and teaching piano and voice. She also was heavily involved in environmental activism, starting a land trust and helping with water legislation and open space policies. Colorado called, and in 2004 she started recording her first album, “Just Over Those Mountains.” The title track won the Silverton Jubilee National Songwriting Competition, as well as a songwriting award in England. Her original vocals and instrumentals on this album are a dynamic blend of pop, chamberfolk and contemporary, which she lovingly calls orchestral Americana. A few dashes of jazz, rock and blues add spice to the mix. Often compared to Judy Collins, Mary Chapin Carpenter,and Nanci Griffith Leigh Ann writes songs that range from the ever popular theme of romance to celebrations of the beauty of the planet. Each song then takes on its own spirit which determines the style of music. There is a thread of beauty that weaves all of her music together, regardless of the genre. When the words point out trouble and inequity, the melody reminds us of the joy and balance that is still around us. Shortly after her first album, Leigh Ann discovered the harmonic tones of the quartz crystal singing bowls. Suddenly the music and the sound merged. Leigh Ann started playing bowls and singing during her healing sessions, and the singing bowls also showed up in the music. In 2007, she was asked to compose the track for a meditation CD with Kiara Perkins called “Journey into the Mind.” The singing bowls, chimes, piano and her voice joined Don Richmond on viola and violin. That was the door for healing music that Leigh Ann had been waiting for. At the same time, her sound healing work began to travel around the Southwest, the US and now internationally. Leigh Ann has developed a method of shifting and slowing the brain states, allowing people to not just relax but release emotional blocks that are allowing dis-ease in the body. Her method incorporates the crystal singing bowls, harp, tingshaws, tuning forks, herbal medicine, piano and her voice. She also uses the crystal bowls as percussion instruments, allowing the vibration of sound to run even deeper throughout the body. Early this year, Leigh Ann released her third CD, “Call of the Feather.” This album is dear to her heart, as each song is a tribute to the valley she lives in. The quartz crystal singing bowls are on two of these tracks of the recording. She begins her fourth CD next month, an acoustic bowl CD featuring only instruments that have harmonics, including her voice. This coming November Leigh Ann will be presenting her sound work in Venezuela at the Consejo Interamericano de Sobre Epirualidad Indigeno, and then will fly to Tarapota, Peru to share the sound and learn from Jacques Mabit, a former member of Doctors Without Borders. With the rapid shifts that are happening on the planet, Leigh Ann has been incorporating more plant medicine with the sound to assist people in staying connected to their bodies. She has also been involved with the United World College, assisting the promising students of the future to be more connected to their emotions. The sound and the music have merged, and Leigh Ann’s passion for life has sounded into a path where music can bring not just beauty, but health, peace and promise. Tickets for the concert are $10, and all proceeds benefit the artist directly. Space is limited, first come first seated. Call 256-5284 for further information. |
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Shumei
International Institute |
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