Can you tell us about the musical performance coming up on June 6th at Carnegie Hall? You’ve mentioned it’s one-of-a-kind. What is it about?
If you are tired or stressed, our show One, A Healing and Vibrant Concert to Calm the Mind, is meant for you. Nothing is more important than to calm your mind and reboot your energy, especially in these crazy times when our brains are constantly running. In the show, we will meditate, pray, sing, and dance. So it will be more than a concert, for sure.
What are some of the elements involved that make this performance more than just a concert?
This isn’t just a show. It’s a spiritual experience. We can immediately shift the mood of anyone when we sing and play. That’s the supreme power of the music, it resonates soul to soul! Neuroscience has always fascinated me. A simple vibration can modify the neuro-chemical system and replace cortisol (the stress hormone) with happy and calm hormones like dopamine and serotonin. The music and songs we bring to the show will be very calming and very energetic, shamanic even.
How would you describe the setlist that will be performed?
We will start with calming songs, where I’ll be singing with a string orchestra. It will be amazing, especially with the emotion of the musicians like the young virtuoso Ayna Ivanov, who has performed many times at Carnegie Hall! The acoustics of this iconic theater is perfect for these intimate spiritual moments, to truly feel the deepness of each note.
The show will continue to evolve, introducing the finesse of the music director for Earth, Wind & Fire, and keyboardist, Myron McKinley, along with accomplished cellist Ro Rowan, who has played on over 600 projects credits, including Avatar: The Way of Water, Top Gun: Maverick, The Lion King, and has worked with countless artists such as Billie Eilish, Adele, Hans Zimmer, Sting, and more, so it is an absolute privilege to be working with them.
From there, the show will become a feast with all of the musicians like Stacy Lamont Sydnor on drums, Paul Pesco on guitar, Ian Martin on bass, Lama Tashi Norbu for some mantras, Téa Licon, and Summer Rona.
You’ve been performing since you were 9 years old. How do you approach each performance to keep things fresh?
I keep my soul young like a child. Every time I go on stage, I rediscover every note, but to do that, there is a secret.
How do you work on developing more as a musician?
Most of the time, I don’t rehearse, and the same goes for the musicians that play with me. They are exceptional virtuosos! Of course, we do sound checks and ensure all the technical details are in order, but we prefer not to rehearse too much. It helps us keep a very fresh mind when we perform on stage, and we play like it’s the last performance of our lives. In a way, I suppose you could say that’s how we work on developing!
How would you describe what makes a good concert for you?
I consider a concert good if we do not understand what’s happening, suddenly we’re crying, dancing, singing, and we feel a profound emotion grander than ourselves. Miles Davis talked about The Blue Note, and Carlos Santana referred to the moment as “The Juicy Note”. I come from a spiritual life, so for us, it’s when we feel the “Grace” or the divine energy. At that moment, the concert becomes more than a concert, it becomes what we call in psychology a “Starry Hour”, a souvenir that we’ll hold in our hearts forever.
It definitely sounds like a unique and invigorating experience! How do you incorporate meditation into the vocal performance?
I will be guiding a short meditation before the show, but truly it’s all vibration; nothing is separate. To sing or to talk is vibration, which helps replace negative hormones with the positive ones. Whether we’re singing and playing or talking in meditation, we are promoting our minds to generate happy hormones!
Sounds like a super calming experience! Are you concerned about guests falling asleep?
Hahaha…I have a funny story for you. During my first concert at Carnegie Hall in 2016, I guided a long meditation. I opened my eyes, and I saw all the audience was in a profound sleep! However, meditation, it’s an active form of sleep. In Yoga Nidra, it means that your brain is still very aware and is the moment you upgrade your cognitive process as you’re deeply relaxed.
This year, I will guide a 1-minute meditation. To calm our mind before a concert or performance is like washing our hands before eating. We detox all the energies and fatigue from our week, and then 60 seconds after our meditative time, we will be ready to truly feel the emotion and groove of the show!
Some might not know that the show at Carnegie Hall on June 6th is not only debuting the performance but is also the launch of OMMM. Can you tell us a little about what OMMM is?
Michelle Narciso-Krutz, María Alphonse, and I co-founded OMMM, a world movement to calm the mind. We will produce immersive films, a wellness channel, shows, an app, and more resources to help everyone calm their mind. It’s also very important for us to make it accessible to as many people as possible.
Why do you feel it is important that people be able to calm their minds?
If we don’t calm our minds, how can we love, work, be grateful, and appreciate our friends and family? Nothing is more important than taking care of our minds. This needs to be a priority in current times. We live in a world where we strive to be creative, productive, and efficient, but we are guided to do the opposite! We are taught to be stressed and tired. We must re-program our life and our values. Our world has totally changed, and now being successful doesn’t mean being famous, but to be able to be calm, grateful, and helpful.
Do you believe we can create a better, calmer, and less violent world?
Yes, but we can’t do it if we continue being zombies day in and day out. We must change and calm our minds. As Steve Jobs said before he died, “Don’t educate your children to become rich. Educate them to be happy.”
Carnegie Hall
https://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2023/06/06/ONE-A-Healing-and-Vibrant-Concert-
ONE, video clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJwekH5EJVc&lc=Ugx6i_I-hqN57iOTBsl4AaABAg
