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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-July, 2002 SANDI KIMMEL LAUNCHES
Tarrytown, NY – Westchester-based singer-songwriter/music healer, SANDI KIMMEL, is releasing her newest CD, MUSIC IN MY SOUL, at a special concert on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER, 14 at 7:30 PM, at
the Irvington Town Hall Theater, 85 Main Street, Irvington, NY. The concert will benefit Phelps Hospice in Sleepy Hollow, with a portion of the proceeds as well as donations of gently used CDs for the Hospice's
music healing library. Described as a "cross between Irving Berlin and Joan Baez," Sandi is a modern day minstrel using her guitar, her voice and her heart to uplift and inspire audiences worldwide. Sandi's
musical guests for the September 14 concert also appear on the CD and include John Guth, Beddy Sinkoff, Lisa Lipkin Werbin and "With Spirit Sing." MUSIC IN MY SOUL is Sandi's second CD
devoted to the healing power of music. Richly recorded and produced with a full range of instruments and harmonies, the thirteen original songs are intended to serve as a touchstone in troubled times. The CD includes
the single "What Color Is Spirit?" released last fall in response to 9/11. Her first CD, TRANSITIONS,
has sold thousands of copies worldwide and is recognized and valued in many health care settings for its healing properties. The concert, produced by Sterling Heart Music, will take place at the Irvington
Town Hall Theater at 7:30 PM. General admission tickets are $20, (or $15 with the donation of one used CD). For reservations, call 914-591-6682. For more information, or to order an advance copy of
MUSIC IN MY SOUL or TRANSITIONS, visit .............................................................................................. Steel Magnolia Profile: Woman Awakening E-zine WOMAN IN FOCUS: Sandi Kimmel In
each issue of Woman Awakening, we will be putting the spotlight on one woman who has taken the unique gifts which she has been given and used them to make our world a little bit better place. She may be the woman next
door or a celebrity who is known the world over. The important thing about her isn't her degree of fame or fortune; it is her ability to see a need in this world and figure out a way to fill it - rather than just sit
and talk about it. We feature these women because they have accomplished great things that are worthy of celebration, of course. But we also feature them because they remind us that one person can make a
difference...if she is willing to work hard enough! So, in celebration and inspiration, Woman Awakening is proud to announce that our new Woman in Focus is...Sandi Kimmel, Music Healer Sandi
Kimmel says she experienced an overnight change in her life that was 40 years in the making, and now she sees the world from a totally different perspective. Until 1993, Sandi worked in the corporate world, and came
home feeling empty. She assumed that this emptiness was just something everyone felt. Then the relationship she had been in came to an end, and she gave in to misery. She says she spent a lot of time crying, refused to
allow her music to comfort her, and basically curled up in a fetal position to die by sitcom overdose. She couldn't wait till time to go to bed, but didn't rest when she did. She hated when morning came,
carried her misery with her to work and couldn't figure out why she had a knot in her stomach all the time. Miserable at work and facing life all alone at home, she says sometimes she didn't even make it in the door of
her house till she began to cry, which she says was her only way of knowing she was feeling. Normally an optimist, somehow Sandi had become a miserable person who had given in to pessimism about life in total. Then, for
some reason, one day during a walk, she did something that she didn't normally do. To quote her, she prayed this prayer... "Hello, God. It's me, Sandi. I know I haven't spoken to you since I was a
little girl...I don't even know if you still remember me. But I've got a big problem I hope you can help me with. You see, I'm really, really miserable. I hate my job, I'm tired of being alone and I can't seem to find
anything to smile about these days. All I can think about is how awful it will be if I have to live the rest of my life with this ache in the pit of my stomach. It doesn't seem worth it. Somehow, I can't quite believe
that I was put on earth to do THIS. Surely, there's something else I'm supposed to be doing. Do me a favor and let me know what it is. Because frankly, if this is it, I gotta tell you the truth...I'm not interested in
sticking around much longer. So let me know, please. The sooner the better. Thanks." About a week later, she says she had something akin to a vision, like the curtains of her mind had parted. She
imagined a sort of cabaret show for singles. She could envision herself singing and inventing games to help single people meet and have a good time getting to know each other. She knew immediately that this was a good
and marketable idea. Then, about a month later, major layoffs at the corporation for which she worked allowed her to volunteer for a severance package, which supported her while she developed
IceBreakers - Musical Meeting Parties for Singles. Her heart began to fill with joy again, and she knew there had to be a connection between her prayer of desperation and the many sudden coincidences (or
"cooperative incidents" as she calls them) that were happening in her life to move her life forward in a more positive way. Sandi calls this her pre-spiritual period. Then a friend loaned her a copy of The
Celestine Prophecy, and everything clicked. She realized that what had been missing from her life all along had been spirituality. She returned to seeing the glass of life as full to the brim instead of There are two stories
about Sandi and how she uses her singing and songwriting talents from her childhood to help others that touch me deeply every time I read them. Out of all Sandi's stories, I think they grab at my heartstrings the most.
I will share them with you in a condensed version, and you can visit her website to get the full story. In one incident, she was singing at an in-patient psychiatric ward. One of the patients was sitting
there, clad in his pajama bottoms and hospital gown, and seemed oblivious to her music; he eventually walked out during the performance. Sandi consoled herself with the old cliche, "Can't reach 'em all."
