Composer Pauline Oliveros’ trainings in Deep Listening are conducted in immersive retreat settings each summer and the locations are usually pretty spectacular, if remote. Participants bond over meals and recreation and begin morning and afternoon sessions in meditation. In addition to Oliveros’ informal instruction, the new age-y atmosphere includes discussion and sharing, an introduction to Tai Chi, and sometimes personal and group healings through sound. Though the work is not strictly for composers, everyone is encouraged to come up with a new composition to be performed toward the end of the week.
I had a memorable time attending a retreat at Rose Mountain, New Mexico, summer 1995. It was an emotionally turbulent but transformative period in my life and I was glad that I made the trek, committed the funds and showed up with an open mind (and ears). By the time I went home, I’d experienced music from a relaxed, intimate and free perspective (a dramatic change from my hectic life as a record producer), also made some new friends and earned a nifty certificate to boot.
The 2010 retreat schedule has just been announced:
July 6- 11, 2010 Nau Côclea Art Center, Camallera, Alt Empordà, Girona, Spain
August 2-6 2010 IONS Retreat Center, Petaluma, Sonoma County, California, USA
Once again the faculty also includes Pauline’s partner Ione, who’s a priestess and author and dream-weaving expert, and the Tai Chi instructor Heloise Gold. More information available at www.DeepListening.org.
My past profiles of Pauline and further attempts to explain Deep Listening are available here:
“Making Conscious Connections”
“A Musical Adventurer Begins by Listening”
Our 1995 retreat coincided with the Summer Solstice, which inspired a grand ritual on the mountain top and lots of cross-dressing. Yes, I had brought along a wig, just in case:
With Pauline Oliveros on a Deep Listening retreat, New Mexico, 1995.
