I’ve just returned to Los Angeles after spending three weeks in Oaxaca de Juarez, the capital city of Oaxaca, Mexico. I gave five concerts, ate world-class cuisine, even brushed up against danger. I took so many photos and videos that I’m contemplating how to share it all with you, too…

Oaxaca is a place we can learn from. It is artistic, colorful, revolutionary, and the attention to detail in the design, architecture, cuisine and culture is outrageous. The prime industry are the arts and tourism, so life is juicy and always vibrant. It was my second time there and my love affair with the city has only grown.

Where to begin? I suppose we should begin where my heart is lingering from the entire trip, the Museo del Ferrocarril (The Train Museum).

The Museo del Ferrocarril is one of the portals into the creative underground of Oaxaca, and the venue for the 5th and last concert of the trip. It is an old, unused train station that has been taken over by a collective of artists from Mexico and beyond. Scattered all over the compound are installations, sculptures, paintings, and drawings.

The energy of the place is vibrant and the art is alive and always changing. I was so grateful for the discovery; it was just the kind of community I adore. The collective of artists are of all ages, and they are inspired, determined and committed to their creative work. Yes, please.

I was invited to perform here by Gabriel Coto, a Cuban-born artist who now lives in Oaxaca, by way of Argentina. Gabriel attended my concerts at Café Central the weeks prior, and we became fast friends. He is full of talent no matter what medium, whether it be painting, sculpture, installations or simple sketches.

At my first show at Café Central, Gabriel sketched these images of me on a napkin using a marker:

Beautiful, aren’t they? He sketched six images in total. The one where my hands is close to my face was drawn while I was playing the harmonica.

It was then that I was asked to give a concert at the Museo del Ferrocarril, where Gabriel is a resident artist.

I was invited to give my concert in front of the trains, but it was a bit too cold outside for such a thing, so I performed inside of a giant building. I took this photo while we were preparing the stage, which was a railroad platform on wheels.

They brought out the chairs, they had food and vendors serve food and fresh, warm punch made from figs, apricots and cider. The perfect drink for a fall evening.

And as I performed the 90-minute set, I noticed my shadow against the blue wall in the side, dancing with my every beat. My friend Bea captured all five of my concerts on video, so I’ll share some moments soon.

After the concert I discovered that Gabriel had been creating paintings of me on canvas. I was elated when I first saw them… and I’ve been debating whether I should share them with you since they are not finished, but works in progress. It is a sensitive thing to share a work in progress.

I am going to show them to you, because I want to celebrate Gabriel’s talent now, in the moment. But let’s honor Gabriel and not distribute these images since they are not the finished. (Thank you.)

This first image was inspired by the insert that comes with my debut CD Vol. I: Battle Cry. Face isn’t finished, of course…

And this next one I like very much too. During my last night in Oaxaca this past Friday evening, I posed for Gabriel so he could get the lines of my face right. He even captured my favorite newsboy hat that I’ve been wearing a lot this year.

Ah, Oaxaca… the city kept a piece of my heart, a part of my soul is still there. I’m going to go begin another blog now so I can share more stories and photos.

There is to be said about Oaxaca. The architecture, the political history, the 2006 revolution, the food… oh, the food. The indigenous Zapotec, the colors, the cathedrals, and last but not least, the Day of the Dead.

In the meantime, here is another angle of Gabriel Coto’s studio.

Feeling pensive and electrified by this performance by Saul Williams on Def Jam Poetry. His work here makes the value of art all the more clear. His discipline and research makes me want to learn history on a deeper level. And his insatiable confidence makes me lean in all the more.

I was in Salt Lake City, Utah for the 2011 Supermoon because I had a concert at the Vieve Gore Concert Hall, then was a guest artist for a few days at the University of Utah, courtesy of the graceful and incredible writer, Terry Tempest Williams. I didn’t see the Supermoon because it was cloudy and raining that night in Utah. But I found this incredible collection of Supermoon photos from around the world.

When you look at these images,  it suddenly feels like the world is smaller, and that this moment in the sky feels a bit more grand. A few samples are below — you can check out the collection here.

New York City

Athens, Greece

Trondheim, Norway

Mexico City

Colorado

My performance and collaboration with David McConville’s at the Morrison Planetarium at California Academy of Sceinces in San Francisco was unforgettable, and is one of my favorite collaborations.

On Thursday, October 14th, David and I presented “Perceiving Home: An Ecological Tour of the Cosmos” to a sold-out audience of 600 at the California Academy of Sciences, as part of their “Nightlife” series.

