Stillpoint for the Solstice: A Free online Event featuring We Play Well Together Instruments
Stillpoint for the Solstice: A Gathering for Sound, Movement & Meditation
Facilitad by: Joule L'Adara & Monique Schubert
With Special Guest Appearences By: Treya Lam & Junauda Petrus-Nasah
We invite you to join us in community as we pause to go deep, deep within: journeying to the stillpoint at our center. This is the resting place of the soul.
At the end of this tumultuous year, we come together on the eve before the Solstice, to sit in presence with one another. We acknowledge where we are and how much we've been through. We will release and empty out all that's been held within us: sounding the shadows so that as the wheel turns into the next solar year, we open up space for what we desire to bring in. By going through this vibrational process together, we may more easefully come into alignment, cohesiveness, and illumination.
You'll be guided through a series of participatory invitations utilizing movement, voice, breath, and deep listening. These will include: gentle yoga poses, guided breathwork, vocal sounding, and listening to live performances of inspired poetry, song, and therapeutic sound instruments. You may chose your level of participation: whether it's laying down and listening as a sound bath, or actively moving and vocalizing. Each invitation is designed to bring you into deep awareness of your self, while receiving support from the collective.
This meditational journey will last about an hour with participants' mics on mute. After the facilitation concludes, we will stay and open up mics for those who may wish to to be seen, heard, and witnessed with optional sharing in the group space.
"The longest night gifts us with time to enter the darkness, fully. The stillness behind action gathers as we empty and trust in our renewal." - Oak Chezar, Mother Tongue Ink
This online event will take place live on Zoom starting at the following times:
Sunday, Dec. 20th:
US: 2pm Hawaii/ 4pm Pacfic/ 5pm Mountain/ 6pm Central/ 7pm Eastern
Monday, Dec. 21st: 12am UK , 1am EUR, 11am VIC/NSW, 10am QLD
For other time zones click HERE to find 12am UTC
REGISTER FOR FREE HERE
About the Presenters:
Monique Schubert, MFA, E-RYT 500, is a Kripalu certified yoga teacher and the founder of OM Society, a lifestyle wellness company that expands the reach of yoga and mindfulness through workshops, classes and special events. She sees life as an extended project to make the world a kinder and more beautiful place. She uses the tools of art, yoga and music to educate, inspire, and connect.
For almost 20 years Monique has taught yoga and mindfulness in the New York City area. Monique weaves her background in visual arts into her mindfulness teaching and has brought yoga to diverse cultural spaces including Socrates Sculpture Park, Studio Museum in Harlem, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporic Art, Rush Arts Philanthropic, and the Fashion Institute of Technology. Through collaborations with non-profits, museums and schools Monique creates engaging public programs for young people and adults. Monique is in her 12th year teaching yoga, mindfulness and stress management at the Bronx Community College, and currently she works with the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health as a teacher trainer.
Monique is also a member of the Resistance Revival Chorus, as group of more than 60 women who unite to sing songs from various protest traditions, such as the Civil Rights, Labor and the Women’s movement. The message of the chorus is one that resonates with Monique from a yogic perspective as well, the idea that joy is a necessity of life and, in the words of poet Toi Derricotte, ‘Joy is an act of Resistance.’
Treya Lam is a classically trained multi-instrumentalist and songwriter whose cinematic songs and ethereal vocals are built on Nina Simone-inspired piano, meditative guitar and lush chamber arrangements. Treya’s debut album, Good News, was released via Kaki King’s label, Short Stuff Records. Produced by Kaki (who plays multiple instruments throughout the album), the album was recorded with array an of talented female musicians, most notably Catherine Popper (Jack White, Norah Jones) on upright bass, and mixer Erin Tonkon (David Bowie, Esperanza Spalding). Mastered by Sarah Register, Good News is an instant classic, full of the kind of songwriting and raw talent that has never gone out of style, as well as a message of love and longing.
Treya was one of five artists selected for the 2019 Joe’s Pub Working Group residency and is an active member of the Resistance Revival Chorus. She frequently performs with the Big Quiet and is developing a musical as an Associate Artist with the eco-theatre group Superhero Clubhouse. Lam seeks out extraordinary venues and has performed original music at the Prospect Park Bandshell, American Museum of Natural History, New York Botanical Gardens, Garfield Park Conservatory, MoCA Museum and the New York Public Library. Treya has shared stages with Ani Difranco, Yo-Yo Ma and the late jazz pianist Billy Taylor as well as her frequent collaborations with Kaki King.
Learn more about her work at: treyamakesmusic.com
Junauda Petrus-Nasah is a creative activist, writer, playwright, and multi-dimensional performance artist who is born on Dakota land, West-Indian descended, and African-sourced. Her work centers around Black wildness, -futurism, ancestral healing, sweetness, spectacle and shimmer.
