Overtone Music Network

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Baird Hersey

Baird Hersey's Connections

  • Billy Fox
  • Moisés Pérez Miguélez
  • brigitte geuss
  • Cumie Dunio
  • Arjopa
  • Frank Perry
  • Raffaele Schiavo
  • Sukadev Bretz
  • Gary Joseph Hassay
  • Minghao Xu
  • Mike Edgerton
  • Ballog
  • Radka Šindlerová
  • Raphael De Cock
  • Olaf Schultze

Baird Hersey's Groups

 

Baird Hersey & Prana

Profile Information

About me:
Baird Hersey is probably best know as a composer and guitarist. In the '70s and '80s he wrote for and played with his big band "The Year Of The Ear". The group's performances and recordings were highly regarded for their blend of rhythmic percussion and innovative horn arrangements.

Hersey's is a National Endowment for the Arts Composition Fellow. His diverse career has encompassed; commissions from the Harvard University, New Mexico Council for the Arts, The Brooklyn Bridge Centennial Sound and Light Spectacular, The HVP Symphony Orchestra, and performances throughout the US and Europe in such different setting as the Berlin Jazz Festival and MTV. He has also composed extensively for television.

He has been a student of yoga and overtone singing for 20 years. In 1997 He began the practice of Ashtanga Yoga. The result was a change in his life, his music and his career. "Gathering in the Light" is his 11th album Hersey has recorded for Arista, Buddha, Bent Records and Satsang Music.. He has studied with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore India and with The Gyuto Monks.
As a band we are:
The singers of PRANA are:
Peter Buettner
Amy Fradon
Kirsti Gholson
Julie Last
Julian Lines
Bruce Milner
Leslie Ritter
Joe Veillette

They are all recognized performers in their own right who join together in PRANA to sing this remarkable music.
Influences:
John Coltrane, Igor Stravinski, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Djivan Gasparyan, Steve Reich, Hamlet Gonashvili, Weather Report, Jon Hassell
Homepage:
http://www.pranasound.com
Prana is a Sanskrit word meaning: breath, vital energy, life force. It is also an overtone singing choir comprised of professional singers. PRANA, was formed by Baird Hersey in 2000 to breathe life into the music from his »Waking the Cobra« CD.
Over the last three years Prana has performed regularly with Krishna Das. The evenings began with the group performing. Then KD joined them to sing several of his chants over Baird's a cappella arrangements for the voices of Prana. This collaboration was the starting point for their new CD »Gathering In The Light«, which features Krishna Das singing seven of his most beloved chants supported by Prana.
Baird and PRANA have performed at a Benefit for The Dalai Lama Foundation, and Omega Institute's »Ecstatic Chant Retreat«. They have opened for Philip Glass and performed as a part of the »Gatherings«, »Tibet House«, »Menla«, »One Voice«, »Woodstock Cycle« concerts series, »The CSO Tsunami Relief Benefit« and many local benefits as well Yoga studios an colleges across the country. Prana has had the honor of giving a personal performance for Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and four pieces from »Waking the Cobra« were used as part of »Live! Light on Life« a performance for BKS Iyengar at City Center in New York City. In 2005 Prana's »The Eternal Embrace« was featured in its entirety for the whole hour of »Hearts of Space«, which airs on more than 230 NPR stations.


As individuals, the members of PRANA have recorded and performed with James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, The Talking Heads, Dr. John, Todd Rundgren, John Sebastian, Krishna Das, Steve Smith (Journey), Doane Perry (Jethro Tull), Graham Parker, Aine Minogue, Maria Muldaur, Barrie Maguire (the Wall flowers), Wah!, David Hykes, Every Mother's Son, Livingston Taylor, The Fugs, Orleans, Peter Yarrow, Tiny Tim, Rick Danko, Leon Russell, and Jorma Kaukonen.

To buy "Gathering In The Light" go to:

iTunes Store

Amazon

Prana's Website

Krishna Das' Website



Baird Hersey's Blog News

Om For Peace

It's a simple idea: gather people together and sing a continuous OM as a meditation for peace. On Easter Sunday March 23rd, 2008 at 6:00 PM EDT, US, people, all over the world, who want to give expression to their wish for peace will gather in groups to join in the sound of many voices singing as one in an extended OM.



Each person, as a meditation on peace, sings their own note at their own rate guided by their breath. Within the group this builds an exquisitely beautiful, rising…

Continue

Posted on March 19, 2008 at 5:00am —

The Story of Our CD with Krishna Das

Gathering in the Light



In October of 2004 Krishna Das attended a release party for PRANA's first CD, "The Eternal Embrace". After Prana had sung, Krishna Das said to Baird, "Let's make a record together or something".



Over the next year the "or something" was Krishna Das inviting Prana to sing at his larger benefit Kirtans in the New York area. As a part of those evenings KD would join Prana to sing Baird's arrangement of his chant "Puja". The combination of the ethereal… Continue

Posted on October 21, 2007 at 7:30am —

Comment Wall (25 comments)

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At 4:49pm on May 27, 2008, Sw. Deva Sakshi said…
Thanks for your invitation! Great page, look forward to hear all this Live in Bavaria, sometimes!
Blessings
Sakshi
At 7:36pm on May 16, 2008, Marco Tonini said…
... Invocation ...
At 6:41pm on May 16, 2008, Marco Tonini said…
Wow!!

I love the first video in your page. It's very hypnotic for me!
At 2:33pm on April 29, 2008, Stuart Hinds said…
Absolutely! Sh
At 12:35pm on April 18, 2008, Raphael De Cock said…
Thanks for your invitation.
Nice to hear what other people do with overtone singing.
warm greetings from Belgium
Raphael
At 8:58pm on April 17, 2008, Bernard Kleikamp said…
Hi Baird.
wonderful music, thanks for your invitation. It would be interesting to meet you in real life. From 15-20 October approx. I am in the Rhinebeck/Annandale region for a conference on Chinese music at Bard College, keep me posted if there's a Prana concert then somewhere in the region.
Best, Bernard Kleikamp
At 6:06am on April 17, 2008, Pedro ESPI-SANCHIS said…
Sorry Baird about the Jay bit...
At 6:05am on April 17, 2008, Pedro ESPI-SANCHIS said…
Hello Jay,
Good to be amongst friends and people who understand the appeal of the simplest instruments on earth. I posted a video clip on YouTube. You can access it if you search for MadoJazz.
Madosini is going to be available in Europe between the 7th and 17th of July. If you hear of any festivals or possible workshops anywhere, she will be accompanied of a little group of musicians including a translator (she speaks beautiful isiXhosa only).
At 9:50am on April 16, 2008, Borys Cholewka said…
Hello, I am a new member Tran Quang invited by Haitians. I am of Ukrainian origin.
I practice many traditions of song and singing diphonique for more than 30 years. I lived in France for Lyon.Je makes me each year in Siberia to Tuvinian to deepen my technique.
I founded the group "Phenomenon". We are eight votes capella men.
I visited your site very interesting. I am glad to know you.
I do not speak English, so I translated the message with the translator of Google.
Sorry if this is not perfect.
With my attention,
Borys Cholewka
At 9:54pm on April 15, 2008,
R.I.P.
Tran Quang Hai
said…
Hi Baird,
Thank you for your music . Relaxing one !
Tran Quang Hai
 
 
 

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