Constance Demby

Constance Demby is a recording and performing artist.

Born in Oakland CA, Constance Demby gave her first recital for classical pianoforte at the age of twelve. She studied sculpture and painting at the University of Michigan. After her marriage, she lived in New York for seven years. It was mainly as a sculptor that she built her sonic steel instruments, the space bass and later the whale sail.

Alongside music, her focus has included sculpture and painting, with one-woman shows in Greenwich Village. As a co-founder of The Central Maine Power, Sound and Light Company, an experimental visual and sound group, she created multimedia shows with sculptures and lights, and her sonic steel instruments.

In 1976, Constance Demby moved to Boston, where she was initiated by Sant Ajaib Singh Ji. The Indian Sant Mat master of Surat Shabd Yoga, the practice of the inner Light and Sound. She formed the duo Gandharva, which led her to compose her first solo album Skies Above Skies (1978), where she played all instruments, including dulcimer, cello, organ, keyboard, and vocals. In 1980 she moved to California composing Sunborne, and then Sacred Space Music, featuring the hammered dulcimer, licensed to the Hearts of Space label.

In 1986, turning to synthesizers, she released Novus Magnificat. This Grammy nominated album, inspired by classical and sacred music, features samples from classical instruments made with the Kurzweil digital samplers, and sound effects by Michael Stearns. This album sold over 200.000 copies worldwide, making her one of the most successful new age artists of all time and helped Stephen Hill to build the Hearts of Space label's reputation.

Her Sonic Steel Instruments have been recorded by Lucas Skywalker Studios for use in their filmscores, and also filmed by Discovery Channel at Gaudi's Parc Guell for inclusion in a special entitled "The Power of Music." The Space Bass is featured on Michael Stearns' soundtrack Chronos)'.

Discography

• Skies Above Skies (1978)
• Sunborne (1980)
• Sacred Space Music (1982)
• Constance Demby at Alaron: Live Concert Recording (1984)
• Novus Magnificat: Thru the Stargate (1986)
• Light of this World (1987)
• Set Free (1989)
• Aeterna (1995)
• The Beloved (1998)
• The Heart Meditation (1998)
• Attunement: Live in Concert -- Dec. 1999 (2000)
• Faces of the Christ (2000)
• Sanctum Sanctuorum (Hearts of Space Records release, 2003)
• Spirit Trance (2004)
• Constance Demby - Live in Tokyo CD [2002]
• Constance Demby - Live in Tokyo DVD [2002]
• Sonic Immersion - Vibrational Tonal Attunement [2006]