Agile Vocalist
41 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsAgile Vocalist is a podcast about sound and the performing arts with a California connection. Explore artist stories and learn music history, get inspired, and learn about how sound and the arts impact our lives. Created and hosted by Rachel Medanic, Agile Vocalist is for the curious, the creative, and for anyone willing to explore the connection between sound and our shared humanity.
Agile Vocalist episodes, liner notes, and additional visual materials also available at: https://www.agilevocalist.com
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Episodes
The Language that Connects Us With Poet Ali
March 21, 2024 01:00 - 40 minutes - 28.2 MBPoet Ali is a poet, compelling performer, lyricist, performance artist and inspirational speaker whose performances and presentations focus on connection with ourselves and our environments. As a soulosopher and entertainer, he is a inspires us to use our gifts to catalyze self-discovery and well-being. As an Iranian-American, Ali gives talks for both youth as well as adult audiences and his unique form of spoken word stands out and isn't easily categorized. His TED Talk, the Language of Be...
Learn How to Unleash Your Agile Vocalist, The Podcast Turns Three!
March 01, 2024 02:00 - 4 minutes - 3.34 MB21 Guests and 27 episodes later, Agile Vocalist has hit its three year mark (which is kind of amazing for a podcast). Thank you to my season 3 guests: Cellista, Alphabet Rockers, Rob Jensen and Warren Trezevant, Sonic Runway creators, sound healer & instructor, Melissa Felsenstein, taiko artist Janet Koike, and carillonist, Simone Browne for their amazing sound and arts stories in season 3! Listen to this epsiode to learn how to get yourself listener gifts to unleash your inner vocalist (an...
The Mysterious Carillon with Simone Browne
January 31, 2024 21:00 - 32 minutes - 22.3 MBThe sounds of bells in towers is a common experience to many around the world. But the reality is there is an entire profession devoted to carillons-- actual lever and pedal instruments making the sounds of bells you hear. Carillons exist all over the U.S., Europe and other parts and are commonly heard from the top of towers and built structures. This interview features Simone Browne, professional carillonist and UC Berkeley student who shares how she found the profession and its effects on...
Taiko Beat of Collaboration with Janet Koike
December 31, 2023 06:00 - 41 minutes - 28.8 MBJanet Koike is the Founder of Rhythmix Cultural Works in Alameda, California. She is also the Artistic Director of Maze Daiko ensemble. In this episode she shares her journey from textile fashion design to tap dance to playing taiko, the Japanese drum. Janet's experiences bringing remind us all of the alluring power of sound, how artists are ambassadors for new paradigms, and the power of community that can be created when you bring performing art forms together. Note: An earlier version ...
Sound Healing with Melissa Felsenstein
November 06, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 42.2 MBHave you ever pondered what it might be like to experience a moment of tranquility amidst the chaos of daily life? Melissa Felsenstein, the founder of Innersounds Meditation, reveals how sound healing can be your haven. Melissa used this therapeutic technique to conquer her personal battles with anxiety and depression, but she's also refined it into a unique formula to certify a new generation of sound practitioners. Sound healing has many benefits including healing the nervous system and c...
Visualizing Sound with Rob Jensen and Warren Trezevant, Creators of Sonic Runway
September 30, 2023 18:00 - 30 minutes - 21 MBWhat does it take to synchronize light and sound? Co-creators Rob Jensen and Warren Trezevant, talk about their work creating Sonic Runway, an art installation conceived at Burning Man. Sonic Runway immerses the spectator in colorful synchronized visuals that animate the speed of sound. Hear the story behind their meticulous creation process, making the exhibit first for Burning Man in 2003 and how its success grew to transform it into a traveling exhibit to sites around the U.S., England, ...
Liminal Space: Summer Frequencies
July 28, 2023 15:00 - 6 minutes - 4.36 MBWhat did you do this summer? What's left still to experience? Better yet, what did you hear? July is a liminal space and time to dive into the creative. This summer soundscape is an annual season pause so you can listen to July. Traveling through California, Oregon, and landing in Washington at performing arts family camp, you're invited to come along for the auditory ride. Catch up with any Agile Vocalist episodes you may have missed now as new episodes start rolling out again in Septembe...
Hip Hop for Change with Grammy-Winning Alphabet Rockers
June 22, 2023 20:00 - 47 minutes - 32.7 MBIn 2007, Tommy Soulati Shepard and Kaitlin McGaw formed Alphabet Rockers to make music that makes change. This episode discusses how they met, the wide variety of their performing backgrounds and how they, 3 professional children artists and a host of other artist collaborators use hip hop to put a child's experience at the heart of its message. The Alphabet Rockers mission is to create music that disrupts racism, educates and fills children and adults with messages of hope and joy. Tommy...
