Jon Armstrong’s Voluntary Breath + Bridge to Everywhere

Bridge to Everywhere is a Los Angeles-based transcultural music ensemble and nonprofit arts organization that explores connections between contemporary musical practices from around the world. Jonathan Armstrong is a musician, composer, and educator serving as the Director of Jazz Studies and Commercial Music at Idaho State University. He moved to Pocatello in 2015 after living and working as a professional musician in Los Angeles for nine years. A few words about Voluntary Breath by Jon Armstrong: “Voluntary Breath” began as a way of exploring a dream I had: A shamanic figure, sitting in a lotus position, is floating over a mountain lake in deep meditation and holding a guitar-like instrument. As he strums his instrument, ripples emanate from him across the lake. He re-tunes his instrument and creates different patterns and frequencies across the water. The meaning of this dream shifted when my son Breen was born four months premature in January of 2021, weighing only 1lb, 4.8 oz. He spent almost nine months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. My wife Erin and I sat alongside our tiny boy in this prolonged existence of overlapping liminal spaces; he was here before he was ready to be born and yet he was teetering close to the end of life. Due to the brilliance and dedication of our medical team and the love and support from countless people in our lives, he is now 4 years old and doing exceptionally well.