About
In different forms, The Well programs have been nourishing the community since 2005. In 2019 we became the artist-led non-profit, A Mindful Moment.
About The WellThe Well Commissions and Collaborations
Sound Intersections (2023)
Sound Intersections is a collaborative musical commission, composed by contemporary composer Nate May, with storytellers Omope Carter Daboiku and Talon Silverhorn.
This project will uplift the history and the intersection of Appalachian, African American, and Native American musical traditions within the Ohio River Valley region, ultimately creating compositions of new music for Mindful Music Moments, premiering in Fall 2023.
This project is supported by the Ohio Arts Council, the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation, and Dr. John and Susan Tew.
Neighborhood Songlines: New place-based commission for Mindful Music and community connection. (2022-2023)
Composer Jennifer Howd (collaborator on the very popular Field Recordings including Fiona's Lullaby), returns to The Well to work on a special commission for Mindful Music Moments.
This project is supported by the Ohio Arts Council and the Arts Midwest GIG Fund.
Sound gathering events took place on October 8th, 2022 in Camp Washington during Made in Camp and October 29th, 2022 at Community Happens Here.
Mindfulness of Sound, Space and Place. Creative Co-LAB at the Contemporary Arts Center. (June 2022)
Zac Greenberg (Musicians for Health) and Stacy Sims (The Well) will bring their creative community practice to the Contemporary Arts Center in early June, 2022 to engage families, teens, staff and museum guests with sound and movement play to experientially remap and explore Zaha Hadid's building. This residency will result in multiple guided architectural journeys with music, co-created by the guests who experience the Co-LAB.
Interested in collaborating with us? Reach out.
Creative Connections/Sound Explorations for Individuals with Dementia and their Caregivers (April-June 2022)
This spring, The Well and Musicians for Health will team up to bring Mindfulness, Music and Sound Healing to individuals with dementia and, on select days, to caregivers for 10 weeks. This work is part of the Giving Voice Collaboratives ongoing Creative Connections program. During the weekly sessions, Stacy Sims and Sonya Verma from The Well will provide a consistent rhythm of music listening, easy movement, and sharing as appropriate/available from the participants. The last two or three sessions Zac Greenberg, of Musicians for Health, will perform live music for the group.
Learn more about "Creative Connections/Sound Explorations" here.
Sound Explorations/Deep Learning at Woodford Academy and AWL (February-May 2022)
Over the course of 14-weeks, Stacy Sims and Sonya Verma will work with 2nd grade students, once a week, at Woodford Academy in partnership with Kennedy Heights Arts Center. Stacy and Sonya will lead mindful listening and movement activities, as well as lead students in creating their own Field Recordings for Mindful Music Moments.
Rowe Schnure will support True Body teacher Kami Lerma at the Academy of World Languages in a similar project for after-school. Many Mindful Music schools will be creating their own new music.
Learn more about our "Field Recordings" project here.
Mindful Music for the Workday (2022)
In 2022, The Well partners with the Columbus Symphony to support workplace well-being with a custom Mindful Music playlist for use throughout 2022. Each week, participating workplaces receive a new mindful meditation paired with a gorgeous musical selection.
Interested in Mindful Music for the Workday? Reach out.
Mindful Education at Imagine Bella Academy (August 2021-May 2022)
In 2021, The Well partnered with Imagine Bella Academy of Excellence staff in Cleveland, Ohio to provide a Mindful Educator for their 2021/22 school year. Thanks to Imagine Bella’s Wellness Fund and support from the Ohio Arts Council toward our My True SELF (social emotional learning fun) program, Kara Pierson, a Mindful Music Moments voice and founding Wellspring Fellow, is in the school 3-days a week working with students in Mindful Specials to deepen their Social-Emotional Learning.
Learn more about "Mindfulness Education at Imagine Bella Academy" here.
Field Recordings/New Music (August 2021-May 2022)
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 sort of aural symphony.
Learn more about "Field Recordings/New Music" here.
Mindful Sound Healing Moments (2021)
As part of Sarah Yeung's 2021 Wellspring Fellowship, she collaborated with The Well to create Mindful Sound Healing Moments for students and teachers who participate in Mindful Music Moments.