Petrus-Nasah has written works for the stage, screen and page, employing poetics and experiences re-membered via ancestral dreaming and research of their lost stories. She is inspired by her parents and ancestors who immigrated from the Caribbean bringing their magic and trauma with them, and her art ripples with their legacy. She is influenced by the Middle passage and diaspora, Black folks in Minneapolis, ancestral magic, and stories of queerness and womanhood within these contexts. Speculative fiction and magical realist elements are central to her work.
Her debut novel, The Stars and the Blackness Between Them was published by Penguin Random House in 2019, and was a 2020 winner of a Coretta Scott King Honor Award. Petrus lives in Minneapolis with her wife, Ngowo Nasah, and family. Learn more about her work at: junauda.com
Joule L’Adara, MFA, is an experimental vocalist, holistic vocal coach, and sound facilitator based in New York City. She is the founder of Sounding Circles, offering sound-based practices that support well-being and transformational development. Since 2009, she has offered her unique voice facilitation training to sound practitioners through live workshops, retreats, and online courses. Her vocal meditation programs have been featured nationally at the New York Open Center, Integral Yoga Institute, Donna Karan’s Urban Zen, WeWork Wellness, Unplug Meditation, The Green Spa, Naturopathica, The Dorot Institute, New York City’s Community Healthcare Network, Planned Parenthood, The WOOM Center, Bread & Yoga, The Samadhi Center for Yoga and Meditation Denver, Sound Meditation Presents in San Francisco with Guy Douglass, The Globe Institute San Francisco, Community Arts Partnership (CAP) Program in Los Angeles, and at Kalani Oceanside Retreat Hawaii.
Joule is also an official US trainer for feeltone instruments: a German-based builder of beautifully handcrafted mediation monochords. This is a drone instrument that produces a cascade of heavenly harmonics which supports the body to come into renewal throuh deep relaxation. Joule offers monochord training intensives and online courses, as well as serving as an ambassador for feeltone. She’s been featured with the instruments on The Today Show, New York 1, at the Guggenheim Museum with The Big Quiet, and as part of San Francisco’s Sound Healing Symphony. Joule is a trained classical singer who in the past performed with The Metropolitan Opera and as a soloist in Carnegie Hall.
Joule leads a weekly free online therapeutic vocal sound gathering every Sunday. It's a chance to come together and connect with others in circle beyond words, or difference, and find cohesiveness through sound. Join our community at: Sounding Circles Sunday
REGISTER FOR FREE HERE
Blog posts
Works well. Delighted to have the ability to tune my Sansula myself.
We Play well together has been a resource for instruments for, at least, 5 years. The quality of the instruments, customer service, kindness and expertise of the staff has been a huge bonus and blessing in our interactions. I am grateful for their service, friendliness and flexibility. thank you so very much VLamura
These mallets are super fun to use and I love the sounds they create. I purchased a pair of each set of mallets and I love them all so much, I'm planning on keeping the pair I thought I would send back originally.
I have a set and love these so much. They are well made, and the sound is solid and carries well in small and large spaces. Highly recommend!
Wonderful instrument. It’s easy to travel with and well crafted. Customer service is wonderful as well. Very responsive. I am always impressed with the attention to customer service and care of the instruments. This instruments complement my crystal singing bowls and monalina nicely.
My G Monolina is perfect! Beautiful to play in a group, as well as on the body.
Absolutely in love, but should have ordered the bag! Ordering it now as it is was too fragile to travel with without the bag.
The instrument brigs such an amazing quality and super easy to play
I recently purchased a D Monolina. Meditative and meditative; a full immersion sound experience that simply wraps you in a beautiful feeling and sound. What an incredible instrument this is! I highly recommend purchasing one, or more, for meditation, relaxation, or sound baths.
This set elevates one’s instruments to the next level. Having all these components really sets one up for success and allows room for growth to grow into your sound practice.
The versatility that comes with having the leg extensions allows the player to be comfortable in a variety of ways while playing. The mallets add additional ways to play.
Tuning is a breeze with the template. When not being played or on the go with this monolina, the mats keep everything safe and the backpack makes it so you can take it to the studio or out into nature to play.
I can’t say enough great things about it, it’s a must have in the sound tool kit for sure.
The floor model sale price feels too good to be true for such a fabulous instrument. So easy to create varied, beautiful sounds. This is the 3rd instrument I've purchased from WPWT and they're always efficient, friendly and helpful.
My first experience with a Hokema Kalimba was at the gift shop of the Music Instrument Museum in Phoenix, AZ. I was blown away by the big, beautiful sound of those instruments, but I wasn’t ready to plunk down $200 for it.
