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OM Meditation: 8 Hours of Music at Nuit Blanche

Tonight was an incredible gift.  I had the utmost pleasure of sharing the stage with two wonderfully talented and colourful individuals–Roger Sader (of Musideum) and David Sutherland (a close friend and collaborator). 

The temperature was incredibly apt for such a performance, not too hot and certainly not too cold.  We spent the afternoon preparing the space and ourselves for the performance.  

As individuals of all walks-of-life entered the gallery, I was enthralled to see them brought together by music.

I was honoured to take part in Musideum's contribution, poised as an escape from the hi-octane buzz about Toronto's notorious Nuit Blanche art festival.  We played music of an ambient and relaxing variety to ease the tension of the hustle and bustle, and to add a transcendental dimension to the experience of all who stumbled upon our performance that evening.  

It was perhaps the most welcome I've felt in recent memory.  Certainly one of the best live music experiences I've ever participated in.  This marked one of the first brushes with the sitar I'd had first-hand—though I've been an admirer much longer, I'd not previously had a chance to handle and play the instrument.

As the hippies who stayed and dance departed, they gave a bow and a hearty thanks for our music and for baring a bit of our souls.  It was a wholeheartedly warm and pleasing experience.