Suddenly, he reappeared, sat back down in the same chair as before, and continued to stare straight ahead. But there was something different. He had replaced his pajama bottoms with jeans and had combed his hair. The other story is about Abe, a 90-year-old advanced prostate cancer patient. Sandi had just barely finished her hospice training when she was asked about taking on Abe. She was told he was not in pain, but
that, since he was an old folk singer, he might enjoy some music. So Sandi went to sing for Abe. The two of them bonded instantly and shared weekly musical dates. Sometimes they'd just sing and other times a song would
prompt a story from Abe. He shared his love for his grandchildren, whom he referred to as "some meatballs". When Sandi questioned his term for them, he asked her if she could think of a better one, and she
admitted she could not. Eventually, the two of them began to improvise songs together, collaborating on what was a labor of love for them both. As time passed Sandi grew to love Abe more and more, and each knew that
their time together was growing shorter. She became close to his family as well. When Abe's time was near, he left this world with his family surrounding him singing Kumbayah and Will the Circle Be Unbroken, as he left
this earth for a better world. Sandi was asked to sing at Abe's services and different family members suggested favorites from her songs. But Sandi knew that the song she would do had not been created yet.
She wrote the song and rushed to learn it in time for the service. She recorded it and had it in her car so that she could practice it as she drove. On the way home the night before Abe's service, she was caught up in
singing Abe's Song, when she realized she had taken a different route than usual, and was right in front of the funeral home were Abe was. She said she knew Abe had heard his song before anyone else did!
The service was a joyous occasion - a real celebration of Abe's life. After the formal part of the service, loved ones shared their favorite "Abe stories" and then went to the family's for something to eat
afterwards. There, on the table next to the coffee urn, was the biggest, most beautiful chocolate cake. In yellow icing, neatly written in script, was the inscription: "To Poppy, With Love, All the Meatballs".
Sandi says, "What an honor for me to share my music in many healthcare settings, with the opportunity to reach patients and staff, mothers and daughters and fathers and sons, young and old, rich and
poor, with songs of hope and healing. In any given audience, I never really know who will respond to what. I only know that everyone responds to something. "Music enables us to express all kinds of
feelings and fears, passions and pain. It helps reduce stress, elevate moods, helps us move through grief, fear and pain and express joy, peace and love. Music can literally change the way we feel emotionally,
physiologically, mentally and spiritually. "The special audiences of stroke and accident patients at a rehabilitation hospital continually amaze me with their enthusiastic and heartfelt response. When
we sing together, we all forget the pain, if only for a moment. In that moment, there is peace. The music is like a filling station on the road to recovery. "Friends and family often ask me how I
manage to face a room full of patients, in wheelchairs and hospital beds, pain and sadness everywhere. The truth is that as soon as I strum that first chord on the guitar, I no longer see their illness; but I see their
light, shining as bright as day. "Working with hospice patients is another opportunity to see the soul's light shining especially brightly. While the music is a comfort to the families of patients, it
is the patients themselves who benefit most. I sit by the bed and explain that they don't need to do anything while I'm there - not even smile. In fact, if they fall asleep, I know I'm doing a good job. Inevitably,
there are subtle and not-so-subtle signs of connecting with the music. There, under the covers, a foot moves in time to the music. Or a raised finger keeps the beat. Or a deep, clear smile at the end of a song touches
me to my core... "Of course, I also love singing with people who are not moving on but staying here. I love how the music makes their stay better and lighter and filled with healing energy." Sandi says she has recognized the healing power of music since she was 11, when she first began playing guitar, writing songs and singing. She credits it with helping her through adolescence, her parents'
divorce and her own low self-esteem. She says her music changed her own life from being a miserable corporate executive to becoming a music healer, and has guided her every step of the way. And this
philosophy of healing through music is not just some cockeyed idea of Sandi's, in case you have any doubts. Just to give you an example of how accepted its healing power has become, Memorial Sloan-Kettering and many
other prestigious hospitals, issue personal CD players for patients as they are admitted for surgery, with a list of available CDs attached. Sandi has recently recorded a CD of healing songs, Transitions -
Music to Soothe the Soul. It is being used at bedside at home; in hospitals for pre-op, surgery and post-operation use; in doctor's office waiting rooms; during chemotherapy, dialysis, and other medical procedures. The
music reaches patients, their families and medical staff. It's being played to uplift people in their daily life as well as help others transition from this life. I can personally vouch for the peace and spirit in
Sandi's music, since I haven't listened to another CD since I got my copy. I don't usually listen to music with vocals when I am writing or reading, because it can be distracting. But not Sandi's. It just calms me and
opens me to receive more of whatever I may be doing. Sandi says, "Personally, I can think of no better profession than sharing healing, loving energy through music." As science
continues to discover new ways in which music's healing vibrations effect our overall well being, Sandi says she agrees with Nietzsche who said, "Life without music would not be worth living." But, most of
all, she agrees with the poet Tagore who wrote, "God respects me when I work...but LOVES me when I sing!" Sandi Kimmel, in the depths of her own personal difficulties, saw a need in life to each the suffering
of others with the talent for music God has given her. But she didn't just see it; she put her feelings into action and many lives have been touched by her gifts, including my own.
I would encourage all of you to visit Sandi's website, Sandi Kimmel You can hear Sandi's interview on Wisdom Radio with host Jill
Lawrence on the show Jill & Friends. This 60-minute interview includes songs from Transitions
and stories about music healing. Click the link below to listen. Then click on "Jill & Friends," select "Archives" and scroll down to the Sandi Kimmel interview. E-mail: sandik@musichealer.com |
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