Hi Everyone –
Warm greetings and blessings to you all!
May you be filled with lovingkindness.
May you be safe and protected from all inner and outer dangers.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be at ease and happy.
It’s June, summer is here, and life is GOOD. In staying the course with my “mantra” – patience, persistence, and perseverance – a lot of delicious and juicy stuff is manifesting within me and all around me, and I’m grateful for ALL of it!
With this in mind, I offer you this video – http://anhglobal.ning.com/video/the-gentle-art-of-blessing – a beautiful peace on blessing. May it inspire you as deeply as it inspires me. (If you have suggestions for inspirational media to include in a future newsletter, please drop me a line at nathenaswell@me.com.)
REPORT
Here are my highlights from the last month or so:
– Subbing for Mick Dalla Vee in Cease And Desist, a great local rock trio. I had a LOT of fun singing and playing the classics with these guys. THANKS, Brent and Marc – let’s do it again SOON!
– Performing at a House Concert to honour my friend Katherine Read’s birthday. THANKS, Katherine, for the pleasure of serving you in YOUR living room!
– Participating in the annual Vancouver Stick Seminar. Besides learning some very useful new playing techniques, I also got to perform, along with several other great players, at Vancouver’s Jazz Cellar and in a beautiful old house in Vancouver’s West End. THANKS to Tom Griesgraber and to my old friend Greg Howard for leading us, to Jim Meyer for doing his usual excellent job of organizing the event, and to all of my Stick buddies for participating. 🙂
– Performing at Unity of the Valley (in White Rock) with Kristine Theurer (keyboards), Will Firstbrook (guitar) and Lori Firstbrook (washboard). THANKS, Kristine, for the honour of making music with you and your “band”, and to Rev. Julie for the pleasure of serving you and your community. 🙂
– Performing again with my dear friends The Euphorics (an a cappella quartet): Joani Bye, Helen Davis and Bing Jensen. THANKS, gang; it feels great to be back. 🙂
– Honouring the first anniversary of my trip to Los Angeles to pick and purchase my new NS Stick with an e-mail of appreciation to one of its creators, Emmett Chapman. THANKS to both Emmett and to Ned Steinberger for their innovation and commitment to excellence, and to my buddy Don Schiff for helping me to pick the RIGHT instrument!
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
BIG NEWS:
– I’m happy to be one of many people who performs and/or leads local Kirtan gatherings (sacred chant evenings), AND I have a great desire to have a deeper connection with the other Kirtan performers and leaders. In keeping with that desire, it gives me joy to tell you that I’ll be celebrating the Summer Solstice this Saturday (June 20th) by making music with the MantraVani Orchestra. (Details are below.)
– On June 26th, I’ll be performing for the Vancouver Parents Transition Group. (Details are below.) THANKS to Randy Grossman of Harmonizing with Humanity for connecting me with this organization and for giving me a chance to do something “in my own back yard”. 🙂
– The Euphorics and I may be performing in Korea and China this summer! I’ll give you more details as plans are confirmed.
– My late summer Eastern Canada “tour” (Sept. 6-11) is taking shape: I’ll be in Dartmouth, NS on Sept. 6; Montreal, QC on Sept. 8; and Kemptville (near Ottawa), ON on Sept. 10 or 11. (I’m still waiting to hear back from some folks in Toronto.) If you have any other ideas or suggestions for this tour, I’d love to hear from you; please e-mail me at nathenaswell@me.com.
Here’s what my CALENDAR looks like in the coming month. I’d be honoured to see you at any of these events. (AND please remember that I welcome any and all opportunities to serve you with my music; just e-mail me with your ideas at nathenaswell@me.com.
June
20, 8:00 PM – Yoga West (2662 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver) – Summer Solstice Celebration with the MantraVani Orchestra and friends – $20 at the door. (Doors open at 7:30; please bring a cushion and some water.)
21, 11:00 AM – Unity of Vancouver (5840 Oak Street, Vancouver) – Church Service
21, 7:00 PM – St. Andrew’s-Wesley (1012 Nelson Avenue, Vancouver) – Worship Service with Curt Allison
26, 6:00-10:00 PM – Oakridge Senior Centre (513 – 650 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver) – Social for the Vancouver Parents Transition Group (parents and caregivers of special needs children) / Special Graduation Celebration for graduating students with special abilities
28, 4:00 PM – St. Stephen’s Anglican Church (885 22nd Street, West Vancouver) – Jazz Vespers with The Euphorics
July
1, 3:00-4:15 PM – Waterfront Park (200-Block West Esplanade, North Vancouver) – Canada Day Celebration with The Hitmen
3 & 4, 9:30 PM – Lions Den Sports Bar, Boulevard Casino (2080 United Boulevard, Coquitlam) – with The Hitmen
5, 10:30 AM – Centre for Spiritual Living, White Rock (14600 North Bluff Road, Centennial Park, White Rock) – Church Service
19, 10:30 AM – Centre for Spiritual Living, White Rock (14600 North Bluff Road, Centennial Park, White Rock) – Church Service
NEW WEB SITE CONTENT
As well as updating the blogs and calendars on my web sites, I’ve:
– updated my bio and/or personal info on my web sites.
(Sorry, I have no new pictures to share with you this month; I need to remember to ask people to take photos of me with my ever-present iPhone!)
Happy June, everyone. Go with love!
With love and gratitude,
– Nathen
www.nathenaswell.com
www.myspace.com/nathenaswell
www.sonicbids.com/nathenaswell