SLOW DOWN! Doesn't it seem like we are all trying to slow down? Well, at the end of May I found one guaranteed method for slowing down, I broke my right ankle. I certainly do not recommend this method, but I am taking advantage of the slow pace for some reflection, dreaming, and creating.

During the time of year when I am forming my Camarada concerts I cannot create anything until I take some quiet, slow moments. While I am running at a fast pace there is no inspiration. If I slow down, all of the information comes to me. These slower, quieter moments are when my life decisions come together. I think that we all need this creative time in our lives for a variety of reasons.

Attending a concert to enjoy music is the perfect "slow down" time. Besides just plain common sense, there is a scientific reason for listening to music. To quote from Andrew Weil, "An intriguing aspect of the sound of music is entrainment - things vibrating in proximity to each other tend to synchronize their frequencies as they come closer together. (I think the entrainment factor is part of the reason smaller more intimate concerts are generally more moving & powerful.) The rhythm of music can entrain you... as you're listening to music notice how your body moves in response to it. Walking along a beach and hearing waves meet the shoreline can entrain your breathing and heart rate as well as your brain waves, resulting in deep relaxation."

I invite you to "slow down" and be inspired by our concerts this year. We offer many intimate venues with the chance to "entrain" with the sounds of our music including: the Gallery Series in Little Italy hosted by the artistic Patrick Moore Gallery; the majestic, Great Hall at St. Paul's Cathedral, the acoustically superb and beautiful Neuro- sciences Institute in La Jolla, and the most intimate concerts in private homes with the Cabernet Series. Please refer to the concert descriptions for details.

Camarada has a variety of refreshing concerts for you to experience this year. We offer soulful music of inspiring sounds in intimate atmospheres. Please consider joining our ensemble as a member/subscriber to benefit from our discounts and also to show support for our musical mission. I encourage you to schedule some time for entrainment, entertainment, relaxation, education, creating, dreaming, and just plain fun. While there are many ways to slow down (including breaking an ankle), I ask you to please choose Camarada's concerts for an uplifting year of music.

Beth Ross-Buckley,
Artistic Director