Homecoming with Jessica

This podcast features an improvised piano piece I've titled, "Toccata." A Toccata has to do with 'touch,' with fast-moving passages and repeating musical figures. What you'll hear arose spontaneously as I played one evening. The truth is, I've had similar experiences at the piano for more than a half century. Letting my fingers wander and explore, I'll find myself delighting in a spontaneously-eme...

With the widespread restrictions, children have in many ways been liberated from the educational structures that confined them. Near the ocean where I live, they're often allowed to play freely, enjoying themselves, discovering life in ways that are truly meaningful. Piano Music: "Il Est Ne Le Divine Enfant," traditional French carol - arranged and performed by Jessica Roemischer

Amidst the pandemic, the rhythms of our lives have changed. Day and night are blending into each other. There's a slowing of time, and an opening into a deeper awareness of ourselves. At home, on a rainy evening in Sydney, Australia, I remembered a poem I'd composed when I was sixteen years old - long before any of us could have anticipated our present realities. The poem evokes the experience of...

As I spend these days walking slowly along the ocean's edge, I find myself subsumed by the presence of the sea--its power and vastness. Now in this time of great change and flux, a new life can be born...not so much from "making it happen," but by being formed and moved, in surrender to a force and presence greater than myself. Piano music: "Gymnopedie" by Erik Satie, performed by Jessica Roemisch...

Amidst the global pandemic, there's a push to get back to normal. But what is normal, REALLY? What are we actually trying to get back to? In this unprecedented interruption of daily life, we have a sacred obligation: to reckon with the suffering that's endemic to human life, and to life on Earth because of our presence--the often invisible background hum of "normal." This podcast mentions the work...

Alone at home, as many of us are these days, I find that the inner recesses of my heart are revealed--of love found and then lost--these emotions are bubbling to the surface amidst the stillness. Piano Music: "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin, arranged and performed by Jessica Roemischer

Wherever you are in the world, if you open the window you may notice that the sky looks a little brighter, the air smells fresher, the insects are more numerous as they alight here and there. Amidst this global health crisis, we've all been forced to slow down...and yet, this is a blessed opportunity to begin to listen to and feel that which is enduring and good, true and infinitely loving. Improv...

Inspired by a sound recording of the renowned poet, Walt Whitman - a 36 second reading of his glorious verse recorded in 1888 - I find myself reflecting on the power of the human voice, of what it means to journey back through time - both historical and personal. Inspired by his reading, I find myself rummaging through my files, trying to find a poem that I knew I had to re-visit, a poem written i...

Inspired by the meaning and significance of sound, and the vision of a sacred realm of love--a 'Divine Milieu'--I play the piano and reflect on human life and our future. Improvised piano music by Jessica Roemischer

In the quiet of the evening, as I improvise at the piano, I reflect on the meaning of sound. My mind moves back through time, to the moments of my earliest existence in my mom's belly as she played the piano; the transcendent experiences I've had as the pianist I've become; the rustlings of the ocean in my midst now; the memories of my dear aunt in the final moments of her life, as I whispered in...

"Wise men say, only fools rush in..." the words of that great Elvis Presley song ring in my mind and heart as I feel the pangs of grief, of love lost and, strangely, of intimations of the future, like glimmers on the vast ocean. Piano music improvised and performed by Jessica Roemischer

I have a vision and hope. Now that we're affecting every life form on Earth, we'll open our minds and hearts to what sustains us - this glorious planet that's the perfect distance from the Sun. Piano music performed by Jessica Roemischer

Here I read a poem that honors the women who moved thousands of miles from the British Isles to a strange and desolate land - the Australian Outback. The poet is George Essex Evans, a man, who describes the plight of these women with uncanny sensitivity, empathy and love. Piano music: "Loch Lomond," traditional, arranged and performed by Jessica Roemischer

I have a dear friend whose memory extends back through the decades, and whose ancestors were early settlers in Australia. Over tea, she reflects on the meaning of the letters people exchanged when there was no other means to connect with one's loved ones, thousands of miles away. Piano music: "Loch Lomond," traditional, arranged and performed by Jessica Roemischer

When we allow the feeling of the land - of the natural places in our midst - to permeate our cells and psyche, all manner of revelations come to us. Piano music: “Haven,” composed and performed by Jessica Roemischer

Why there's nothing as good in life as a marriage between two minds...and hearts. Piano Music: "Wending My Way," composed and performed by Jessica Roemischer

During a reprieve from the smoky haze that's been blanketing Sydney, Australia, as I filled my lungs with the fresh sea air, I made this podcast. Piano music: "Breathe On Me, O Breath Of God," arranged and performed by Jessica Roemischer

Standing amidst the Australian bush, enjoying a welcomed reprieve from the smoke and haze, I contemplate my love of the Grateful Dead and a particular song - "Morning Dew." Because this morning, there was dew on the ground and moisture, and how wonderful in this drought-stricken country! Piano music: "Summertime," arranged and performed by Jessica Roemischer

In the late evening, as raindrops fall gently here in drought-ridden Australia, I contemplate the rain, and love...

A freewheeling meditation on the joys of fresh air... Piano music: "Breathe On Me, O Breath of God," arranged and performed by Jessica Roemischer

Amidst the bush fires that continue unabated, this podcast is a call for prayer...on behalf of the humans, wildlife, trees and all that inhabits this special land called, Australia. Improvised piano music by Jessica Roemischer

As many of you know, Australia has been besieged by devastating bushfires. The loss of life and property has exceeded anything in living memory. Today, for the first time in weeks, we had rain. This was the experience... Piano music: "Summertime" by George Gershwin, arranged and performed by Jessica Roemischer, to evoke the feeling of a summer rain storm.

Inspired by the great poet, painter and visionary, William Blake, I share reflections on nature, memories of my dearest Godmother, and an abiding sense of the sacredness of life. Piano music: "Clair de Lune," by Claude Debussy, arranged and performed by Jessica Roemischer

At the threshold of 2020, we can actualize a whole new era, one in which love - the essential and deepest part of ourselves - arises to shape our lives and our future. Piano Music: "Katy, Ray of Hope," composed and performed by Jessica Roemischer

A lively reflection on cars, college life, and the arts--and how they mixed together for me in unique and sometimes comical ways. Piano music: "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain" traditional, arranged and performed by Jessica Roemischer