Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenny Kolter.
Kenny, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
When folks ask me what I do for a living I tell them I play various instruments as a backdrop for people to meditate and pray.
I have been playing drums and percussion since age 9, and I’ve been practicing Transcendental Meditation since age 12. I guess you could say those were two tremendously formative influences for me. In my mid-twenties, I graduated from Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa with a bachelor’s degree in Comparative Literature. It was there that I was steeped in Ayurvedic and Gandharvaveda studies (Note: Ayurveda is India’s ancient science of health and Gandharvaveda is an ancient Indian tradition bridging music and expansion of consciousness).
I’ve been doing this work full time for 10 years and am blessed that I’ve been able to bring this to mental health centers, cancer care facilities, hospitals, outpatient behavior health centers etc.
I have continued since then to be drawn to deepen my understanding and experience of how music can be used as a healing influence on people and as an approach to raising consciousness, both individually and in groups. Due to my having traveled and performed internationally as a professional musician, I’ve come to recognize that there is the potential to touch many people’s lives with music, especially when the intention is to enliven higher consciousness. Playing the gong, for me, is a wonderful blend of exerting and expressing my spiritual self and my musical self.
I play gongs, Tibetan bowls, drums, rattles, chimes and whatever else I can get my hands.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
When I first started out there were challenges. Mostly trying to convince people that gongs if played with sensitivity and musicality can be a vehicle for quieting the mind. Most people think gongs are a one dimensional in that they are big and brashy with lots of wash and sustain. Gongs are really beautiful when played almost orchestrally where the sounds create tremendous harmonics, sub harmonics and chordal like structures floating around the room.
I share this all the time that people have to encounter this in person; it’s impossible to impart the experience over the phone or in an email.
Please tell us about Kenny Kolter. What are you known for?
Attendees have shared over the years that I have a unique ability to tune into the group energy of the room and play to that. I’m very blessed to share that I have folks who have attended 25+ of my events and they say that each one is different and has its own flavor. Plus I’ve been playing drums and percussion on and off since age 9. I think the biggest benefit that being a percussionist has afforded me is that I have the familiarity of striking something while eliciting tones and texture with sticks or mallets in my hands. There is a certain inherent delicacy or velocity that drums, gongs & bowls need to be played with, in order to coax out either soft, sensitive timbres or intense, boisterous sounds.
What sets you apart from others?
I have clinical experience facilitating events at mental health centers, cancer care facilities etc. I bring a strong sense of musicality combining drums, gongs, chimes, rattles etc … my sessions are very Shamanic in nature. I am a Reiki Master Practitioner and I absolutely love what I do. I also facilitate drum circles which is a blast. I hope I bring a relaxed, open and sometimes humorous approach. I’ve given presentations at medical conferences and I actually was a guest lecturer at my old alma mater for The David Lynch Foundation MFA in Screenwriters program.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I am so fortunate that since day one I’ve had incredible support and people who believed in me. I wish I believed more in myself in the beginning. I spent too much time doubting and second guessing if I could do this as a career. Here I am 10 years later feeling grateful, humbled and blessed.
Contact Info:
- Website: gongmeditation.com
- Email: info@gongmeditation.com
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