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How long have human beings been fascinated by the spellbinding nature of sound in caves? So very long that we can but guess: cave paintings of our Paleolithic ancestors reveal an aesthetic sensitivity perhaps 60,000 years old; who knows in what wonderment those early artists, shamans and hunters were awed by the echoes they heard within the deep, dark caverns? The Improvisator awoke to the sound possibilities of caves in 1983, when he was invited to perform mountain dulcimer for guests in a new Sonoma Valley wine cave by the late Richard Graff, revered California wine pioneer and himself a music scholar, founder of Chalone Winery and (with Julia Child and Robert Mondavi) of the American Institute of Wine and Food. All Cave Music projects honor his memory. See the bottom of this page for the (still growing) list of wineries that have hosted Cave Music and The Improvisator's endeavors. Cave Music began by chance in 1986 with the first Carols In The Caves, offered as a one-time-only event in The Improvisator's winter concert trilogy entitled "Echoes In The Earth": music in one winery built of wood, in another of stone, and for Christmas, in a wine cave. (Devotees of trivia will be thrilled to know that, in the previous year, he created "Music And The Elements", a 6-month cycle on themes of earth, air, fire, water, darkness and light, with 6 stunning settings: in a cellar, under a night sky, beside a hearth, on a lake, in a darkened salon, and in a candlelit lodge, throughout the Napa Valley... and, later on, staged World Fiesta, his summer music festival, for several seasons.) The response to the first Carols In The Caves led to its renewal and growth, and now audiences look forward annually to concerts at new wineries (as well as old favorites) in several wine regions.
Cave Music now includes: Cave Of The Drums, Cave Of The Bells, and Cave Of The Spirits year-round; echoes in historic churches, cathedrals and interesting spaces with Temple Of Drums, Drums Of Peace and Drums Of Earth performances; Night Voyage: Listening With The Lights Out; and, for people passionate about percussion, The Improvisator's Bring Your Own Drum Show. On April 15, 2006, Cave Music presented "Drums Of Earth: Earth-Shake In Spring," a concert to commemorate the centennial of the 1906 Great San Francisco Earthquake, in one of the city's great historic churches, the 1889 First Unitarian Universalist Church, which survived the quake and the fire that followed. The Improvisator also provides sound adventures for private groups both in and out of caves, encompassing participatory as well as listening programs. The Cave Music recordings series is itself a fascinating tale still unfolding. This challenging undertaking, years in preparation, called for construction of specialized gear and help from around the world. Audio expert Jeffrey Silberman graciously introduced The Improvisator to ambisonics surround sound as pioneered by the late audio genius and mathematician Michael Gerzon and colleagues at Oxford University, thus bringing to recordings the realistic sense of "being there" underground. Beyond wine caves, The Improvisator performed in the 250-million-year-old Lake Shasta Caverns in 1989 commemorating the magnificent cave system's 25th year of public access. A return to natural caverns will be part of the future Cave Music story, so keep your ear to the ground.
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