Experience the gift of silence, sound, and listening
Develop your listening skills in community through my workshops, which blend Deep Listening®, movement, meditation, and music.
As a group, we discover the healing power of sound and see how it helps us build connections with ourselves as well as the world around us.
I’ve led workshops around the world, including in Germany, Lithuania, Denmark, India, Mexico, Costa Rica, the United States, and Italy. Venues have included festivals, art collectives, dance studios, and more.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve also held a number of online workshops, including Sound Sangha, a weekly group meditation, as well as movement- and mindfulness-based workshops adapted for Zoom.
Deep Listening
Deep Listening is a practice created by composer Pauline Oliveros. It aims to expand one’s sense of self, cultivate an ability to listen without judgment and unlock new pathways of creativity through movement, dreaming, and listening.
See below for additional information on the structure of Deep Listening workshops. Or you can explore more at the Deep Listening Intensives at the Center for Deep Listening (where Michael is one of the teachers).
Listening Bodies
Along with my partner, choreographer and movement artist Monica Gentile, I developed the Listening Bodies Framework.
Our workshops include elements of Deep Listening, mindfulness, and dance improvisation and partnering.
For more information, visit the Listening Bodies website.
Sleep Concerts
Through music and sound, we can achieve a profound sense of calm and nourish our bodies and minds with rest.
Prepare yourself for sleep, then bask in 8 hours of gentle, ambient sound designed to lull you into a restful sleep and nurture your dreams.
For more information, visit my Music for Sleep page.
Structure of a Deep Listening workshop
My Deep Listening workshops guide participants through a series of exercises, each designed to use listening to make them aware of their surroundings as well as their inner self.
While each workshop varies based on the audience, below is an example of the exercises I typically do with a group:
- Introduction and name exercise
- Warm-up movement to generate energy in the body
- Brief introduction to Pauline Oliveros and the theory of Deep Listening
- Performance of one of Pauline’s scores, such as “Tuning Meditation”
- Guided meditation, focusing on the mindfulness of listening
- Discussion of sound art, including examples of field recordings used to create music
- Discussion and exercises about listening in dreams
- Closing meditation as a group, involving singing and sound
