Album Notes

As a composer, I was searching for a new musical project,
when an item in the "Special Requests" section in a newsletter from Family Shelter Service caught my eye:
Soft, soothing background music in CD format.
And that's how the idea for this CD was born.

Family Shelter Service is an organization
located in the Chicago suburbs that provides help
to victims of domestic violence,
including emergency shelter, counseling,
and many other forms of support.
They wanted to use the therapeutic power of music
to help their clients rebuild their lives,
so I set about writing music
to provide a comforting and healing environment.

But the need for kindness and healing comes to everyone
at different times for different reasons.
My hope is that the music on this CD
will help reduce the toll of whatever
kinds of stresses--major or minor,
internal or external, physical, emotional,
or spiritual--you may be facing in your life.
As you relax with this music,
you can also have a hand in helping
others build safer, happier lives,
since profits from this CD will
be donated to the organization that (unwittingly)
launched this musical project.

This CD is dedicated to my friend Kristina.
A talented musician in her own right,
we first met because of our mutual interest in music,
and we spent many happy musical hours together.
She helped me to understand
that while violence and terror do exist,
when someone is treated with gentleness,
caring, friendship, and love--when they are caressed in
kindness--there is great healing power.