game: sound balm is a playful and intimate sound art performance that follows (and breaks) the rules of a dice-based game. We sound objects that hold meaningful connections. We engage musical practices of improvisation, instructional prompts, chance operations, prepared instruments, and speaking percussion.

game: sound balm is a container grown from our work as educators, care workers, and percussionists. It's a place where we interrelate our relationships with loss and grief, religion and spirit, and chronic illness — where we center care and a deeper listening to the body, our instruments, and one another. Here, we develop a practice of somatic embodiment within the ways we listen to and treat our bodies before, during, and after a musical performance, staying grounded on stage and off.

During the game, we give attention to the reciprocity between object, sound, and human relationship, exploring the intimacy of musical touch. We ask: “What is this sound giving me? What am I giving my collaborator?” We listen in relation and respond to the vibration, resonance, and unexpectedness. game: sound balm is a gift from sounded object to performer to audience.