Hip Hop for Change with Alphabet Rockers
June 22, 2023 20:00 - 47 minutes - 32.7 MBIn 2007, Tommy Soulati Shepard and Kaitlin McGaw formed Alphabet Rockers to make music that makes change. This episode discusses how they met, the wide variety of their performing backgrounds and how they, 3 professional children artists and a host of other artist collaborators use hip hop to put a child's experience at the heart of its message. The Alphabet Rockers mission is to create music that disrupts racism, educates and fills children and adults with messages of hope and joy. Tommy...
Taking Cello to New Vibrations with Cellista
May 21, 2023 02:00 - 30 minutes - 21 MBExposed to cello at an early age, Cellista broke away from her classical cellist training to follow her calling to create and collaborate with other art forms including beatboxers, spoken word artists, dancers, and musicians. Her work continues to reflect on and engage the cultural circumstances she experiences around her and she produces what she calls stage poems inspired by French Realists that include pillars of music, film, dance and literature. Liner notes and more information about ...
Grace Note: Season 2 Wrapped and You!
April 19, 2023 02:00 - 7 minutes - 5.17 MBSeason 2 has concluded. This episode is how you can (wherever you are!) share in the podcast festivities (listening, sending me an email). Listen as I review the guests we had over the past year, sing you a little song, and recognize some of the amazing people who've supported me in this journey. Season 3 is coming! Listen and then send me an email- this podcast is now big enough that I don't know who you are. Really! Tell me what you do while you listen. Be honest you podcast lullabye type...
From the Mississippi Delta to the Board of the Grammys with Chelle Jacques
January 28, 2023 04:00 - 35 minutes - 24.6 MBChelle Jacques is a career musician, bandleader, educator and more. In this episode she shares the story of her recently launched Daughters of the Delta Project featuring the musical contributions from the women artists of Louisiana we so rarely hear about. She also shares how she got involved with The Recording Academy, best known for producing the annual Grammy Awards. She now serves in a leadership position with the organization's California/Colorado chapter. Hear about the business of a...
Animal Sounds: Metamorphosis and Frida
December 30, 2022 20:00 - 10 minutes - 6.93 MBI talked to Frida the parrot as she was on exhibit as part of a larger an immersive art experience. This Agile Vocalist episode dives into animal sounds and share a one-of-a-kind recording of my interactions with a parrot I went to “interview.” Our interactions proved some of the most varied from any she’d had with other humans, and it marveled her owners, the hosts and artists at San Francisco’s Gregangelo Museum. Liner notes and more are available at: https://agilevocalist.com/2022/12/30...
From California to Tiny Desk Entry with Folk Musician, Moira Smiley
November 29, 2022 04:00 - 50 minutes - 34.8 MBFolk and classical musician, composer, arranger, instrumentalist, and vocalist Moira Smiley has a broad repertoire of mystical and passionate music that pulls your heart strings. And if you sing, you may find yourself learning something she's written. Her songs, arrangements, artistic collaborations, body percussion sequences, and more have captured audiences shifting some from spectator into participant. With her move from California back to Vermont, where she was raised, Moira continues...
Reimaging Opera at Burning Man with Marisa Winter
October 01, 2022 22:00 - 38 minutes - 26.5 MBWhat’s it like to lead the edge of change in the arts? Vocalist, Marisa Winter (Diva Marisa) has done that with her career and she remains driven to offer new audiences music in context. As a classically trained opera singer and Burning Man performer, she shares the impact Burning Man has made on experiential art everywhere. Marisa’s early life vocal experiences at first caused her to reject opera, but then she fell back in love with dedication it required. In this conversation, we explore...
An Indian Classical Voice for Modern Times with Vidya Srinivasan (part 1 of a 2-part episode))
September 01, 2022 02:00 - 22 minutes - 15.8 MBWorking in technology, it’s rare to find someone whose passion is as deeply in the arts as it is in the sciences. With very early life training in Carnatic music, Vidya Srinivasan’s career journey is filled with insights about how she uses a music as a tool for creativity, problem-solving, and as a means for processing life's emotional rhythms. In this two-part episode, we explore her career, the basics sounds and flavors of Indian classical music, and Vidya’s abundant wisdom as well as her ...
