World Maestro, Colin O’Donohoe, Conductor of the Pangean Orchestra Podcasting Your Global Career

Welcome to episode #292 of dHarmic Evolution
It is with pleasure for me to introduce the only symphony conductor we have ever had on the Dharmic Evolution. Drummer, composer, and “World Maestro”, let’s welcome for the third time on the show, Colin Donohoe!

The last twelve months have been both awesome and crazy for Colin. He and his wife, Ceren, wanted to be away and be in the woods to concentrate on the projects they are working on. Hence, they are currently in the beautiful state of Oregon. Unfortunately, there was a major fire in Oregon recently. Colin expressed his gratefulness and admiration to the dedicated team of firefighters. In dire circumstances, the team was able to drive the residents away from the fire while they were driving into the fire. And because of these efforts, they were able to come back safely home.
Pivotal moments in Mongolia
About a year ago, Colin embarked on a tour to Japan, South Korea, and Mongolia. This was a part of the project he was working on for his orchestra, “The Pangean Orchestra” wherein he interviews at least one musician from every country. He delved into the approaches, technical aspects of the instruments, and just learning their music in general.

One of the most pivotal moments for him was in Mongolia where he was able to see a lot of concerts, jam with bands backstage, and what it is like to be a musician in Mongolia. He jammed with the musicians using his Kanjira which is an Indian drum (a very small frame drum, but it gives the characteristics of a drum set). Although they needed a translator from Mongolian or other languages to English, these musicians are totally eloquent. They blended pretty well and music has been their language.
The Prayer Garden
This project was born in Mongolia. Colin and Ceren went there to unplug from the world, get away from news and social media. Moreover, they went to the Gobi Desert, where there was no WiFi, literally nothing except endless sky and white foxes. Consequently, they were forced to live in the moment and just have a spiritual and peaceful time.
Then at one of the concerts in Mongolia, they heard a woman announcer mispronouncing some English words. It sounded like “Prayer Garden”, but she actually said player something. As a result, the epiphany came to Colin, and realized that it is a good concept. However, his father died in February. Then they came back to Arizona to be with his mother, unfortunately, COVID-19 broke out.
Due to the pandemic where everyone cannot go out and Colin had to take care of his mother, Colin, also needed an escape from everything that was going on. And so together with Ceren, they created The Prayer Garden. Wanting to be in a good space and just getting away from the anxiety, and apprehension during the pandemic, and also the recent loss of his father, Colin was able to write these incredible tracks. It initially started as a live stream, then he continued working out on the music and created a cinematic soundscape that would go underneath it. Because The Prayer Garden is supposed to bring the listener deeper into a meditational or relaxed state, he wanted to play something that was a bit of a flourish and a bit virtuosic, but also musical; it has to be melodic. He always makes sure the spirit of the piece is paramount, and that his playing should only be supporting the piece which is to bring people into peace and calm.
Check out The Prayer Garden from the links below; this was just released on 10/16/2020. He also released an EP called The Sunset Serenity Mixes.
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Timestamps
4:32 Experiences in Oregon and the recent major fire
8:19 Asian tour and pivotal moments in Mongolia
12:44 Listen to “Eloquent” by Colin O’Donohoe
16:50 The birth of “The Prayer Garden” album
25:54 Listen to “Inhale” by Colin O’Donohoe
30:24 Music is an escape and writing the tracks
33:32 Using space in music
38:11 Listen to “Morning Air”