The Secret Music of Lily Dale
***This campaign will end MARCH 31!
So please donate now to get onboard and reserve your collectors copy of "The Secret Music of Lily Dale!"***
Composer and sonic archeologist Jill Tracy has begun an unprecedented project—a musical excavation of mysterious Lily Dale, the famed private town of mediums and Spiritualists in upstate New York. She is recording her singular piano music channeled at night inside the original 1883 auditorium, site of séances and spirit communication services for over a century. She has captured field recordings from the mystical Leolyn Woods to chilling nighttime rainstorms to create an authentic, never-before-heard sonic journey. Donate and get a rare glimpse into this strange, little town that talks to the dead...
“Jill Tracy is utterly intriguing. She transports you into a magical world solely of her creation.”
NPR, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED
"Jill Tracy is the Queen of taking her listeners into another realm."
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
“Jill Tracy creates an elegant netherworld both seductive and terrifying.”
CLIVE BARKER
***UPDATE: FEBRUARY 2019*** This campaign will close MARCH 31!!
Please CLICK on the actual UPDATES tab for my latest news and info on how to be part of "The Secret Music of Lily Dale" and receive the album before the fundraising closes. Your support is still greatly needed and appreciated....
**UPDATE: JANUARY 2019!**
The recordings are all finished! I have been in the San Francisco studio of renowned mastering engineer Gary Hobish to assemble the album from the hours of piano music and field recordings I captured in Lily Dale. This has been a long process as there is so much of it I love—making the final selections for the album is difficult. This music has cast a profound spell over me and I cannot stop listening to it.
Of course, as a donor you will get ALL the bonus music that does not make it on the album too! Plus your name in the credits as a Guardian Spirit.
So, it's still a perfect time for you to donate to support my work finishing the album, (which will come in a gorgeous storybook form) and of course you'll be the first to receive it!
During my most recent trip in August 2018, I did a really fun video interview at the site of the legendary Fox Sisters Cottage with Lily Dale Medium Celeste Elliot. Watch it at THIS LINK!
Thank YOU immensely for helping fund my initial trips and materials, enabling this project to even exist. I am honored by your level of trust in my work—and to the Lily Dale Assembly for inviting me to make this project happen. Such a rare opportunity!
I received a beautiful letter from the President of Lily Dale, and love having the enthusiasm and support of the community. Plus some donations from members of the Board.
Read the recent interview "A Glimpse Beyond the Veil: Jill Tracy Reveals The Secret Music of Lily Dale" in Haute Macabre! I discuss many behind-the -scenes tales and stories for the first time, hidden frequencies, spirit phenomena, my beliefs, and process unearthing music in unusual locations. This piece will give you much new insight on the project. So proud of how it came out. Excited for you to read it! Here is the LINK.
BIG NEWS! I have partnered with Lily Dale’s Marion H. Skidmore Library (which houses the largest collection of Spiritualist books in the world) to offer you a chance to win unique historical Lily Dale items drawn from their collections— awarded in random drawings to my campaign backers! A portion of proceeds from album sales will go to help the Marion H. Skidmore Library, and to preserve and house these rare books for years to come.
Every donation makes you automatically eligible for a chance to win.
***SCROLL DOWN for the original campaign story, plus the history behind it all... (and be sure to read the UPDATES here!) *** Also Follow JILL TRACY on Instagram. Follow the hashtag #jilltracyinlilydale for an ongoing peek into my otherworldly adventures!
What's it like inside this peculiar place called Lily Dale?
I have been fascinated with Lily Dale for years, and beyond thrilled to have been invited to research, live amongst the mediums, and compose music on the piano inside the 1883 grand auditorium (pictured below)— the site of many poignant spiritualist gatherings, spirit communication services, and lectures. Susan B. Anthony spoke during the Women's Suffrage Movement. Harry Houdini walked these grounds. (Did you know Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a devoted Spiritualist? Mae West too.)
It's an honor and inspiration to be blessed with this opportunity, but I need your help! Plus the thought of taking you along on the journey makes it even more alluring.
Come with me for a backstage pass beyond the veil.
Rare and strange discoveries await us both...
My invitation came unexpectedly (like most magical things do) so I am scrambling to prepare. I want to inhabit Lily Dale during its off-season, with no visitors, to experience the town authentically. And be able to work at the piano alone in the auditorium, wander and conduct field recordings in the mystical Leolyn Woods (a sight of supposed strong spirit activity.)
I will be living in the home of an actual medium on the lake!
