-...--Su is available for:



--...-- Sonic Alchemy - Healing Gong Bath
.........Using Gong, Singing Bowls, and Other Sacred Instruments
.........Deep Healing with Ultra-Sonic & Subsonic Frequencies

--...-- Sonic Attunements - Harmonic Vibrational Therapy
.........Using Tuning Forks, Singing Bowls, and Other Sacred Instruments
.........to Cleanse and Clear the Auric Field

--...-- Private Sonic Alchemy Sessions at Your Location

-...--- Drum Circle Facilitation

-...--- Group Classes & Workshops - (Shekere - Djembe)

--...-- Recording Sessions

-...--- Live Performance with the band "Root Hand"

--...-- Ceremonial Music for Sacred Gatherings

--...-- Live Performance for Yoga Classes

--...-- Spiritual Energy Therapy (Trance Healing Mediumship)

--...-- Feng Shui - Dowsing - Tensor Field Applications

--...-- Charitable Causes

--...-Su can be reached at:
--...-TEXT ONLY PLEASE: 917-653-8841
....

Su Walenta - Music and Background

Su is a highly respected, in-demand session player and live percussionist hailing from her lifelong home of New York City. She began her musical training early with violin studies at the age of 10. In high school she moved to guitar, and while finishing her Architectural Degree she gained some dexterity with the 5-string banjo. Su fell in love with the djembe around 1990, when she was initiated into African poly-rhythm by "Sanga-of-the-Valley" - (One of Babatunde Olatunji's lead players with the group: "Drums of Passion"). And she blossomed into Shekere when she received her first gourd from Madeleine Yayodele Nelson in 1995.

--- Babatunde Olatunji ---------Sanga-of-the-Valley ----------Madelane Nelson

Su went on to study shekere, djembe and conga with many wonderful and gifted teachers through the years. Among them: Babatunde Olatunji (Drums of Passion), Madeleine Yayodele Nelson (Women of the Calabash), Joe Barnes, De Papa Ladji Camara, M'Bemba Bangoura, Mamady Keita, and Michael Markus (Magbana).

Su and her djembes at Bandelier National Monument 2004



Fire Spinners at FireDance 2003

Su enjoys finding ways to weave traditional percussive instruments into varied genres of music, and has played in Blues, Rock, Goth, Folk, Jazz, as well as traditional African Ensembles and Spiritual Gatherings. She has provided her artistry in percussion for Modern Dance, Meditation, Healing Sound Baths, Fire Spinning, Yoga Classes, Magic Shows, and Designer Fashion Shows in New York City, San Francisco, and Las Vegas.

Su understands the power of sacred rhythm, and her beloved instruments have brought her to moving experiences such as: Opening for Deepak Chopra (centering and providing focus for over 2500 people), Performing with the CityDance Ensemble at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC (to support families of 9/11 casualties), and Playing at "Bushstock" (... better known as Camp Casey in Crawford Texas, to support Cindy Sheehan and Peace House).

Su has recorded and performed with gifted and talented artists including Guy Forsyth, Wendy Colonna, Carolyn Wonderland, Lauri Cagno, Scott Williams (aka: SkyBear), Jeff McBride, Jiva Luna, Ghandharva, Papa Mali, George DeVore, Seth Walker, Aaron Neville, and many others.

Among Su's instruments: Conga, Sekere, Djembe, Udu, Frame Drum, Jaw Harp, Breath Percussion, Spoons, Drum Kit, Berimbau, and almost anything that makes an interesting sound.

Above all, she enjoys teaching and playing at sacred gatherings -----grateful for the opportunity to open herself and her instruments to the divine movement of Spirit. Su is committed to sharing what she has learned from these amazing people and profound experiences, and helps players of all levels improve their form, avoid injuries, and allow themselves to expereince the ecstatic joy and healing power of rhythm.

.....

Su found the drum and rhythm to be a pivotal tool in her personal spiritual work. Making rhythm available and accessible to those who seek it as a spiritual expression has become an important part of her current work with these instruments of transformation.

The drum circles Su facilitates have been described as: "vital to those who have found rhythm
a significant vehicle in the development of the personal transcendent."







Sonic Alchemy
Sound Healing with Gongs, Tibetan Singing Bowls, & Other Sacred Instruments

Su became fascinated with the possibilities of sound healing in 2006, when she began to care for her aging parents. After years of research and experimentation with tuning forks, singing bowls, gongs, and other sacred instruments, Su began to do sessions under the name "Sonic-Alchemy" - as this truly describes Su's approach to healing through sonic waves, frequency, and vibration.

Alchemy is a process that goes through multiple stages. Su found this correlates to the stages and layers of a sound healing session as various frequencies and instruments gently activate the living fluid and tissue of the participants. The careful and sensitive use of these powerful instruments is truly "Sonic-Alchemy."

