The Open Eye Theater in Margaretville will host a series of meditative “sound baths” led by percussionist Marcel Smith, with the final session scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 13, at 3 p.m.
Sound baths offer a quiet, contemplative experience in which participants are enveloped in layers of resonant, percussive sound. Attendees may sit in chairs or bring yoga mats and lie on the floor as Smith performs. The series, presented on select Saturdays this fall, takes place at The Open Eye Theater, 960 Main Street in Margaretville. The venue is air-conditioned, accessible and offers ample parking.
Tickets are pay-what-you-will, with a suggested donation of $20, and may be reserved through the theater’s website, theopeneyetheater.org, or by calling 845-586-1660. Tickets can also be purchased online at the theater’s events and tickets page.
Smith’s career in music began in the 1970s, following four years of service as a Navy musician. He studied with Fred King, Morris Idenberg, Warren Smith and Earl Williams, and performed with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from 1975 to 1980, including a six-week run in Paris, President Jimmy Carter’s inaugural gala and an Ellington festival where he played with the Duke Ellington Orchestra under Mercer Ellington.
In recent years, Smith has focused on composing, producing and leading music education workshops while maintaining an active solo performance schedule. His compositions include “Ouroboros,” for eight percussionists, written for and performed by the SUNY Oneonta Percussion Ensemble in 2011, and “Reflective Landscapes of Bardo,” a solo percussion suite first performed in 2012.