I cannot bring a crew with me, so I must be completely self-contained with video, recording gear, software, and accessories. I must buy things. I have travel expenses. This is why I need your support! To show my appreciation, I'll send you secret behind-the-scenes photos, odd historical tales from the archives, videos, interviews, updates, recordings, and musical works in progress.
You'll peer into the entire process and accompany me on my explorations...
Details:
What is Lily Dale?
Lily Dale is a private village on small, placid Cassadaga Lake founded when the Spiritualist movement, began in 1848 in central New York State.
In the middle of nowhere, mediums, some of them fourth or fifth generation, live in quaint clapboard houses. The village, on 167 wooded acres, has about 100 year-round residents— ALL of them Mediums and Spiritualists. This means a belief that spirits are able to communicate with the living by agency of a medium. ... Adherents of spiritualistic movements believe that the spirits of the dead survive mortal life, and that sentient beings from spiritual worlds can and do communicate with the living.
Definitions from the National Spiritualist Association of Churches:
A Medium is one whose organism is sensitive to vibrations from the spirit world and through whose instrumentality, intelligences in that world are able to convey messages and produce the phenomena of Spiritualism. (1914)
Spiritualism is the Science, Philosophy and Religion of continuous life, based upon the demonstrated fact of communication, by means of mediumship, with those who live in the Spirit World. (1919)
What will you do there? And why?
My work has always been about honoring the Mystery, the hidden worlds that lurk all around us. My piano is my portal. Frequencies, resonant tones, music, and sound have long been used in psychic communication. Music (which is merely a collection of selected frequencies) is a bridge to realms we may never fully comprehend or master— but they surround us. I’m fascinated with what I call “sonic residue,” echoes, and impressions that remain in environments, buildings and objects. Much like a ghost. For me, uncovering the hidden music within these spaces is the closest thing to time travel or channeling. The thought of being alone at the grand piano in the 1883 Lily Dale auditorium at night, unearthing music on the instrument played during actual spiritualism services and séances is chilling. I plan to set up a series of microphones to capture the ambience, the room— the aural energy of being inside this place is as intense as the music I uncover.
And I will share it all with you for donating!
I will be working with the great folks at Lily Dale’s Marion H. Skidmore Library, which houses the largest collection of Spiritualist books in the world. They have been saving rare 1800s Spiritualist sheet music and audio-related materials for me for over a year! Much never-before-seen. So I will be spending a lot of time in the stacks.I plan to conduct interviews with historians and those who communicate with the dead—and even experience readings myself from the mediums, and attend mediumship workshops.
I approach this project as neither a believer nor non-believer, but open in expanding my mind to possibility. I do believe in other realms and energies far beyond human comprehension. There is so much we don't know.
Why should I donate?
Your donations make this project exist. The closer I can get to the goal and beyond means I get more accomplished during my stays in Lily Dale to create new art, music, and content I am proud to share with you.
NOTE: I am paid NO money for these research trips, make no other income during the time invested — and still responsible for my monthly bills and living expenses during my travels. It’s a tough constant slog for artists and researchers— countless hours unpaid, but the process is the most vital part of the creation!
Knowing you value my work and efforts means the world to me.
Budget includes separate 2017 and 2018 trips to Lily Dale —airfare, transportation, lodging, workshop fees, meetings, food, daily expenses.
Cost of audio/video gear, microphones, cases, accessories, hard drives, SD cards, batteries, etc. Post-production: audio/video editing software, plug-ins, computer upgrades, monitors, lighting, additional mastering, etc.
Please remember that this equipment is not "one-use only," but an investment enabling me to continue and expand my work ongoing. My future goal would be to use this material to finally launch my web series of strange, sonic explorations, which could also be edited into a podcast with interviews and stories, as well as releasing the Lily Dale music! This experience could also become a memoir, lecture/ live concert event. Ahhh, think of all the spellbinding possibilities!
Your contribution is the launchpad.
I am driven to do this project now, and celebrate these enchanting, hidden gems while they still exist. Lily Dale is such a place. There is belief and beauty here, a welcome respite from the current state of much of the world. It’s important to acknowledge this.
I embark on this project with the utmost respect.
I hope you will come with me...
For more info about my work and music, visit JILLTRACY.com
Follow JILL TRACY on Instagram .
Follow the hashtag #jilltracyinlilydale to keep up wth my otherworldly adventures!
+ Read More
So please donate now to get onboard and reserve your collectors copy of "The Secret Music of Lily Dale!"***
Composer and sonic archeologist Jill Tracy has begun an unprecedented project—a musical excavation of mysterious Lily Dale, the famed private town of mediums and Spiritualists in upstate New York. She is recording her singular piano music channeled at night inside the original 1883 auditorium, site of séances and spirit communication services for over a century. She has captured field recordings from the mystical Leolyn Woods to chilling nighttime rainstorms to create an authentic, never-before-heard sonic journey. Donate and get a rare glimpse into this strange, little town that talks to the dead...
