SOUND BATHS

Sound baths essentially are rejuvenating experiences that use acoustics as the medium. Many beneficial health effects from music and intentional sound are well documented clinically and anecdotally, and this has been understood in various ways for millennia. Mesmerizing, compelling, droning and over-toning, harmonic and dissonant sounds can all be used to improve health by reducing stress, refocussing the mind, calming the nerves, and relaxing the body.

During an acoustic rejuvenation journey, or sound bath, participants are guided into a relaxed state typically while lying down and simply let the sound carry them on a journey of unlimited possibility with relaxation as the main goal. Practitioners develop their own styles, and sound baths can take on a great variety of tones and feelings - Samer weaves acoustic space with vocals & shrutibox, tuning forks, large and small tamtams (gongs), several singing bowls, handheld crystal instruments, shakers, bells, and chimes. This expansive and beautiful sonic experience leaves one in a state of deep satisfaction and mega-relaxation, and reads as a miraculous sort of micro-vacation, often feeling like just 10 minutes have passed, participants nearly glued to the floor in ecstasy.

SAMER GHADRY

Was born into a Syrian-Lebanese family and took to music at a young age. He sang spirituals in elementary school and began learning drumset at home at age 14. While attending Brown University he deepened his interest in Jazz through lessons and combos, while forging important relationships with musicians Andrew Fox and Dave Harrington. During a gap year he travelled New Zealand and met Chief White Cloud from Vancouver Island during a Lakota Sundance and had the honor of playing the drum during the 4-day spiritual ceremony.

After graduating with a BA in Sociology (2006) Samer moved to New York City to reunite with childhood music partner Juan Pieczanski (Small Black, Pitchfork) and would play in several bands including Dave Harrington Group, Deradoorian, and Matthew Dear Live (with whom he opened for Depeche Mode on five dates in Europe, 2013). He formed his own projects and produced two self released drone based albums, ETDH (2016) and Rudolph (2018). His solo gong meditation album Soft As Metal is due to release April 2024.

In January 2018 Samer began learning sound healing with various teachers and institutions in NYC and upstate New York, and has been actively working, learning, and practicing in the field ever since. He has repeated intensive training courses and served in assistant positions with Sage Academy of Sound (Woodstock NY) and 9 Ways Academia (Perkasie, PA), apprenticed with energetic healer Rebecca Singer, learned with and assisted for Dr. John Beauliue (Biosonics tuning forks), and has attended and assisted classes with legendary gong guru Don Conreaux. He continues taking courses with 9Ways Academia and actively assists classes in person and online with Dr John Beauliue, while mentoring privately and offering group workshops.

Photo from Basilica Hudson performance by Sam Marble, 2022

As a percussionist and improvising musician Samer leans into the musical sensibilities that transcend sound healing over millennia. He offers recurrent sound meditation experiences at studios, private events, and for corporations. He has played at Basilica Hudson, The Rubin Museum of Art where he also consulted on their Mandala Lab, and for Metropolis Ensemble’s 2023 Soundgarden: Biophony at the Brooklyn Botannical Gardens. In March 2022 Samer took up a monthlong music residency program at Pioneer Works where he engineered and recorded his array of large gongs. In the same year Samer kicked off Spontaneous Space, a collaborative concert series at the Greenpoint venue IRL, inviting friends Greg Fox, Yuka Honda, Billy Martin, Dave Harrington, Angel Deradoorian, Jeremiah Cymerman, David Lizmi, and Eliot Krimsky into live improvisatory explorations that featured the artists’ natural styles fused with Samer’s approaches to music more typically associated with “sound healing”. He is set to release his first album from this period in early spring 2024. He appears in recorded works such as Alanis Morissette’s The Storm Before The Calm and the award winning film Everything Everywhere All At Once, playing gongs and bowls.

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2001/2006 - Music student (jazz drumming, jazz combo, West African drumming, Mid-East ensemble, Afro-Latin jazz ensemble) at Brown University
2008/2019 - Drummer/composer with Dave Harrington Group
2010/2015 - Singer, guitarist, percussionist with Matthew Dear Live
2018 January - Attendee: Intro to Sound Healing 40hr course with Katie Down and Jessica Caplan at Maha Rose, Brooklyn NY
2018 April/September - Attendee: Sage Academy Sound Healing 100hr Certification Course, Woodstock NY
2018 October - ToneCenter opens at 339 Bedford Ave in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
2018 October - Attendee: Don Conreaux 35hr Gong Camp at Ananda Ashram, NY
2018/2019 - Drummer: Deradoorian’s Find the Sun recording session, Marin Valley CA
2019 Apr/Sept - Assistant: Sage Academy 100hr Certification Course, Woodstock NY
2019 Apr/Mar 2020 - Energetic Healing Studies with Rebecca Singer, Lake Hill NY
2019 July - Attendee: 1st annual 6-day Gong Summit in-person with Sheila Whittaker, Jens Zygar, Michael Bettine, Mike Tamburo, hosted by Dr. Mitch Nur, Chester CT
2019 October - Assistant: Don Conreaux 35hr Gong Camp, Monroe NY
2019 November - Reiki Lvl 1 Certification at Maha Rose, Brooklyn NY
2020 January - ToneCenter closes at 339 Bedford Ave
2020 July/September - Attendee: 9Ways Academia Physics and Metaphysics courses online, and 5-day in-person studies with Dr. Mitch Nur, Perkasie PA
2020 August - Attendee: 3-day Gong Summit Online with 9Ways Academia
2021 June/Sept - Assistant teacher: Sage Academy 100hr training course, Woodstock NY
2021 August - Attendee: 3-day Gong Summit Online
2021 September - Assistant: Don Conreaux 35hr Gong Camp, Monroe NY
2021 October - Guest Performer and Attendee: 9Ways Academia 10-day Gong Camp in-person, Perkasie PA
2021 November - Online attendee: 9Ways A-Krid Dzogchen Ngondro with Khenpo Ratsa Geshe Tenzin Dargye Rinpoche
2022 February - 9Ways Academia Sonic Theology Metaphysics 5-day course online
2022 March - Music Resident: Pioneer Works, Brooklyn NY
2022 March - Musician (gongs, bowls) in Son Lux’ soundtrack for Everything Everywhere All At Once
2022 April - 3 live sound baths for the Rubin Museum’s re-opening after covid shutdowns
2022 June - Assistant teacher: Sage Academy 100hr certification course, Woodstock NY
2022 June - Musician (gongs and bowls) on Alanis Morissette’s album Storm Before the Calm
2022 October - Assistant and attendee: 9Ways Academia 11-day Gong Camp, Perkasie PA
2022 September - 3hr performance at Making Time♾️ at Fort Mifflin, PA
2022 November - Assistant: John Beaulieu’s Shift Network 6 week Advanced Course
2023 Feb - Performer: Metropolis Ensemble Soundgarden Biophony at Brooklyn Botanical Garden, NY
2023 March - Attendee and assistant: 9Ways Academia Metaphysics 9-day course online
2023 March/June - Teacher: Golden Calm sound meditation for seniors through Brooklyn Music School, NY
2023 July - Sound healing retreat facilitator: Climate Hang in Taos NM
2023 Sept 23-24 Two performances at Making Time♾️ music festival, Pennsylvania PA
2023 Oct - Sound Meditation Demo for Teachers, Rubin Museum of Art NY
2024 Jan/Feb - Assistant for John Beaulieu’s Shift Network Course Biosonic Tuning Fork Frequencies
2024 April - Greenwood Cemetery Eclipse performance with Pioneer Works

SOUND BATHS

SAMER GHADRY

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