The Touch of Music with Dr. Pianist, Makiko Hirata
June 11, 2022 23:00 - 32 minutes - 22.6 MBDr. Makiko Hirata (“Dr. Pianist") is on a mission to promote the power of music to heal and unite. In this episode, she talks about reconciling her training in classical piano with being a woman in music as well as how musicians have a role to play as first responders in times of climate catastrophe. She has shifted her career from being an "Olympian pianist” performer who uses performance to demonstrate ever increasing mastery of challenging piano pieces to instead playing simpler pieces ...
Music for Refugees with Betsy Blakeslee
April 02, 2022 17:00 - 38 minutes - 26.5 MBBetsy Blakeslee’s work has connected refugees with the healing power of music for two decades. She directed expressive arts programs for refugee youth in Bosnia and Croatia during the wars of the 1990s. Since 2016, her Expressive Arts Refuge team and Moira Smiley have been running similar programs at refugee camps in France, Greece, and Lebanon. In this episode she shares stories of how her experiences as a volunteer have touched the lives of Sudanese and Syrian children. She talks about ho...
Agile Vocalist Epilogue, Season 1: Bathrooms, Cars & the Future
March 05, 2022 23:00 - 6 minutes - 4.77 MBIn celebration of Agile Vocalist's 1-year anniversary, this epilogue takes you back through an unexpected trend that emerged with many of my guests about creativity. The theme was this: people are often most creative and get their sound practice and ideas... in the bathroom, specifically the shower. Cars were also a theme as havens for creating. Who knew? Talking about bathrooms, showers, cars & visions for the arts (post-pandemic) are my guests from the past year (in order of app(H)earanc...
Disc Jockeying to Engage with Justin James
January 01, 2022 03:00 - 40 minutes - 27.8 MBWhat is it like to be a modern-day disc jockey(DJ) artist? How, with sound alone, does a DJ engage people they’ve never met to celebrate, raise the energy, hop onto a dance floor, and come together for a shared experience? I talk engagement and the craft of DJing, including the craft of Dance Floor Architecture in this interview with veteran DJ, Justin James. His work leading Justintertainment, an events company with a team of DJs for hire, helps us to understand the power and skill needed t...
Music as Accompaniment to Life, Work & Feelings with Vidya Srinivasan
December 05, 2021 04:23 - 25 minutes - 57.5 MBThis continuing conversation with Indian classical music vocalist, Vidya Srinivasan gives us insights into how she balances a multi-dimensional life with music and how music is a tool as frequently used in her work life as it is in her personal life as a creator and performer. Vidya Srinivasan was introduced to the world of music at age 2 by her parents. Enrolled in music school at age 3 to learn Carnatic music, she gave her first solo concert at age 5. She holds a degree in Carnatic music....
Music as Accompaniment to Life, Work & Feelings with Vidya Srinivasan (Part 2 of 2-part episode)
December 05, 2021 04:23 - 25 minutes - 57.5 MBThis continuing conversation with Indian classical music vocalist, Vidya Srinivasan gives us insights into how she balances a multi-dimensional life with music and how music is a tool as frequently used in her work life as it is in her personal life as a creator and performer. Vidya Srinivasan was introduced to the world of music at age 2 by her parents. Enrolled in music school at age 3 to learn Carnatic music, she gave her first solo concert at age 5. She holds a degree in Carnatic music....
An Indian Classical Voice for Modern Times with Vidya Srinivasan
December 04, 2021 04:21 - 22 minutes - 52.5 MBWorking in technology, it’s rare to find someone whose passion is as deeply in the arts as it is in the sciences. With very early life training in Carnatic music, Vidya Srinivasan’s career journey is filled with insights about how she uses a music as a tool for creativity, problem-solving, and as a means for processing life's emotional rhythms. In this two-part episode, we explore her career, the basics sounds and flavors of Indian classical music, and Vidya’s abundant wisdom as well as her ...
An Indian Classical Voice for Modern Times with Vidya Srinivasan (part 1 of 2-part episode)
December 04, 2021 04:21 - 22 minutes - 52.5 MBWorking in technology, it’s rare to find someone whose passion is as deeply in the arts as it is in the sciences. With very early life training in Carnatic music, Vidya Srinivasan’s career journey is filled with insights about how she uses a music as a tool for creativity, problem-solving, and as a means for processing life's emotional rhythms. In this two-part episode, we explore her career, the basics sounds and flavors of Indian classical music, and Vidya’s abundant wisdom as well as her ...
British Angel for Gospel Music with Opal Louis Nations
November 21, 2021 03:00 - 41 minutes - 28.9 MBGrowing up in England, Opal Louis Nations was passionate about soul music and followed his calling to perform it amid England’s soul and blues scene. In this interview Opal shares the roots of the painful history of gospel music and its evolution through decades of the 20th century to the 1960s. The episode includes rare music from his vast vinyl collection along with Opal's candid and brilliant humor in his short story, The Three Gospel Brushes. In addition to writing, producing, and being ...
