Healing Sound Journey

Healing Sound Journeys with Creativity Alive

Lie back and listen, relax, unwind and release into your dream space as we take you on a healing sound journey -- part of a series by Creativity Alive founder Merlyn Holmes, with rotating guest artists.  This journey will be with Merlyn and Richard Turco. Instruments to include Chinese wind gongs, ngoni, saxophones, flutes, upright bass, cello, bells, percussion, and voice.  Take a peek! youtu.be/oGdaC84rD5s    

     This series is free to our community thanks to Community Foundation: Boulder County!  Tips appreciated!  (See more, please >>) 

Linger to connect with others after the event.

Limited to the first 50 to register. A waitlist will be available in case we can open it to more.  

What else to bring? Yoga mats, bolsters, blankets provided on site. Bring anything else to make yourself comfortable for the journey.  

Sign on to www.CreativityAlive.org to stay in the loop regarding details, last-minute changes, and future invites.

About guest musician Richard Turco:

Richard Turco is an Italian-born woodwinds and string player. He graduated from the Berklee College of Music with a Bachelor of Music in professional music as a saxophone player. He has played at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and given many local jazz, celtic, and bluegrass performances in the Boulder/Denver area. He served as the director of the top 3 jazz ensembles at the University of Northern Colorado, and has performed in a number of modern jazz/improvisation settings on KGNU. He has received an Award of Excellence at the American College Theater Festival and a National Endowment for the Arts grant.

Richard now enjoys playing an array of instruments, including 

- tenor, soprano, and alto saxophones

- flute, bass flute, and picallo

- upright bass and cello

At heart though, Richard most loves to attune to the audience and other musicians to provide the best improvisational experience for all in that moment of time.

About Merlyn Holmes: 

Merlyn Holmes is the founder and vision-keeper of Creativity Alive. She is a dancer, writer, photographer, musician, and lover and cultivator of all art forms -- as well of the artists-in-all-of-us. Her mission through Creativity Alive is "To inspire creativity & To build community." 

     Four Chinese Wind Gongs have served as the "bronze lining" of the pandemic for her, for they began arriving by chance in her living room early in the pandemic in 2020 and became her go-to source of wonder and curiosity in the midst of it all, along with an ngoni hand-crafted for her by Boulder artist and friend Jahanara Mangus during the first year of the pandemic.  Merlyn began sharing sound journeys with the public in 2021 and has prioritized this as a primary goal for Creativity Alive in 2022 to help bring healing to our community in the aftermath of the pandemic, the mass shooting at King Soopers, the Marshall Fire, and all the challenges and delights of life.

What others say about Merlyn's sound journeys:

"This was an amazing experience. Mer has a true gift and has such a welcoming spirit, she’s a master of her art. Just sitting in the energy of the gongs is almost indescribable. I was able to totally and completely relax my body and mind and let the sounds and vibrations of the gongs and other instruments wash over me. After the session I felt lighter and more balanced, I was able to sleep better and felt more free. Totally, 100% recommend!"

-- Sarah Hinton

“That was awesome. I've never heard gongs like that. They really are sound beings. They were telling a story and making me feel all kinds of different things. There were ups and downs, anticipation, deep, powerful. I felt in my primal power.

     I've been to a lot of gong baths but never experienced what you've delivered. Now this is a problem; every gong bath will be very disappointing.

     I want to hold onto this as long as I can."

-- Chastity

“I didn't know what to expect.  This blew me out of the water.

     I felt like it was a choir of ancestors singing to me.  It was like a bunch of monks circling in a small cave in a deep meditative Om style.  I heard the voice come into that.  It was like this angelic presence.  I was wondering 'Is there music playing over here?  Am I imagining this? Oh wait.'  I thought I was creating music myself in my head to go with it.  It felt like it was me. I was creating it, but after some time I realized ok it's Mer; it's in this room.   I started humming.  It sounded like we were making music.

     I booked Mer for a private session during a destination girls trip in Boulder. I was just expecting a typical gong sound bath, but it was far more than I could’ve ever imagined. I really understand why she calls her gongs “sound beings” and felt as though I was enveloped by them and taken to another dimension. She provided such a calm, open, and nurturing energy that made us all very comfortable and open to receive and connect. The incorporation of complementary sounds was beautiful, unexpected and truly elevated the experience.

     Do not hesitate to join her for a session! I wish I lived there so I could attend regular offerings.”

-- Kalyn Essex

"I was amazed by the deep, hypnotic sounds resonating off the gongs; that had a primordial quality and felt like successive waves welling up from the deep bowels of earth, washing over us. The gongs also sounded at times like echoes descending from heaven.  It’s as if heaven and earth had merged to wrap the participants in a big warm embrace.  The gong bath felt mystical, and grounding.

     I also love the little bells occasionally chiming softly in the background; beckoning us with their sweet ethereal sounds.     The rippling creek added a lovely, soothing layer to the marvelous gong symphony."

-- Julie Chai