It was a lifetime experience to perform Tai Chi Chuan with great musicians of our time, not to mention in the magnificently beautiful Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City, New York.
Recognized as one of the most artistic musicians with multi-disciplinary performance, Laurie Anderson won her first Grammy for her collaboration Landfall with string quartet Kronos early this year. Laurie and Lou met in 1992 and married in 2009. Lou died in 2013 due to a liver disease. After the passing of Lou, Laurie has been bringing his guitars on the road and installed them at various venues, mostly in cathedrals. To honor Lou’s idea of creating drones, Laurie named it the Lou Reed Drones. So far, it has been performing 15 times in cities across Europe and the U.S. Laurie would invite top-notch musicians from the area to partake. They all play music in an improvising fashion.
Legendary Lou Reed was known for his global influence on rock music for the past four decades. He was a visionary and had the talent to experiment different genres of rock music. Starting when he was with the Velvet Underground, Lou would place guitars against amplifiers, which would create a droning or humming effect before a concert started. This technique was adopted in some of his songs. It can be “ear-bleedingly loud” according to his wife Laurie Anderson.
Designed in 1888 and located in Manhattan, New York, Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine is the world’s largest church. The church is a magnificent artwork itself due to its incredible architecture and has a large collection of artistic creations of the Great Bronze Doors, Altar for Peace, Banner of Humankind, Compass Rose, Menorahs, etc. The Cathedral has a unique mission, which allows people from different faiths and communities worship together in services held more than 30 times a week.
A Sign of the Value of the Sanctuary outside of the Cathedral 
Artwork in the Cathedral 
The short description of the exhibit of the Value of the Sanctuary 
The Nave in the Cathedral 
The Exhibition of the Value of the Sanctuar 
The Exhibition of the Value of the Sanctuary 
Artwork inside the church 
The Collective Heart by Eva Petric hung at the Altar
Based upon the founding principles of the Cathedral, the Value of Sancturay also intends to call the attention of the pressing issues of the 21st century. There are more than 40 artworks from around the world installed in the church and begging for the questions of “what does it mean to be a house of welcome and of refuge, to offer sanctuary to those in needs? What are the threads connecting us? And where do we draw the line?” — quoted from the Exhibition web page. The Lou Reed Drones at the Cathedral was part of the Value of Sanctuary.
At 6:15 pm on Wednesday March 13, the Cathedral first played the traditional choir music. It was ushering the Lou Reed Drones. At 6:30 pm, seven in front of the altar Lou Reed’s guitars were on display. Lou’s former guitar technician Stewart Hurwood tuned the guitar. With the large amplifiers cranked to the top, the guitars vibrated and their vibrations were transmitted to the amplifiers and created a humming effect. Depending on where people stood, the sound levels varied. While the drones were blasting, Tai Chi Chuan Grandmaster Guang-yi Ren and award-winning record producer Tony Visconti demonstrated a routine called “Tai Chi 21” as a tribute to Lou.
Grandmaster Ren created “Tai Chi 21” years ago when he was teaching Lou Reed. It is compact in time and does not require a large space to practice and is suitable for small apartments in cities like New York. It was Lou’s favorite. Lou helped to name it. During his memorial at the Apollo Theater in New York, Laurie told friends that Lou was playing “Tai Chi 21” with his arms right up to his death.
There was a platform set up in the church Crossing for Tai Chi Chuan performance. Around 7:30 pm, Grandmaster Ren and his students started to take turns to perform various kinds of Tai Chi while Laurie on viola, Sarth Calhoun on Continuum Fingerboard, and other musicians on saxophone, drums, and guitar playing music notes in a spontaneous fashion along with the humming sound. I was grateful to be invited to do three solo pieces of Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong forms. Grandmaster Ren led the group played “Tai Chi 21” at the end of the Tai Chi performance. (see video below)
The concert lasted five hours. People entered the church at different times. Some stayed for the entire time while others left after strolling around, stopping to look at the art pieces, and listening to the music. Some sat on the chairs while others lay on the floor. Matt, a local painter, came with his wife. He followed Laurie’s career for years. He plays music on the side and appreciates Laurie’s advent-garde approach to music. One attendee told me that she felt the stillness. I asked her how about the Tai Chi performance, which was moving constantly. She replied that there was stillness in every move. Another person told me that she had an out-of-body experience. Crazy may it sound, with the deafening humming, people in general commented that they felt relaxed and serene.
Tai Chi is based on ancient Chinese philosophy; Lou Reed Drones is a Western invention. Tai Chi Chuan was created four hundred years ago; Lou Reed Drones is a music novelty still in the making. Tai Chi is a moving art; Lou Reed Drones is an audio sensation. Nevertheless, it was amazing how the art at the highest form can amalgamate together harmoniously.