music

September 26, 2024 - In a world where noise is pushing into all the corners of the world, Gordon Hempton, an acoustical ecologist, advocates for the preservation and protection of listening and silence. By Louise Conner

August 1, 2024 - Hymns rooted in our own times and places can give us new voices of praise and guide us along paths of discipleship that are sorely needed for our own particular times. By Louise Conner

April 18, 2024 - In anticipation of the upcoming Earth Day, Louise shares a song of praise, written from the perspective of Earth. By Louise Conner.

December 20, 2023 - A painting by Irenaeus Yurchuk and a song from The Porter's Gate point to the great gift of light that we remember during Advent. By Louise Conner

August 3, 2023 - If you aren’t familiar with Xavier Rudd or the song, Follow the Sun, I hope you enjoy today’s introduction. By Louise Conner

April 27, 2023 - In today's post, I share the music of John Luther Adams, frequently identified as America's "eco-composer," and invite readers to let his music take you to a place of deep listening to this world you are a part of. By Louise Conner

December 15, 2022 - Like hope and peace, joy is not merely a personal emotion, but a reality we are intended to pass along to others through action—and noise. By Louise Conner

June 30, 2022 - A ten movement jazz piece created by Wynton Marsalis as an "animal ballet," explores the diversity, humor and quirkiness found in the animal kingdom through the medium of big band jazz and dance. By Louise Conner

May 12, 2022 - In the "Blessings & Prayers" sections of The Bell and the Blackbird, David Whyte explores being touched by what is around us and blessed by it. Two poems in this section, "Blessing for Sound," and "Blessing for Light," make particularly good companion pieces. By Louise Conner

March 17, 2022 - Sometimes facts and statistics just aren't enough to change us. Music can help us imagine a different, more just way of living and move us from apathy to action. By Louise Conner

February 17, 2022 - We can be such noisy creatures. And for the most part, we seem oblivious to what we're squashing underneath the continuous soundtrack of our own noise-making. Chris Watson, British sound artist has valuable things to teach us. By Louise Conner

November 11, 2021 - Throughout the years, I have returned to Bruce Cockburn’s music again and again (like a favorite book) to voice aspects of my own faith, awe, delight, and anger. By Louise Conner

August 26, 2021 - Is there something in this 200-year-old musical piece that has something to teach us about being part of our world? By Louise Conner