Nay's News August 2024
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I hope you are having a beautiful summer! I remain ever grateful that I get to do this thing I love so much... making and sharing music. Here is Nay's News for August...scroll on down.
Just released TODAY, my first full-length Lucente Skye album "Discovering Peace." Lucente Skye is my artist name for solo piano songs, and I recorded all of the songs in my home studio on a Yamaha YUS5 with the felt engaged. The album is supported with amazing mastering by Sacha Muller and distribution by Soothe Sounds label services. Listen now on all the streaming platforms.
Spotify listeners can give a click of support by selecting "Follow" over at Lucente Skye on Spotify. "Discovering Peace" physical CDs also now available for order at my SHOP.
The title track for "Discovering Peace" is the only brand new track dropping with the album today. All of the songs have been releasing as singles, gradually since February, one every 3 weeks. It feels amazing to finally have the entire album out in the world!
Each song is composed to assist listeners with a specific meditation practice. If you're like me... then meditation is a challenge! In silence, my mind is a crazy monkey of wandering and not focusing. But if I am well guided, I can sort-of do it. These songs are musical guides. I really hope they help you as they have helped me!
"Discovering Peace" was composed to answer the question... what does it take to discover peace? Well, it takes a lot, and it's a lifelong journey. Mostly, it takes courage. It's not easy. A good friend of mine once shared with me that on the edges of courage is where magic is found. So the image of a river winding towards the sun was chosen for the album artwork, because as this ribbon of courage winds through life, we can learn and grow along the edges and be coming always closer to our source, our light, our own magic, and peace.
The song starts with a repeated pitch that carries through the first half of the song. It represents the river of courage, in the middle of the piano, played by the right hand, with the left hand playing on either side (the edges!). The middle of the song is like an eddy in the river... the pulse becomes a little swirly, the tonality shifts, and it feels mysterious. Then the steady pitch comes back, but a step higher. Courage has taken you to a place with more clarity, more magic, more peace discovered. The left hand almost seems to dance along the edges.
As you listen, meditate and reflect on your own journey to discover peace. Try to hold this information about the song within your thoughts, take deep breaths and feel yourself sink into your courage.
OK... phew, if you've read all this, thank you! I had a lot to share with you about it. :)
I'm gearing up with the rest of the choral world for the 2024-2025 performance season, and I'm so hopeful and excited for what's to come.
Conductors have been ordering my scores over the summer and I'll be an upcoming guest on the Moveable Do podcast about composers! I'll keep you posted about when it will air. Oregon Repertory Singers will feature my new SATB/piano piece "Racing the Moon" in their upcoming fall concert featuring Portland-area composers, and include a reprise of "Noel" (my arrangement of "The First Noel" in their December concerts. I have the utmost appreciation for the Oregon Repertory Singers and all their support and programming of my pieces. ORS!
Not a whole lot of concerts for me over the summer, but I've had a lot of fun performing with my folk trio, The Cider Janes. We've even got an upcoming tour over Labor Day weekend in central Oregon!
The first half of July was busy with a trip to France with my firstborn, newly-graduated-from-high-school kid. We saw all the sights, including the Olympic rings on the Eiffel tour and a solo tuba player on the Metro! I wandered the stained glass of Sainte-Chappelle (hearing the composition of my friend Eric Whitacre in my head as I went), biked through a fairytale in Chamonix, and ate way too many pains au chocolat!
My Patreon community keeps growing, feel free to join in! This is where I share new music exclusively, more in-depth stories behind the songs, special concert invitations, and behind-the-scenes things. It's like a CSA for my music!
Thank you, thank you for being a part of my creative journey. I hope your summer days include some joy, some sunshine, some time for rest, and always music!
Yours in song,
naomi