Making Music Synchronously Together via the Internet with Brian Walker
November 11, 2021 00:51 - 28 minutes - 64.3 MBIn this conversation with audio engineer, Brian Walker, we talk through Brian's work learning the JackTrip technology. Use of JackTrip dramatically reduces audio latency while preserving original audio quality. The technology allows musicians to make music together synchronously via the internet and can be used for either rehearsals or live performances. This episode contains performance examples using JackTrip from the San Francisco Girls Chorus as well as Brian's singing group, Worldsong. ...
Virtual Music for People Who Are Dying with Jennifer Hollis (part 2 of 2-part episode)
November 07, 2021 02:51 - 18 minutes - 42.3 MBIn this continuing conversation about Jennifer Hollis's music-thanatology work (part 2 of a 2-part episode), she shares her perspective on the future of music-thanatology and Harps of Comfort, an organization she formed that has adapted with virtual music to the circumstances of Covid-19. Jennifer Hollis is a writer, music-thanatologist and project director for Harps of Comfort, an organization that provides virtual harp and vocal music to isolated COVID-19 patients. Jennifer is the autho...
An Art to Comfort the Dying with Jennifer Hollis
November 06, 2021 02:02 - 20 minutes - 46.9 MBThere is a little-known branch of the performing arts that brings harp and vocal music to the bed side of the dying. It’s called music-thanatology. In this part 1 episode with music-thanatologist Jennifer Hollis, she shares what music-thanatology is and the amazing discoveries she made about the field researching her book about the power of music in medicine. Jennifer Hollis is a writer, music-thanatologist and project director for Harps of Comfort, an organization that provides virtual har...
How the Blues Liberated Women with Pamela Rose
November 06, 2021 01:13 - 27 minutes - 63.9 MBPart 2 of my 2-part conversation with San Francisco Bay Area vocalist, Pamela Rose. Originally published: March 2021 as a celebration of International Women's Day. Pamela Rose is a jazz and blues vocalist who has thrilled local and international audiences for decades with her swinging, soulful style. Rose has performed at clubs and jazz and blues festivals throughout the United States, Germany, and Denmark. She has six recordings to her name. In recent years, Rose has toured nationally w...
Women Who Created the Blues with Pamela Rose
October 24, 2021 17:33 - 19 minutes - 45 MBSan Francisco jazz and blues vocalist, Pamela Rose has thrilled local and international audiences for decades with her swinging, soulful style. Rose has performed at clubs and jazz and blues festivals throughout the United States, Germany, and Denmark. She has six recordings to her name. In recent years, Rose has toured nationally with her critically acclaimed show Wild Women of Song: Great Gal Composers of the Jazz Era and her more recent Blues is a Woman, a collaborative show among five ex...
Women Who Created the Blues with Pamela Rose (part 1 of 2-part episode)
October 24, 2021 17:33 - 19 minutes - 45 MBSan Francisco jazz and blues vocalist, Pamela Rose has thrilled local and international audiences for decades with her swinging, soulful style. Rose has performed at clubs and jazz and blues festivals throughout the United States, Germany, and Denmark. She has six recordings to her name. In recent years, Rose has toured nationally with her critically acclaimed show Wild Women of Song: Great Gal Composers of the Jazz Era and her more recent Blues is a Woman, a collaborative show among five ex...
Music as Accompaniment to Life, Work & Feelings with Vidya Srinivasan (Part 2 of a 2-part episode)
October 21, 2021 02:00 - 25 minutes - 17.3 MBThis continuing conversation with Indian classical music vocalist, Vidya Srinivasan gives us insights into how she balances a multi-dimensional life with music and how music is a tool as frequently used in her work life as it is in her personal life as a creator and performer. Vidya Srinivasan was introduced to the world of music at age 2 by her parents. Enrolled in music school at age 3 to learn Carnatic music, she gave her first solo concert at age 5. She holds a degree in Carnatic music....
An Indian Classical Voice for Modern Times with Vidya Srinivasan (part 1 of a 2-part episode)
October 20, 2021 02:00 - 22 minutes - 15.8 MBWorking in technology, it’s rare to find someone whose passion is as deeply embedded in the arts as it is in the sciences. With very early life training in Carnatic music, Vidya Srinivasan’s career journey is filled with insights about how she uses a music as a tool for creativity, problem-solving, and as a means for processing life's emotional rhythms. In this two-part episode, we explore her career, the basics sounds and flavors of Indian classical music, and Vidya’s abundant wisdom as wel...