Here are some statements about the experience:

“In all my years I can’t quite recall another presentation or experience that left quite the same intellectual and spiritual impression – not just on me, but on the whole audience. The unique blend of David’s insightful voice and Christen’s gifted viola playing can best be described as ‘other- worldly.’ Bravo to both of them for a magnificent performance!” ~Christine Arena

“Imagine yourself surrounded by brilliant images of the known Universe in the spherical dome of the Planetarium at the California Academy of Science coupled with Christen Lien’s gorgeous viola playing weaving a tapestry of evocative sound. David McConville’s deep knowledge and delightful humor guides you through the evolution of humanities ongoing love affair with astronomy. From the moment Christen begins to play you are entranced as your eyes take in the constellations…” ~Martine Sweeney

We hope to do this presentation again and again at CalAcademy, or at a digital planetarium near you. If you are able to help make this possible, send a message to christen [at] itsnotaviolin.com.

To learn more about “Perceiving Home” and the technology behind it, click here.

We’re returning to San Francisco for an encore performance!

On Thursday, October 14th, I will return to the world’s largest digital planetarium with David McConville to live-score David’s presentation of of Perceiving Home: An Ecological Tour of the Cosmos, hosted at the Morrison Planetarium at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park.

Trust me, you won’t want to miss this experience ~ this is one of my favorite collaborations and concerts of all time.

“Perceiving Home an immersive journey across vast scales of time and space, revealing the systemic interconnections that create and sustain life. Participants will be guided by David McConville on an interactive exploration of beautifully rendered Earth and space science visualizations, illuminating the meaning behind Buckminster Fuller’s admonition to “Start with Universe.” Violist Christen Lien will provide live musical accompaniment with her haunting ambient soundscapes.”

Translation? David will give an interactive tour of the observable universe using actual satellite images (i.e. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope) that are flawlessly stitched together, while I live-score the adventure with music (new and old songs!), creating an immersive audio-visual experience in the world’s top state-of-the-art facilities. I’ll also perform before and after David’s presentation.

The Morrison Planetarium has a 300-person capacity, and we are doing two shows at 7:30pm and 8:30pm. But don’t let the 600-capacity limit fool you, this event is GUARANTEED to sell out by 6:30pm. Those who want to go for this sonic ride in outer space will have to stay on top of their game to gain entry!

To guarantee that you won’t miss this amazing event, here is what you should do:

1) Buy “NightLife” tickets online beforehand ($12-http://www.calacademy.org/events/nightlife/)

2) Show up before 6:00pm to get in line.

3) Immediately go to the Planetarium Kiosk and pick up a pass right away.

The 2009 presentation of Perceiving Home was mind-blowing, and friends and fans are traveling from far and wide for this show. We hope you join the party at this state of the art facilities. See you October 14th in San Francisco!

As composers, our relationship to sound is intimate.

Explaining the process of making music can be difficult, even impossible at times. There is a magic and power there that we dare not tread and mince into words. Yet we are often asked to describe this process.

When I find other composers, musicians and artists who describe this well, I feel… well, I feel a lot. Gratitude, relief, inspiration, simplicity…

Here are two artists who are both enormous influences on my work explain this mystery of music that we have all experienced, with incredible wisdom and tenderness.

Estonian composer Arvo Pärt explains the notes of “Fur Alina.”

“I’d say that I had a need to concentrate on each sound so that every blade of grass would be as important as a flower.”

In the video below, Björk interviews Arvo Pärt. Quite amazing.

And here is Charlie Rose interviewing Björk. How she describes the “tending of music” is incredibly spot on.

Yesterday I had a photo shoot at the National Gallery of Art in DC for the upcoming interview/story with ReadysetDC. We went to two locations, first was the “La Negresse” enormous cut-out by Henri Matisse. The other was this courtyard, which had AMAZING acoustics. I had to do it, I had to play Unabi… Allyson Behnke from ReadysetDC happened to capture the moment:

(The interview with ReadysetDC will be published next Monday, stay tuned for more…)

I was seduced today, three times.

First, by this quote by Caroline Casey:

“May the entire world fall in love with a woman that changes their heart and may that woman be the Earth.”

::

Then, by this gem by Julie Daley.

I recently read an except from the book A Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony and Melody by David Liebman, and wanted to share this with you:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Like all forms of communication, music consists of the interplay of patterns and violations of the pattern. Without order, sound is noise. But perfect order conveys no message, either. The C major scale carries little musical information because everyone knows exactly where it leads. It is the unexpected that sings to us, the note out of the blue, F sharp as the fourth of the C. But the unexpected cannot exist independently of the expectations it frustrates. Freedom needs an underlying order for it to sing.

The clearest example of transcendence and the given is the tension between the diatonic harmonies that form the basis of all Western art music through the nineteenth century and the chromatic elements that slowly encroached. In the early days it was termed the conflict between harmonies and invention.

Harmony binds the notes that follow; chromatic invention is the liberating knife. But the knife cuts keeply. There is no stopping point in the logic of the blade as it drives towards the absolute, which is entropy’s mortal chill – the incommunicate, random whiteness of noise.

