Galicia

This podcast episode is about a musical production I have been working on for a couple of months. I have named it Galicia.

In my earlier years I was fascinated with percussion and drumming and was a music major for two years as an undergraduate. In my recent years I have found a way to explore my inner musician through digital creations, playing instruments through my midi keyboard in a DAW, digital audio workstation. I’m not by any means fully accomplished at this, but I’m learning and making my way as a hobby.

For me, the joy of composing songs, tunes, and melodies becomes a process of bringing life to them using many different colors and combinations of musical instrumentation and synthesizers.

The title Galicia has deep meaning for me. My grandfathers heritage on my mother’s side, is from Spain. In other words, Spain is one part of my ancestral story. The area now called Galicia was first inhabited by humans during the Middle Paleolithic period, and takes its name from the Gallaeci, the Celtic people. The Celtic tradition in Spain is still evident, and connects me to my father’s ancestry from Ireland, Scotland, and England.

I find it to be a sacred mystery that Nancy and I were able to visit and make pilgrimage to Spain six years in a row, visiting our son and his family when they lived there.

Galicia, in the Northwest region of Spain, captured my heart. In 2014, we followed the Northern route of the Camino de Santiago across the Northern regions of Spain from Catalunya, Aragon, Basque Country, Cantabria, Asuturias, and Galicia.

Entering into the city of Santiago de Compostella and the Cathedral of Saint James, the end of the Camino, will always be a treasure from this priceless earthly pilgrimage.

And so I offer Galicia as a window of the soul.

With you on the Journey and The Way,

Rob+