Singer-Songwriters
Founders, Irthlingz Arts-Based Environmental Education
Eastsound, WA
Welcome to sharandmike.com, where you will find links to a variety of web sites, videos and audio files, all relating in one way or another to Sharon Abreu and Michael Hurwicz.
SECTION I: our main sites (irthlingz.org, irthlingz.com, sharmuse.com, sharonabreu.com, leonidhurwicz.org, choirapps.org, singpeaceorcas.org, islandlovenotes.com)
Helping buiild connection to ourselves and others
Inspiring stewardship for people and planet through music, theater and technology. (irthlingz.org)
Links to Sharon and Michael's CDs, cdbaby pages, and videos. (irthlingz.com)
Sharon's official home on the web (folk). (sharmuse.com)
Sharon's classical home on the web. Sounds clips, videos (require Flash), song notes. (sharonabreu.com)
Leonid "Leo" Hurwicz was born on August 21, 1917, in Moscow, Russia. Leo's father "Adek" and mother "Zina" (Sophie) had fled Warsaw to escape the instability and danger that World War I brought to Poland.
A family story has it that, while in Moscow, Adek's father, Max, pronounced Leo a "chochem" (Hebrew or Yiddish for "a wise one"). Since Adek, Zina and Leo returned to Warsaw early in 1919 (probably February), Leo would have been less than a year and a half old when this statement was made.
Max was right: Leo would go on to give the world novel concepts and frameworks still used today in fields from economics to social science to political science and even data networking (for problems like interdomain routing on the internet). These frameworks include incentive compatibility and mechanism design. In 2007, he received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (along with Eric Maskin, and Roger Myerson) "for having laid the foundations of mechanism design." (leonidhurwicz.org)
Leo recounts family history during WWII. (Requires Flash.)
An app for choir members and leaders. iOS (iPhone, iPad) and Android (e.g. Samsung, LG, Motorola, Huawei, etc. etc.).
The Ubuntu Choir Practice Partner allows you to practice multi-part songs by yourself. You can control the volume of each part separately, so you can:
Also links to the Ubuntu Choirs Map.
On choirapps.org, an interactive map showing locations of Ubuntu Choirs and other community singing gatherings. Click a marker below for a description. Descriptions link to websites, if available.
The list of choirs is based primarily on http://www.ubuntuchoirs.net/wp/member-choirs.
"So much love to a Lady whose voice is Liquid Light." (Judith Whitson, Foundation for Inner Peace – publisher, A Course in Miracles)
Sharon sets lessons from "A Course in Miracles" to music. (miraclejingles.com)
An interactive Google map of Indian Island, in Fishing Bay, Orcas Island. Fish, birds, intertidal life, seaweeds, plants.
Led by Michael and Sharon, in Eastsound, Washington, on Orcas Island. We sing songs from around the world that express and envision peace and help us feel more peaceful in ourselves, songs to buoy us up and give us hope, songs of longing, and songs that are just fun. We come together to sing in harmony for personal, local and global transformation. We sing to open our hearts, re-enchant our spirits, and connect with each other.
We are an all-inclusive, non-audition community choir. All voices are welcome, and no singing experience is required.
Music for your wedding or special occasion.
SECTION II: other fun / interesting stuff
An Interview with Clean Coal, writer, producer and director of "Clean Coal: Savior of Mankind". YouTube video, starring John Clancy as the interviewer ("Johnny Come Lately") and Aidan McCormick as Clean Coal
YouTube video: An old school private bulls**t investigator looks into a proposed coal terminal at Cherry Point, north of the city of Bellingham in Washington State. (Video created in 2013. The proposal was defeated in 2016: https://wecprotects.org/history-victories/2016-coal-terminal-denied-at-cherry-point/.)
The "Flower Duet" (French: Duo des fleurs / Sous le dôme épais), from Léo Delibes' opera Lakmé. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_Duet) Sharon sings the soprano part while playing the mezzo-soprano part on the violin. (Requires Flash.)
Sharon sings Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by Heitor Villa-Lobos at the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival in August, 2015. (YouTube video)
Sharon sings the Papagena-Papageno duet with Philip Cutlip. From the opera The Magic Flute by W.A. Mozart, at the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival in August, 2014. They sing of their love, how they want to have lots of dear little children, and what a blessing they will be. (YouTube video)
A short movie.
"Put simply, today's farmers are aging faster than younger people are, shall we say, coming into the field."
Heritage Farm on San Juan Island has an internship program that allows people to learn organic farming, while being provided with everything they need to live, from food to housing to spending money. It appeared, however, that this successful arrangement could be threatened by a regulatory environment that didn't recognize the value of the education and support that the farm provided for its interns, and insisted on enforcing minimum wage laws.
On March 3, 2010, the House Democratic Caucus of the Washington State Legislature viewed this movie just before a key vote on a bill to establish a pilot farm internship program.
The vote that followed went 96 - 2 in favor of the bill.
In October, 2010, Heritage Farm announced that its farm internship program had been legalized!
A song about Instant Runoff Voting (IRV), also known as ranked choice voting.
"I want to tell you about the new kid on the block, by the name of IRV."
“There’s nothing in the Constitution that says there have to be only two parties. There’s nothing in the Constitution about parties at all. There’s not even anything in the Constitution mandating that each congressional district have only one member and be represented by one party. We could have a much fairer and better system with the passage of a law.
"The way to do that is through multimember districts and ranked-choice voting.”
— David Brooks in “One Reform to Save America”
Sharon and Michael performed at this event, and helped with organizing.
Audio only. April 14, 2016. Activist and author David Swanson (War is a Lie, When the World Outlawed War) argues that there is no logical reason for war: the suffering overwhelms any potential good. He offers an overview of America’s most recent wars and the lessons that can be learned from them. Swanson, a 2015 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, also offers practical ideas about what can be done to end war and give peace a real chance.
Presented by: Veterans for Peace, Greater Seattle Chapter; Seattle Fellowship of Reconciliation; Green Party of Washington; EarthCare Not Warfare; and Rainier Valley Neighbors for Peace and Justice.
Download Public Service Announcement (Requires Flash.)
May 4, 2007, at the Commission for Sustainable Development at the United Nations in New York City. Students from New York City's High School for Environmental Studies performed songs from Sharon and Michael's “Penguins on Thin Ice” climate change musical revue. Site contents include a video trailer, Q&A, interviews, and statements from the Alliance of Small Island States, the CSD Trade Union Major Group, the CSD Earth Values Caucus and the Youth Major Group.
Formerly singpeace.org (which has now been redirected to the SingPeace! Pilgrimage Ning site)
Sharon's song, audio only.
"We've got to rise to the challengeWalk the talkCure our sick planetJust like Jonas Salk."
SECTION III: historical stuff
SINGchronicities are ad hoc community singing events featuring whoever wants to get together and have fun singing an eclectic mix of short multi-part songs from near and far.
We believe in heart-centered connection through singing, in the Ubuntu Choir tradition. Click the "About" button for more information.
Flyer, 11-5-2006. A benefit concert to let people know about Irthlingz and raise funds to create an animated version of the “Penguins on Thin Ice” climate change musical.
Professional writing site, early 21st century
Sometimes, based on erroneous assumptions, we tend to take a narrow, short-term view of energy costs. Taking a broader, longer term view, we see that:
(was realcosts.com)