New York, USA
Proclaimed as one of the “purest contemporary voices” by NPR, powerhouse Amikaeyla is a force for change. Winner of twelve WAMMY Awards for Best Jazz, World and Urban Contemporary Vocalist, MTV says “her sultry sound is like listening to velvet waterfalls, and her soulful flavor captures the listener with dynamic passion and sincerity”. She serves as a Cultural Ambassador for the US State Department and has done expansive work in the health arena for over the past 20 years promoting healing and wellness through the arts & activism. As the Founder and Executive Director of the International Cultural Arts & Healing Sciences Institute (ICAHSI), she uses her voice and her organization as a catalyst for the voices of those that are not often heard.
Her “Music As Medicine – Healing with an Artful Purpose” programming – a multi-faceted therapeutic approach through music, movement, & theater modalities has been implemented around the world to at-risk women and children hoping to aid in alleviating pain and trauma caused by war and has been utilized by the Department of Health & Human Services, The American Psychological Association, and the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, taking her around the world to Israel, Beirut, Amman, Damascus, Palestine, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Nigeria & Sierra Leone just to name a few. Her extensive studies with traditional healers, herbalists and cultural artists around the biological and psychological healing effects of music led to the personal invitation by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to perform in India at the Inaugural Festival of Sacred Chanting and Singing for the commemoration of the Golden Buddha. She is a nuanced thought-leader and a sought-after public speaker and performer appearing internationally in radio, tv, & film with appearances on PBS, HBO, and in the Sundance Film Festival, and is the proud recipient of the Voss Foundation Emerging Leaders Women Helping Women Award, UN Global Woman Award, the Pioneer Award for Exemplary Leadership and Outstanding Service in Social Justice and Advocacy Award, and the Hero for Peace and Forgiveness award. www.ICAHSI.org
Music As Medicine – Sonic Healing Activism and Healing Through Sound and Song This world can feel chaotic and unsafe for many, especially if you feel unheard and paralyzed internally. By feeling the power of your breath and voice, you can activate your inner power to make change not only in yourself, but also in your community and your world. We will dig deep and look at what keeps us from expressing our true thoughts and feelings, and how that has an effect on us physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and how, through the healing power of sound and song, we can change that paradigm and enter into a blissful state of wholeness and alignment.
Elemental Medicine Woman- Wisdom of Spirit Sound Working with sacred chants and songs to call to the natural spirits and ancestors, we delve into the knowledge from various global traditions. This workshop teaches the ancient tradition of singing with large groups in what is known as a circle song. Utilizing the traditions of various cultures, both ancient and contemporary, we focus on developing and improving playing techniques and our own rhythmic vocabulary, and together, we experience the unifying and revitalizing effects of group playing, toning, and singing.