WOODLAND WINDS: Music of the Native American Flute by Jan Seiden

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~ Nexus magazine

"Not since Grammy-winner Mary Youngblood rose to prominence some years ago has another female player of the Native American flute attracted so much attention and support from within with Native American and music communities. Maryland-based flutist Jan Seiden's career has sky-rocketed since her appearance at the 2002 Musical Echoes Native American Cultural Gathering. Her unique sound, original music and deep spiritual connection carry listeners to as-yet undiscovered places within their own hearts.

"Judged by an internationally recognized jury of recording artists, Seiden was awarded First Place in the Traditional Solo Category of the 2002 Musical Echoes Flute Competition. She has performed on stage with such leading artists as Mary Youngblood and Michael Graham Allen (Coyote Oldman). She has been a featured performer in prime concerts with NAMA-Award Winners Tito La Rosa and with Jeff Ball at Milwaukee's 2002 Indian Summer Festival (one of the largest gatherings of Native American tribes, attended by 65,000 people), as well as a featured soloist at the Baltimore American Indian Center Annual Pow Wows, Baltimore's American Indian Center's Mini-Pow Wow, and at American Indian Heritage Day in St. Leonard, MD. She has played for the Commission on Indian Affairs and the Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum, and was filmed by Maryland Public Television for a program aired in Spring '04.

"Seiden has touched many people's lives with her healing flute music. A special gift of hers is using music for inner healing by connecting people with their own true spiritual natures, transcending age, cultural and religious boundaries. She works with children in Maryland public and private schools as well as with disadvantaged youth in Washington, D.C., in conjunction with the Washington Parks and People Organization; workshop and concert programs in 2004 with inner city youth were funded specifically for Jan Seiden by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the D.C. Arts Initiative. She has led a program of wellness promoting music for hospital patients in coma and with neuromuscular diseases at the Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Maryland Kernan Hospital. She is currently leading wellness and Meditative Journey workshops at medical and wellness centers in Maryland. Ms. Seiden is a featured performer for the Central Office of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C. She is a friend and member of the Baltimore American Indian Center. Jan is a featured guest of tribes ranging from Maryland's eastern shore through North Carolina.

"Ms Seiden has studied the sacred process of flute making in the Cherokee tradition under the guidance of master instrument maker Billy Crowbeak. On WOODLAND WINDS, she plays handmade traditional instruments including three that she crafted under the tutelage of Crowbeak."

---PJ Birosik, Musik International

Nationally syndicated music reviewer

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