Learn more "Mindful Sound Healing Moments" here.
Mindful Poetry Book: 2nd Edition (2021)
In April 2021, poetry lovers from all over the world celebrated National Poetry Month with Mindful Poetry Moments, a collaboration of The Well and The On Being Project, supported by The Hive, The Mercantile Library, and WordPlay Cincy. At the end, we created a 6"x9", 80+ page compilation of poems as our Mindful Poetry Book: 2nd Edition.
Purchase a "Mindful Poetry Book: 2nd Edition" here.
The Land Acknowledgement (2021)
At The Well, we became curious about what a land acknowledgment means through the perspective of a Native American poet. So we commissioned Jheri Neri, the Executive Director of the Greater Cincinnati Native American Coalition (GCNAC), to write a poem about the land acknowledgment, shared below.
Learn more "The Land Acknowledgment" here.
"Home" an All Ohio Commission (2021)
In the Spring of 2021, thanks to the support of Dr. John and Susan Tew, Mindful Music Moments commissioned Dr. Brian Raphael Nabors to create four new selections, inspired by students feedback. This inspiring new work, the first collaborative performance of all three Ohio orchestras: The Cleveland Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Columbus Symphony.
Learn more about the"All Ohio Commission" here.
Three Sisters Podcast (2020-21)
Three Sisters, a Podcast from The Well, shares the stories of sisters Devona, Rana, and DeAndra. The maternal sister, the rebel sister, and the baby girl explore their familial foundations in faith and music to speak on themes such as change, suffering, celebration, love, and the meaning of life, together.
Learn more and listen to "Three Sisters" here.
Mindful Poetry Book: The Pandemic Collection (2020)
In April 2020 we had the unique opportunity to gather poetry lovers from all over the world, virtually, to contemplate, respond and celebrate Mindful Poetry Moments, a collaboration between The Well and The On Being Project, with support from The Hive, WordPlay and The Mercantile Library. In the end we published a 6"x9", 75+ page compilation as our "Pandemic Collection."
Purchase a "MIndful Poetry Book: The Pandemic Collection" here.
Camp cARTwheel (2020)
In 2020, The Well invited ArtWorks and Wave Pool to team up to create Camp cARTwheel, a virtual arts and culture camp, presented by ArtsWave. At the heart of Camp cARTwheel were cARTwheel Camp Kits that came with art-making activities and supplies, along with an additional “channel” with videos and supporting documents. Additionally, we hosted a live virtual camp experience that brought together campers, artists and art organizations in a delightful virtual camp.
Learn more about "Camp cARTwheel" here.
UC Health/WLNS 102 (2020-Ongoing)
In early 2020, The Well began a collaboration with UC Health's Integrative Medicine Center to bring Mindful Music, Poetry and Guided Meditations to patients, caregivers and staff across multiple buildings. In addition to audio offerings, The Well and UC Health piloted a Patient Wellness Channel, WLNS 102, on in-room televisions or tablets.
Learn more about "UC Health/WLNES 102" here.
Calm Corner at Schiff Wellness Center (2018)
In 2018, The Well created a special Calm Corner at the Schiff Wellness Center at the Academy of World Languages. This space was designed in partnership with ArtWorks, inspired by the Cincinnati Art Museum's Rosenthal Education Center, for children and families to stretch, breathe and create while waiting to see the doctor.
Learn more about "Calm Corner at Schiff Wellness Center" here.
Sempre Sano / Music Resource Center (2018)
In 2018, we commissioned Brian Raphael Nabors and Max Raphael to create two compositions with Cincinnati's Music Resource Center youth for Mindful Music Moments’ 2018/2019 playlist. Thanks to Dr. John and Susan Tew for supporting this commission.
Learn more about "Sempre Sano/Music Resource Center" here.
The Light in Me: New Music Commission for BLINK Festival (2017)
In the summer of 2017, children from Cincinnati’s UpSpring summer camp for homeless youth wrote poems about how they find the light, even during dark times. Cincinnati-based composer/multi-instrumentalist Peter Adams put their poems to music for BLINK Festival 2017.