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Scott Eggert is a world musician whose talent is a gift to all of us. He first began playing music at the age of nine when he discovered he had a need to sing and express himself on the piano and those initial steps led him upon a balanced path of musicianship that has not only helped transform his own life, but it has enriched the lives of so many who have heard his music. Throughout his life he has been a studious musician, always looking for inspiration and new ways of expressing his own music in the sonic landscape, especially while he attended Carnegie-Mellon and the Berklee College of Music. Scott has studied composition with Robert Davie, vocal techniques with Sylvia Nakkach of the group Vox Mundi, and even learned elements of African drumming along the way from the legend himself, Babatunde Olantunji. However, Scott cites a particular moment in his life when his entire view of his place in music changed and that led him to where we now find him. In 1993 life for him took a very serious turn both musically and spiritually. A close friend of his passed away and at the subsequent funeral a drum circle formed to celebrate the life of his friend whose life was cut so tragically short. As Scott describes it, that was the first time he felt the sacred in music, and from that point on he has dedicated his life to help others through the healing power of music. That journey has allowed him to focus on learning African and Native American drumming as well as the Native American Flute and the harmonium. In 1995 that drum circle formed a non-profit organization to promote healing through music and went public, appropriately calling it Just Cause. That community grew so much in such a short time that Scott and his friends recognized that so many other people were searching for the sacred in music too so that in 1995 they established a yearly event called the Indian Summer Festival of Music and Healing. This gathering is a free world music festival held at Schooley's Mountain Park in Long Valley. It attracts healers from all disciplines and traditions with performers ranging from African drumming, Native American music, Middle Eastern belly dancing to storytelling, and even massage therapists and Reiki masters giving away free treatments. The path for Scott certainly did not end there. He began exploring ways in which he could personally offer musical medicine to help others through sickness and healing. That decision led Scott on a path rarely open to Westerners: the study of Xoomei, or Mongolian overtone singing. When one considers the fact that Scott began his journey with singing, it makes wonderful sense that this great life would bring the most difficult vocal technique into his own. That particular type of singing is an Asian vocal technique most commonly heard in Tibet, Mongolia, and Siberia and it was the demonstrable healing power of harmonic throat singing that showed Scott he needed to establish a private practice. In 1998 he did exactly that, working as a hands-on-healer using subtle energy therapy combined with healing sound therapy. As Scott describes it, that kind of treatment uses tones as a means of re-balancing the body's energies, clearing emotional or mental blocks, and relieving pain. We are fortunate that the muse has smiled so brightly on Scott Eggert. He now has his own private practice, doing sessions for clients as a Healing Sound Practitioner. He has also begun teaching about the healing power of sound and leads meditation groups in order to explore the altered states of consciousness his vocal techniques can produce. We will all be able to hear some of what he is exploring when his first foray into meditation recordings hits the streets in 2003. It will be titled Akro'asis (Greek for hearing) and will no doubt be a helpful tool for anyone who finds healing in music. --Laurin Wollan, Music Monthly Magazine Check out the artist's website: http://www.scotteggert.net Track List: 1. Akroasis 2. Gandharva 3. Cymatica 4. Prayer for Ela 5. Diatessaron 6. Mourning Dove Song Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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