Subscribe + Connect
Stay up to date on our latest mindfulness programs
Imagine an entire school – students, teachers, and administrators – taking time each morning to turn inward together, and listen to a brief mindfulness prompt and world-class music.
The Well's programs combine best practices in arts and wellness and are designed in partnership with those they serve. How do we create our programs? In partnership with others and especially those we serve.
Music & Art
Mind & Body
Curriculum
Learning & Leadership
Personal Growth
The Field Recording Project is a 2021 commission for four contemporary musicians, Jennifer Howd & Ben Sloan, Christa Ebert/Uno Lady and Liz Wu, to create six short pieces of new music, with accompanying videos, that feature Field Recordings (audio from sounds of real spaces and places) and music to evoke a sense of place and to re-contextualize sound as an aural symphony.
Facilitators from The Well–Stacy Sims and Rowe Schnure–also brought in True Body teachers Sonya Verma and Kami Lerma to Woodford Elementary and the Academy of World Languages for 2nd-grade students to create their own Field Recordings that you can listen to now!
Additionally, students are encouraged to create their own Field Recordings! We partnered with Liz Wu, of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's Sound Discoveries, to provide students with a lesson plan on how to capture sound from the environment and how to create their own compisition in Garage Band.
Read about how these pieces were made below.
And listen to all 6 commissioned Field Recordings, as well as student made selections on YouTube here:
"Fiona's Lullaby" was created by Jennifer Howd and Ben Sloan for Mindful Music Moments. Video by Pat Story. Field samples featured include: water fountains, waterfalls, insects, macaws, flamingos, macaws, ducks, general ambient birds, birds in the zoo’s “bird house,” and gibbons. As well as, piano, cello, bells (all midi)
"Erie Serenade" was created by Christa Ebert, aka Uno Lady, for Mindful Music Moments. Video by Christ Ebert. Field samples featured include: wave sounds from Magee Marsh and Edgewater Beach. Bird, bug, and frog songs from Old Woman Creek, Rocky River Reservation, and Columbia Station Reservation. And the melody from Ebert's vocals.
"Ocean Cycle" was created by Liz Wu for Mindful Music Moments. Field samples featured include: the gentle lullaby of the waves at Myrtle Beach, SC and layered warm and expansive synthesizer and piano sounds in a way that mirrors the soothing movement of the sea.
This project increased awareness of manmade sounds. Recording the natural environment is challenging because human-created cacophonies dominate the soundscape: running engines, ringing phones, passing planes, power and yard tools are much louder than wildlife. Even traffic lights hum. This project made me curious to hear the sounds of old growth forests of the past.
Christa Ebert, Uno Lady
I enjoy how the voices weave in and out of the piece, just as they might do when walking around - at one point you may notice a beautiful bird as everything around you fades away, but suddenly a distant yell, or a faint train in the background changes your focus entirely. The ebb and flow of the music, balanced against the animals and voices created a sense of shared space for me, and a reminder to take it in whenever I can.
Ben Sloan, on "A Train Ride, and a Memory"
Students made their own Field Recordings inspired by the sounds around their homes and schools, with support from Liz Wu and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's Sound Discoveries Lessons.
This music was created by 2nd grade Woodford Academy students through a Kennedy Heights Arts Center residency. Sounds include gongs, chimes, singing bowls, bubble wrap, sticks and paper.
"Friday Flow" was created by Academy of World Language students who participate in the True Body Project after school program.
At Imagine Bella Academy in Cleveland, students in Ms. Pierson's mindfulness class made their own Mindful Music called "I Am Enough" using beatboxing, inspirational quotes, chimes, steel tongue drum, and singing bowls.
Created by Ani Velez, a middle school student at Woodson Junior High in St. Croix. Special thanks to their wonderful music teacher, Ms. Dissinger. Sounds captured from a crucian night time outside of her home.
THIS COMMISSION WAS GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY THESE FUNDERS:
Our Field Recording project was supported by an ArtSTART grant from the Ohio Arts Council. Additional video and site support comes from the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. Special thanks to Pat Story, Cathy Crain and Brian Jorg from the Zoo team.
We'd Love to Hear from You
Many of our programs and practices started because someone reached out and expressed a need. What can we do to support you?
Contact UsStay up to date on our latest mindfulness programs
Our programs have been nourishing the community since 2005. In 2019, we became the non-profit, A Mindful Moment.
Take the first step towards a fuller, more vibrant life. See all that we have to offer!
We are a small yet mighty team, dedicated to making a big difference with what we have. Your support means the world to us.