Who plays my instruments?
Lachlan Hawkins
Lachlan Hawkins is an accomplished drummer, handpan artist and educator with a diverse performance career to date across the areas of jazz and improvised music, musical theatre, corporate entertainment and contemporary music.
As a solo handpan artist, Lachlan's melodic rhythms soothe soul as his lyrics press deeper into themes of belonging, self-acceptance, perseverance and loss. Lachlan has shared his award-winning handpan music project "No Enemy Within" with audiences around Australia including performances at the Brisbane City Hall, Palm Creek Folk Festival and the Majors Creek Folk Festival. Lachlan was awarded the Lord Mayor's City Hall Concerts Award in 2018, and celebrated his debut album release "No Enemy Within" with two Highly Commended Awards at the 2019 Queensland Music Awards.
Andi Steil
Percussionist, Singer and some sort of Clown—Andi Steil can make you laugh without even speaking your language! A long time handpan player and regular performer at HangOutUK, Andi mixes his unique stage humor with his incredible musical talent to create one of a kind performances.
Andi is also a prolific producer of incredible multicam music videos featuring an array of musical instruments and his voice. Here’s one featuring a Xenith8.
The Dalai Lama
On a Monday morning in April of 2017 I received the following email:
Hey Colin,
I hope this finds you well! I had quite a beautiful morning today with a little luck and a chance encounter with His Holiness.
In case you ever wondered the ripple affect that your work can have, today the Dalai Lama played on your creation. He laughed out loud with the innocence of a child as he made sounds. Then I played a few notes, and he held my face with his hands and smiled.
Have a peaceful day :)
Much Love from Dharamsala
Prasheen
Kelly Richey
From a 65 Fender Strat to the Xenith—Kelly Richey is an award-winning blues musician, poet/songwriter, guitar teacher, life coach, spiritual director, and inspirational speaker. She has made her mark through the power of her voice – figuratively and literally. A blues rocker and veteran guitar-slinger described as “Stevie Ray Vaughan trapped in a woman’s body, with Janis Joplin screaming to get out.”
Michael Mason
Michael Mason, Jazz Flutist records for the independent jazz label AVG Records. His March 2021 release “Human Revolution” is an eight song compilation of Jazz, Rock, and World Fusion music original compositions with some phenomenal Chicago area musicians. Michael plays 18Karat & 14Karat Rose Gold Flutes from Miyazawa, Muramatsu and Nagaraha Flute Companies and Handpans
His “Human Revolution” compact disc project has just been evaluated and selected by the NARAS Grammy Voting Committees for the Category 2 “Album of the Year” consideration. His previous compact disc recording projects on the Southport records label which include “Exploration” “Visionary” and “Angels of Fire” have been also evaluated
Dr. Charles Limb
Charles Limb is the Francis A. Sooy, MD Professor and Chief of Otology/Neurotology and Skull Base Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, and he's a Faculty Member at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. He combines his two passions to study the way the brain creates and perceives music. He's a hearing specialist and surgeon at Johns Hopkins who performs cochlear implantations on patients who have lost their hearing. And he plays sax, piano, and bass.
His TED Talk: Your Brain on Improv
Archer and Tripp
Archer & Tripp are a true love story through the love of handpans. Having met at HangoutUK 2014 they have since traveled the world, sharing their love for and through music. Both multi-instrumentalists bring unique abilities which, in their mixture, guarantee an excitingly unusual, profound musical experience at the pulse of our era.
Yasmine Galenorn
New York Times bestselling author Yasmine Galenorn has written over 80 books in her life. She writes urban fantasy, paranormal women’s fiction, paranormal mysteries, paranormal romance, and nonfiction metaphysical work. She wrote for traditional publishers for twenty years, up until 2016, and then moved into being an indie author to give herself more freedom. Also a shamanic witch, she’s been in the Craft over 40 years and is considered an elder in the Pagan community. She walks an eclectic path and considers her life to be a blend of teacups and tattoos–-the former in her china closet, the latter on her skin.
When Yasmine discovered the handpan through a random YouTube video, she knew she had found the one instrument she was meant to play. It took her over six years to find a handpan to purchase. Now, she uses her music in her magickal practice. She also incorporates her playing into her healing process (she has a chronic illness). She believes that sound therapy can help relieve the stress that exacerbates chronic conditions, and is experimenting with that. She also has written about a handpan playing character in one of her book series, and is bringing awareness about the instrument to her readers.
Jeremy Arndt
Jeremy Arndt is a musician and world traveler. He plays unique instruments from around the world, with the majority of his songwriting being focused around the Handpan and Didgeridoo.
Judith Lerner
Looking online for a kalimba in 2012, Judith randomly clicked on a YouTube Video of a street performer. Instantly captivated by the instrument he was playing, Judith was thrilled to get her first handpan three months later.
Judith counts herself fortunate to be part of an international community of "handpan enthusiasts". Traveling to handpan gatherings around the U.S., as well as England and Australia, she has performed and facilitated workshops that encourage the delight of spontaneous musical conversations.
Jeremy Diffey
With a music career that has seen him performing on stage, screen, and at sea, Jeremy is a truly diverse and in-demand musician.
He has performed on many television shows (including Australia's Got Talent, The Singing Bee, X Factor, and Hey Hey It's Saturday), as well as in the musical theatre pit, and backing international artists.
Jeremy's music arrangements can be heard internationally by singers in Las Vegas and at sea, as well as on television programs in Australia.
With a studio in Melbourne, Jeremy is able to compose, record, and arrange for any size project, and has worked on some truly amazing albums!
Gary Muszynski
Gary Muszynski is a percussionist, composer, and educator who creates original music that combines jazz, world, and classical music. He plays a wide variety of world percussion, including handpan, berimbau, pandeiro, surdo, udu, mbira, conga, bongo, and cajon.
Gary is currently working on his next CD project, Roots and Wings, featuring Sting’s pianist and arranger Frank Martin; Mark Summer, the former cellist and co-founder of the Turtle Island Quartet; Cuban jazz-piano legend, Omar Sosa, and Deepak Ram, North Indian bansuri flute master as well as many other musical luminaries.
Jewel Shield
Jewel Shield is mainly a self-taught multi-instrumentalist musician, sound healer, and lifelong creative artisan of the heart. Her primary instruments are Celtic harps, strings, crystal, and metal singing bowls, Native American flutes, and voice. After hearing the beautiful tones and sounds from Colin’s handpans, she added his wonderful instrument to her pallet of instruments in 2019. An award-winning musician, she has four decades of professional experience performing for a variety of occasions and is a compassionate healing facilitator, holistic teacher, and mentor of music, creative arts, and consciousness. Jewel holds Certifications in Sound, Voice & Music Healing from California Institute of Integral Studies and Transformational Life Coaching from the Life Mastery Institute, and others. Jewel loves sharing the beauty, peace, joy, and wellbeing that can be created through music.
Jesse Lethbridge
Jesse has been playing and working with the Didgeridoo for 20 years. The instruments he crafts are made with permission and blessings from Djalu Gurruwiwi, the top elder of the didgeridoo. Since being invited into his family, Jesse regularly spends time in the country, deepening his connection with Djalu and his craft as a yidaki maker.
Masood Ali Khan
Masood Ali Khan is a unique musical performer and has a voice that inspires a meditative experience and is a pioneer of singing sacred mantras with the mesmerizing combination of handpans. Masood’s soul spirit songs are infused with the power of the heart and mind. Exploring ‘Music as Medicine and prayer, a believer in love for the earth and humanity through ‘Connection to Creation’