Interfaith Gospel for Life and Health with Mary Ford
June 23, 2021 02:00 - 20 minutes - 14 MBOakland Interfaith Gospel Choir singer Mary Ford talks about her career with the group and her life roots with the art form. Mary chose the gospel at a crossroads after nearly losing her life on her honeymoon. The power of music on and inside the body as well as the unifying spirit it brings to audiences and performers is featured in this conversation with Mary. Mary Ford has been a vocal performer for 45 years. She has sung a capella, as an accompanied soloist and most recently has been a...
Making Music Synchronously via the Internet with Brian Walker
April 22, 2021 02:00 - 28 minutes - 19.4 MBIn this conversation with audio engineer, Brian Walker, we talk through Brian's work learning the JackTrip technology. Use of JackTrip dramatically reduces audio latency while preserving original audio quality. The technology allows musicians to make music together synchronously via the internet and can be used for either rehearsals or live performances. This episode contains performance examples using JackTrip from the San Francisco Girls Chorus as well as Brian's singing group, Worldsong. ...
Virtual Music for People Who Are Dying with Jennifer Hollis (part 2 of a 2-part episode)
April 20, 2021 02:00 - 18 minutes - 12.7 MBIn this continuing conversation about Jennifer Hollis's music-thanatology work (part 2 of a 2-part episode), she shares her perspective on the future of music-thanatology and Harps of Comfort, an organization she formed that has adapted with virtual music to the circumstances of Covid-19. Jennifer Hollis is a writer, music-thanatologist and project director for Harps of Comfort, an organization that provides virtual harp and vocal music to isolated COVID-19 patients. Jennifer is the autho...
An Art to Comfort the Dying with Jennifer Hollis (part 1 of 2-part episode)
April 19, 2021 02:00 - 20 minutes - 14.1 MBThere is a little-known branch of the performing arts that brings harp and vocal music to the bed side of the dying. It’s called music-thanatology. In this part 1 episode with music-thanatologist Jennifer Hollis, she shares what music-thanatology is and the amazing discoveries she made about the field researching her book about the power of music in medicine. Jennifer Hollis is a writer, music-thanatologist and project director for Harps of Comfort, an organization that provides virtual har...
How the Blues Liberated Women with Pamela Rose (Part 2 of a 2-part episode)
March 25, 2021 02:00 - 27 minutes - 19.2 MBPart 2 of my 2-part conversation with San Francisco Bay Area vocalist, Pamela Rose. Originally published: March 2021 as a celebration of International Women's Day. Pamela Rose is a jazz and blues vocalist who has thrilled local and international audiences for decades with her swinging, soulful style. Rose has performed at clubs and jazz and blues festivals throughout the United States, Germany, and Denmark. She has six recordings to her name. In recent years, Rose has toured nationally w...
The Screaming Fields, Re-examining the Function of Screaming as an Emotional Sound
March 13, 2021 03:00 - 6 minutes - 4.23 MBAgile Vocalist's inaugural compact audio memoir episode. This episode is a personal reflection on and for our world navigating Covid-19 and the treacherous realities of 2020. This compact audio memoir was created as an expression of gratitude for all the people who powered us through 2020: healthcare workers, essential workers, all those whose work is “now seen.” I am so thankful for them and the perils they faced putting their lives at risk to simply “go to work.” This audio memoir is als...
Women Who Created the Blues with Pamela Rose (part 1 of a 2-part episode)
March 09, 2021 03:00 - 19 minutes - 13.5 MBSan Francisco jazz and blues vocalist, Pamela Rose has thrilled local and international audiences for decades with her swinging, soulful style. Rose has performed at clubs and jazz and blues festivals throughout the United States, Germany, and Denmark. She has six recordings to her name. In recent years, Rose has toured nationally with her critically acclaimed show Wild Women of Song: Great Gal Composers of the Jazz Era and her more recent Blues is a Woman, a collaborative show among five ex...
Beatboxing a Path to the Sound Arts with Joshua Silverstein
February 12, 2021 03:00 - 41 minutes - 28.3 MBJoshua is an award-winning actor, comic, writer, beatboxer, and educator whose path into the arts was punctuated by overcoming a speech impediment. The episode also includes his live improv soundscape performance as a meditation for 2021. Joshua’s various performances have received admiration from Norman Lear to Prince. He has collaborated with artists such as Slash (Guns and Roses), poet Ursula Rucker, and Wayne Brady. Joshua has dropped beats for Drop the Mic, a segment of The Late, La...