Fast forward, I read about the Twin Kalimba and was encouraged by a review that suggested it was great for events. This particular person, evidently a musician like me, gave out ten of these during his shows and was thrilled by how the audience members enjoyed the experience.
So, given these two experiences, I had high hopes for the twin.
It is a sweet sounding instrument, but the sound is very quiet. The wood is solid so it doesn’t resonate like its higher priced solo cousins (that feature a resonator) or traditional kalimbas that have found holes.
So, I’m a little underwhelmed by the sound, but it’s still a great concept. Perhaps it will be fine and dandy when I share it with audiences. Let’s see!
Joule is an excellent teacher! Her lessons flow from topic to exercises with so much ease and class time is so enjoyable. Joule makes sure everyone's questions are answered before going to the next lesson. Before this training, I had no idea of all the many different ways to play the monochord. After this course, I now have so much more knowledge and I'm able to tap into my creativity with a deeper love and appreciation with this beautiful instrument.
I love the "water" collection and this chime is one of my favourite instruments (so far!). The D minor tuning is said to be the "saddest" key, but I find it soothing, ethereal, and utterly charming. The gentle tones of this chime bring gentle, meditative tones. Do yourself a favour if you can and get the matching Koshi chime. They sound absolutely amazing together!
Thank you for sending me the Hokema Sansula Deluxe. I am enjoying the unique sound as I relate it to similarly designed instruments in parts of Africa. It creates a beautiful sound world with which you can improvise and expand infinitely. I will be using the small ones for my gatherings. It's a beautiful instrument and as I explore and improvise with it, I'm sure I will find something new that I will want to share with you. - Kevin Nathaniel
Wonderful, perfect to play on top and bring my sansula basic everywhere!
It’s my first Kalimba and I absolutely love how it sounds, such a magical instrument
Never got the delivery
Hi Dimitri ,
It looks like the tracking information indicates your package was delivered to your mailbox. Could you check to see if perhaps a neighbor might have picked it up by mistake?
If you still can't locate it, no worries at all—just let us know, and please provide a secure shipping address where we can resend your item.
Looking forward to resolving this for you!
Warm regards,
Gabriele
This is a very beautiful chime that I can play with my Aqua Zenko Element (432Hz), Aqua Tinka Tong (432Hz), & my Aqua Hokema B5 Kalimba (432Hz) with a little help from my friends. Of course, I can mix & match the chimes with other elemental instruments & be amazed by the way that the sounds blend perfectly.
This is my favorite chime that I play before bed for a more restful sleep. I have noticed a little hum with beautiful overtones & undertones when moved around in a circular motion that I particularly enjoy. I can play this with my beloved Terra Tinka Tong or my beautiful Hokema B5 Terra Kalimba.
This is a lovely chime that I play with either my Hokema Terra B5 Kalimba or my Ignis Tinka Tong. The great thing about these chimes is that they sound great mixing & matching them with other instruments from WPWT.
I play these chimes for self care before bed for a more restful sleep.
This Kalimba is pleasing to the eye because of the cut & quality of the cherry wood. The size is perfect for small hands such as mine. I particularly love the Terra Tuning & fell instantly in love with this Kalimba that reminds me of a music box when played.
I also received the Aqua B5 Hokema Kalimba which is equally as beautiful as the Terra.
The Aqua Kalimba completes my Aqua Elemental Soundscape bundle. I cannot say how much I have loved jamming with my set.
This B5 Kalimba may be small, but its sound output is excellent & the tone is perfect. The B5 Kalimba can also be paired with the matching Koshi Chime & easily played. I think that I prefer the size of the B5 Kalimba & would highly recommend it for sound & ease of play.
Thanks & best wishes to the WPWT team.
All that I can say is that I love my Koshi Chimes. Each Elemental Chime is unique & complete in its own light tinkling playful sound & becomes even more beautiful in the complexity of two chimes paired together. I particularly enjoy the calming quality of Aqua & Aria. I also like the joyfulness & energy of Ignis & Terra as they are played together. I bought the Koshi Chimes because they were highly recommended for their durability & because they never go out of tune. I also like the earthiness of the color of bamboo. One day I might like to pair Koshi Chimes with a pop of color from matching Zaphir Chimes.
Now let me throw in the beauty of the B5 Hokema Kalimbas - Terra & Aqua as they are paired with their companion Koshi Chimes. I have small hands & can easily hold & play the B5 Kalimba as I am holding the chime of the same tone in the other hand. This is indeed as lovely as the Elemental Soundscape video.
I like to play the Koshi Chimes before I go to bed as it helps to empty my mind, offer relaxation & sounder sleep.
My thanks again to the WPWT team for providing yet another pleasant experience as I keep adding to my ever growing collection of musical instruments.