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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 tens of thousands of years old; who knows in what wonderment those early artists were awed by the echoes they heard within the deep, dark caverns? Recent on-site acoustic tests reveal that in prehistoric caves the greatest concentrations of paintings are precisely where echoes are most reverberant; thus it is likely that sound and music were part of the underground spiritual experience of our ancestors. This comes as no surprise. Psychoacoustics research confirms what people have always felt: sound has profound effects upon us. The Improvisator awoke to the sonic 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, California wine renaissance pioneer, founder of Chalone and (with Julia Child and Robert Mondavi) the American Institute of Wine and Food, and himself a music scholar. See the bottom of this page for the (still growing) list of wineries that have hosted The Improvisator's concerts and recordings. People interested in the Sonoma wine country in particular should also explore John Wood's excellent Guide to Sonoma Wineries. Cave Music began by chance in 1986 with the first Carols In The Caves, intended as a one-time-only event as part of The Improvisator's Napa Valley winter 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, the settings for which included a barrel cellar, a night sky, a blazing hearth, a lake's islands, a darkened salon, and a candlelit lodge, throughout the Napa Valley... and, later on, staged World Fiesta, a multi-cultural music festival, for several years at Napa/Sonoma locations.) The response to the first Carols In The Caves led to its continuation, at a variety of wineries in several wine regions.
Cave Music also presents: 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 a challenging undertaking, years in preparation, with expert consultation and specialized gear from around the world. Audio explorer 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, providing a realistic sense of "being there" underground. Beyond wine country, 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. Other natural caverns abound, so keep your ear to the ground.
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