For More information please go to the "Gongs and Sonic Alchem" page - HERE

Root Hand - Americana Quartet



A fiercely creative quartet with elements of guitar, bass, world percussion and hauntingly soulful vocals with irresistible lyrics, transcendent harmonies and uplifting instrumentals.

Frequently added guest performers are always a plus! -- further stimulating the already inventive nature of this interesting musical team.

Root Hand plays a "feel good" mix of originals and classics in their unique style, with a focus on conscious lyricism and carefully crafted sonic layers. Every song hijacks your heart and takes you through an emotional ride. The chemistry that Root Hand has on stage is genuine.



"We sing about the things that stir our hearts:
Love, Happiness, Wellbeing, and Elevated Consciousness"

With the influence of many of our favorite artists --- such as:
George Harrison, Willie Nelson, Leadbelly, Guy Forsyth, Babatunde Olatunji, Santana, Celestial Choirs, and even a kid playing drums on a sidewalk.

Fully Americana in our style,
we cover the genres of:
Folk, Rock, Rhythm & Blues,
World Beat, and sometimes a little Reggae

Root Hand currently performs in:
NYC, Northern New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania,
and the Hudson Valley Region.

Click HERE for Root Hand Website

Su's Other Talents and Interests
Outside of Music

Among her many talents outside of music, Su is also an Architectural Designer,
Graphic Artist, Photographer, Painter, Motorcyclist, and Dog Trainer.

During her Architectural career Su worked for NBC Studios in NYC.
She managed major renovations throughout the 1.5 million square feet of
NBC Studios at 30 Rockerfeller Center.

Her knowledge and love for Architectural History, her project management experience,
and her technical abilities with CADD, led her to work on the
Statue of Liberty Restoration Project.

Please scroll down
to see a more of Su's background......

GRAPHIC DESIGN & MARKETING:
Her graphic works have won national and international awards.
Early in the game for web development and hosting, Su has developed
and maintained many business websites.

Her graphic design and marketing company called: "New Expression"
was in business for over 15 years until it's close in 2000.
www.newexpression.com

DOG BREEDING, TRAINING, OBEDIANCE COMPETITION, DISNEY & TV:


Lizzy the Disney "Cover Girl"

The dog breed Su favors is the Border Collie.

Breeding, training, loving and working with these intelligent beautiful dogs
is one of the great loves of her life.

Su's beloved Border Collies have won many blue ribbons in obediance trials
in both the U.S. and Canada. An agent approached Su at an obediance trial, and offered to represent her dogs. They worked for Disney Productions, and appeared on television numerous times.

The titles they have won:
BN, GN, CD, CDX, UD, UDX

MOTORCYCLING:

--.....Su on the track - c1990's------....--Su's vintage 1983 "mint" GPZ550 Kawasaki

Su has also enjoyed the challenge of motorcycle racing school.
She learned to ride a serpentine track with Reg & Jason Pridmore at
Loudon New Hampshire, Watkin's Glen NY, and Pocono Raceway PA.

Su hasn't had the chance to get to the track in recent years
---- but she still loves to get out on two wheels.
Here are a couple of pics of Su's current ride - a customized 2016 Indian Scout.

..
--......----Su and her 2016 Indian Scout

History with NBC

Su's Dad: Joe Walenta, early 1950's
Mom & Dad were just getting married about the time of this photo

----Howdy & Buffalo Bob ---...---Sid Caesar - - --Edie Adams & Ernie Kovacs ----Johnny Carson

Su grew up seeing top quality live entertainment up close ---
her father (Joe Walenta) worked for NBC for over 40 years...beginning his career with camera, lighting, and sound - covering all technical engineering aspects of live broadcast television for
"Howdy-Doody," "Sid Caesar's Show of Shows," "Ernie Kovacs Show", "Your Hit Parade,"
"The Tonight Show," "Thanksgiving Day Parade," "Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis," "Walt Disney"
and many, many more.....

Joe retired after working as senior technical engineer for the first years of -
"Saturday Night Live" from 1975-1984. -He was called into the very beginning of that project as one of the few technical engineers remaining at NBC who had extensive experience with live entertainment television. He trained the technical crew and helped to format the program with producer Lorne Michaels, and director Dave Wilson. Joe's technical format for the program is still evident today. There was a mention of Joe's name in the recent film about the beginnings of SNL called: "Saturday Night" (a 2024 film).

Su enjoyed her frequent visits to 8H during her college years, watching the sets being built, band rehearsals, sketch rehearsals, dress rehearsals, and live broadcasts. This is where she gained her deep respect and love for live music, comedy, political satire, and performance art.