Looked at another way, harmony is reason, dissonance the spirit of passion. Diatonic structure sustains a person’s sanity against the awful, chromatic knowledge of mortality. But only the chromatic can touch the unconscious and set loose its shattering forces.”

~ From The Best of Jackson Payne by Jack Fuller (A. Knopf, used by permission)

It has been 5 weeks since my last blog about the Amazon rainforest and indigenous Achuar villages. I thought that I would have written more, posted more… but the muses have their own way of doing things.

I’ve been writing music this entire time, and in the last 5 weeks have written 8 songs. A few of them combine the viola and the harmonica. Some are only viola, some are solo harmonica. An album is half written, and it snuck up on me. So if you have checked for more Amazon blogs, forgive me for not posting more.

There are stories to tell. Lessons that were learned that are born to be shared. My worldview and peripheral vision has expanded, my understanding of harmony, patterns and cycles is increased.

So here is Tale 2 of the Harmonica Gateways:

Tale 2: Shadows in the Mind of Nature

It was the night before we went to our second village of Wayusentza, where we were to spend the evening with the shaman and participate in a healing ceremony. Our time in the Amazon jungle was half over, and we had all become comfortable in our surroundings; we knew how to avoid mosquitoes, we were accustomed to the bats that resided in the roofs of our huts, and were grateful for our rubber boots and for the mosquito nets around the beds.

What is important to know is that at this stage in the journey of this expedition of women, we were all in the midst of growth, at leaps and bounds. Emotionally and spiritually, we were releasing fears, hopes, expectations and assumptions at light speed. We were learning about balance in deep and profound ways.

It was late, and a rainstorm was brewing; we could see the lightning over the canopy of giant trees in the distance. The monkeys and the frogs had grown quiet.

Some of us wanted to capture the magic of the evening, celebrate it, and give thanks to the forest for providing such a supple and adventurous womb for this self-discovery. So Monica, Katelyn, Cassidy, Katie, Whitney and I put on our knee-high rubber boots, our ponchos and headlamps, and ventured into the forest.

Is going into the Amazon at night a dangerous thing, you might ask?

YES. Hell yes.

Let’s not romanticize the jungle, the nighttime is especially dangerous; it is the hour of the snakes and the jaguars, and who knows what else. But we had to go. Because sometimes, you just have to go to dive into the shadows of the jungle and speak what is in your heart.

We were to sing an ancient Lakota (a tribe of the Sioux Native Americans) medicine chant, and through song marinate in the clarity and wisdom, confront fears, process all that we learned in regards to the health and future of the Amazon rainforest and its native stewards, and most of all, sing, sing, sing our gratitude.

Our destination was a narrow bridge not far from the entrance to the jungle. I led the group with my headlamp. As soon as we entered the forest, the rain fell above us; it sounded like pitter-patter of feet on enormous sheets of paper in the sky.

It’s important to walk carefully through the jungle, whether day or night, because the roots of all of the trees reside on the surface; the soil of the rainforest is incredibly poor in nutrients. Though the oldest trees of the rainforest are enormous, the deepest that roots go into the ground is one foot. Most roots lie on the ground or above ground, and the nutrients come from the perpetual decomposition from the forest’s ecosystem and cycles.

So you must watch where you walk at all times. Walking in the jungle at night is both beautiful and merciless.

We approached the long, narrow bridge.

“Let’s go half-way down,” Cassidy said.

I marched in, but too quickly because suddenly I was face to face with a giant red snake. The longest snake I’ve ever seen in my life.

“Snake! Red snake!” I announced. Instantly I was terrified, the fear in my body was outrageous. (And the next day I learned that this was one of the poisonous snakes of the jungle.) The girls did not retreat, and so I quietly said, “Back, back, back, back…” until they slowly backed up. The snake moved towards me, and I suddenly realized just how narrow the bridge was, just how vulnerable we were.

What the f*ck are we doing? I thought. We were fools. And I was the biggest fool being the one going down since I was having the kamikaze stare-down with one of the jungle’s most feared creatures.

But then one of the girls said, “Christen, no fear! It does not serve us.”

I heard her words, loud and clear.

And so I stopped, took a breath, and then looked at the snake and with all of my ninja and Jedi powers, cast away the fear. The snake’s tongue flickered, then it slithered away. It worked. Done and done.

Damn. Damn!!!

“OK ladies, should we be here?” I said. Who knows what snakes were hanging in the tree branches above and around us…

“Yes, we have to do this. Quick, stomp your feet and show your strength.” So we did.

“Christen, you start us.”

