a living altar

a living altar is an immersive communal musical ritual that supports reconnection between body and spirit, land and lineage, and each other. The project brings together sound, movement, and installation to create a shared space of presence, grief, and healing. The work centers a plant-based altar that surrounds and holds the audience in a living installation that grows and transforms throughout the performance. Participants will be invited to contribute to the altar by bringing flowers, exchanging cuttings, and taking home living plants at the end of the gathering.

Using voice, viola, prepared piano, alternative tuning of the guitar, singing bowls, bells, and hand drums, the project draws from traditions of spiritual jazz, Aboriginal Taiwanese ritual, Americana folk, and Asian American protest songs. There will also be extended string technique on affected viola. a living altar builds on the work of Alice Coltrane and Nobuko Miyamoto. Improvisation and structured composition are central to the creative process, along with practices of deep listening, breathwork, and collective singing. These sonic elements support a larger communal act of remembrance and rehumanization.