Su has deep respect and understanding of the dedication, creativity, and hard work required to create a truly professional performance.

-The Blues Brothers----------Cast 1977 (with Bill Murray replacing Chevy Chase) ------Original Cast 1975

-- --. - Su at her drafting table at NBC - 1980's...-- ...-- ...--.--30 Rock NYC

Su also worked at NBC during the 1980's. She was a Project Manager in the Facilities Dept which managed all architectural building projects of NBC Studios. Su and her department handled the re-design and layout of all 1.5 million square feet within 30 Rockefeller Center.

This was a 5 year project that moved every person at least once - and some 3 or 4 times. Every square foot of space that was not a studio was re-designed by Su and her department. Su had the opportunity to interview every department head to gather vital information and build her understanding of how each department interacted with all others, and the physical space they utilized. With this information, Su was able to re-design and improve the efficiency of the entire occupied space of NBC Studios.

Statue of Liberty Restoration
Completion on the 100th Birthday Celebration - July 4, 1986

- Liberty in Scaffold- ....- CAD Drawings that I Worked On.......--Model of Armature

The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World), the colossal sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, underwent an extensive conservation-restoration between 1984 and 1986, in advance of its official centennial on July 4, 1986.

At that time Su was working with a Computer Aided Design (CAD) system that was being implemented into high profile architectural firms across the United States and Europe. One of the architectural firms she worked with was Swanke Hayden Connell in New York - who were the architects for the restoration of the statue, and Ellis Island.

The original plans for the statue had been lost in a fire many years before the restoration project was undertaken. It became Su's task to work with laser measurements of the interior of the statue, and produce measured drawings - both 2D and 3D - of the statue using the CAD system. These drawings (some of which are pictured above) were used to create the scale model of the interior armature (also pictured above). These drawings were important in analyzing the wind bearing capacity of the structure within the statue, and also aid in future maintenance.

Computer aided design drawings were also used to illustrate how the head and the hand wielding the torch had been misaligned during her re-assembly on Liberty Island, and how the misalignment had caused the spikes of the crown to damage a section of the torch-bearing arm.


-- --. - -- -New York Times, July 20, 1983


The "13 trouble spots of the statue" were visually emphasized in a front-page article in The New York Times of July 20, 1983. The head was 2 feet (61 cm) off center and the upheld arm was 18 inches (46 cm) away from where it was designed to be. With the computer simulations of the CAD program, the architects and engineers were able to assess the likelihood of implementing either of the following 2 options to address the misalignment issue:

1) remove the parts that were misaligned, and then rebuild the arm-shoulder connection
as Eiffel had originally designed it,

-- --. - OR,

2) strengthen the pre-existing misalignment by adding new diagonal bracing and steel plates.


-- --. - The decision was made to go with option 2.

Much of the Statue of Liberty restoration effort was based on unprecedented restorative methods. Metallurgical repair work on such a large scale had never been attempted before. Many scientists, engineers, government organizations, and professional consultants evaluated and dealt with the various problems and tasks facing the restoration effort.

I am very proud of my involvment with such an iconic American symbol - and I am delighted to think that my small part helped our "Statue of Liberty" to live on long into the future.

Annual Historic Halloween Tour
Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms

Every October Su presents the "1913 Hallows Tour" at the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms in New Jersey. Her Hallows Tours are always sold out weeks in advance, and the topics she covers include the origin of many of our Halloween traditions and objects, some of the popular divination techniques of the period, Spiritualism pracitces, and Edwardian period Halloween costumes and decorations. Please go to: www.stickleymuseum.org for more information.


Su presenting the 1913 Hallows Tour - Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms, NJ

-...--Su is available for:

--...-- Sonic Alchemy - Healing Gong Bath
.........Using Gong, Singing Bowls, and Other Sacred Instruments
.........Deep Healing with Ultra-Sonic & Subsonic Frequencies

--...-- Sonic Attunements - Harmonic Vibrational Therapy
.........Using Tuning Forks, Singing Bowls, and Other Sacred Instruments
.........to Cleanse and Clear the Auric Field

--...-- Private Sonic Alchemy Sessions at Your Location

-...--- Drum Circle Facilitation

-...--- Group Classes & Workshops - (Shekere - Djembe)

--...-- Recording Sessions

-...--- Live Performance with the band "Root Hand"

--...-- Ceremonial Music for Sacred Gatherings

--...-- Live Performance for Yoga Classes

--...-- Spiritual Energy Therapy (Trance Healing Mediumship)

--...-- Feng Shui - Dowsing - Tensor Field Applications

--...-- Charitable Causes

--...-Su can be reached at:
--...-TEXT ONLY PLEASE: 917-653-8841
....