I took my harmonica out of my pocket, shut my eyes and took a deep breath… the kind of breath that you feel throughout your entire body. The kind that reminds you of your existence and your most innocent desires that lead you to your greatest courage. I was trembling. Another breath. Then I played my harmonica…

~ ♫ ~ ♫ ~ I played long, meditative notes ~ ♫ ~ ♫ ~

Then Cassidy started the chant. She and Whitney took the lead, Monica, Katelyn and Katie tone in harmonies, and I stopped playing the harmonica and varied between melodies and harmonies.

What happened next turned into one of the most magical musical moments of my life… And though I wish we could have had this moment recorded, I don’t know if it would have captured what I am about to describe.

We were in perfect tune, humming and chanting in perfectly pitched harmonics. We sang loud, we sang with strength and kindness. I remember exactly what I was thinking about when I sang – “We are here to protect you. You are safe with us. It is time. Give us the strength and wisdom to protect you so that you can help us remember all that we’ve forgotten.”

[Because it's after we learn about the Amazon's delicately powerful ecosystem, feel its ancient rhythm under our feet, learn about all of the medicinal solutions the forest has provided the world, and smell that air... that thick, moist and luscious air...The Amazon then becomes real, personal and truly powerful.

And when the bittersweet aroma 0f its shadow sets in... suddenly, we digest the magnitude of the destruction of the multinational oil companies, who badly want this land. (Remember that the Achuar, historically a warrior tribe, is the only Amazonian tribe who has not taken money from the oil companies, nor lost land to the oil companies. But this grows more and more difficult every day.) It is both beautifully abundant and overwhelmingly nightmarish to stand in the middle of the jungle and consider this. It brought us all to our knees.]

Then, magic. We sang well, and about one minute into the song, the air changed. The lighting shifted. It wasn’t the lightning that cracked above us, it wasn’t something tangible… it was like a bubble or a field around us that expanded, contracted, swelled then expanded until it popped and the entire forest felt brighter, as though it could hear our song. (And in case you’re wondering, we were all 100% sober.)

At that moment, the vibration of our six voices clicked and unified into one clear and unbelievably loud voice. I say ‘unbelievable’ because the entire moment was exactly that to me… the thundrous vibration we created shocked me, and it made me quickly look up and out at the forest and the trees. (And please bear in mind that I’ve been a musician for over 20 years, and I have participated in a lot of stunning musical moments… and this experience kicked all of the asses of the previous moments.)

Then we could see eyes of creatures all around us, watching us. But we each believed that nothing was going to attack. The vibration we were projecting was pure and very strong, and there is a contract of holistic reciprocity and balance that exists in the natural world.

So long as we sang, we were safe. If we stopped singing at this moment, no guarantees. I knew this was the truth. I knew it in my bones, I knew it in my DNA.

I looked up at the trees and vines all around us, and I felt that we six women had a window to the mystery. I’ve never experienced anything like that before… the music. The vibration. The swelling. The close creatures at bay. We were in harmony with the natural world, and its natural flow.

And as soon as we finished the song, we all could feel the shadows creep back in. We could hear the animals slither and and move again. All six of us immediately felt a darkness envelop the space, and quickly we knew it was time to get out of the jungle, and fast.

Immediately when we got to safe ground, I asked the other girls if they saw that vortex open up the way I did… did I only experience this, was this all in my imagination? And they did… It was a moment that left us all speechless about how life worked. I mean, dang, now the learning really begins.

The next day we told the group leaders and Achuar about the experience… we received knowing smiles and further insight.

We went to the second village of Wayesentza, visited their sacred tree that was so tall that it single-handedly held up the heavens, met with one of the most revered shamans of the Amazon basin, and I played my harmonica for the children of the village (per the request of the shaman).

Spectacular.

The Amazon rainforest is nature’s abundance embodied. Never have I been around so many living creatures at once, even in other completely untouched parts of the world where I have traveled and other rainforests I have visited. There is an ebb and flow to when life is taken and life is protected. All energy is borrowed, and is to be returned. Time is not linear. Nothing is ‘built to last’ as we have in our culture; everything made is to be returned to the Earth. Everything revolves around one word: Balance.

And in Balance lies Abundance.

The great Aikido master Koichi Tohei explains in his book Aikido, the Arts of Self-Defense:

“Remember that you live always under the protection of some mysterious force.

This force is nature.

True self-defense does not stop with defending oneself against others, but strives to make oneself worthy of defense by nature herself.

It respects the principles of nature.

True practice must be in consonance with the will of nature… true self-defense must be according to the will of God. When your mind and your acts become one with nature, the nature will protect you. Fear no enemy; fear only to be separated from the mind of nature.

In your heart let there be generosity as large as the sea which accepts both clean and unclean water. Let your mind be as merciful as nature which loves the smallest tree or blade of grass. Let your mind be strong with sincerity that can piece iron or stone.

Repay the forces of nature, work for the good of all and become a person whom nature is pleased to let live.

This is the true purpose of training.”

~ Tohei, from Aikido, the Arts of Self-Defense