“Jill Tracy is utterly intriguing. She transports you into a magical world solely of her creation.”
NPR, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED
"Jill Tracy is the Queen of taking her listeners into another realm."
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
“Jill Tracy creates an elegant netherworld both seductive and terrifying.”
CLIVE BARKER
***UPDATE: FEBRUARY 2019*** This campaign will close MARCH 31!!
Please CLICK on the actual UPDATES tab for my latest news and info on how to be part of "The Secret Music of Lily Dale" and receive the album before the fundraising closes. Your support is still greatly needed and appreciated....
**UPDATE: JANUARY 2019!**
The recordings are all finished! I have been in the San Francisco studio of renowned mastering engineer Gary Hobish to assemble the album from the hours of piano music and field recordings I captured in Lily Dale. This has been a long process as there is so much of it I love—making the final selections for the album is difficult. This music has cast a profound spell over me and I cannot stop listening to it.
Of course, as a donor you will get ALL the bonus music that does not make it on the album too! Plus your name in the credits as a Guardian Spirit.
So, it's still a perfect time for you to donate to support my work finishing the album, (which will come in a gorgeous storybook form) and of course you'll be the first to receive it!
During my most recent trip in August 2018, I did a really fun video interview at the site of the legendary Fox Sisters Cottage with Lily Dale Medium Celeste Elliot. Watch it at THIS LINK!
Thank YOU immensely for helping fund my initial trips and materials, enabling this project to even exist. I am honored by your level of trust in my work—and to the Lily Dale Assembly for inviting me to make this project happen. Such a rare opportunity!
I received a beautiful letter from the President of Lily Dale, and love having the enthusiasm and support of the community. Plus some donations from members of the Board.
Read the recent interview "A Glimpse Beyond the Veil: Jill Tracy Reveals The Secret Music of Lily Dale" in Haute Macabre! I discuss many behind-the -scenes tales and stories for the first time, hidden frequencies, spirit phenomena, my beliefs, and process unearthing music in unusual locations. This piece will give you much new insight on the project. So proud of how it came out. Excited for you to read it! Here is the LINK.
BIG NEWS! I have partnered with Lily Dale’s Marion H. Skidmore Library (which houses the largest collection of Spiritualist books in the world) to offer you a chance to win unique historical Lily Dale items drawn from their collections— awarded in random drawings to my campaign backers! A portion of proceeds from album sales will go to help the Marion H. Skidmore Library, and to preserve and house these rare books for years to come.
Every donation makes you automatically eligible for a chance to win.
***SCROLL DOWN for the original campaign story, plus the history behind it all... (and be sure to read the UPDATES here!) *** Also Follow JILL TRACY on Instagram. Follow the hashtag #jilltracyinlilydale for an ongoing peek into my otherworldly adventures!
What's it like inside this peculiar place called Lily Dale?
I have been fascinated with Lily Dale for years, and beyond thrilled to have been invited to research, live amongst the mediums, and compose music on the piano inside the 1883 grand auditorium (pictured below)— the site of many poignant spiritualist gatherings, spirit communication services, and lectures. Susan B. Anthony spoke during the Women's Suffrage Movement. Harry Houdini walked these grounds. (Did you know Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a devoted Spiritualist? Mae West too.)
It's an honor and inspiration to be blessed with this opportunity, but I need your help! Plus the thought of taking you along on the journey makes it even more alluring.
Come with me for a backstage pass beyond the veil.
Rare and strange discoveries await us both...
My invitation came unexpectedly (like most magical things do) so I am scrambling to prepare. I want to inhabit Lily Dale during its off-season, with no visitors, to experience the town authentically. And be able to work at the piano alone in the auditorium, wander and conduct field recordings in the mystical Leolyn Woods (a sight of supposed strong spirit activity.)
I will be living in the home of an actual medium on the lake!
I cannot bring a crew with me, so I must be completely self-contained with video, recording gear, software, and accessories. I must buy things. I have travel expenses. This is why I need your support! To show my appreciation, I'll send you secret behind-the-scenes photos, odd historical tales from the archives, videos, interviews, updates, recordings, and musical works in progress.
You'll peer into the entire process and accompany me on my explorations...
Details:
What is Lily Dale?
Lily Dale is a private village on small, placid Cassadaga Lake founded when the Spiritualist movement, began in 1848 in central New York State.
In the middle of nowhere, mediums, some of them fourth or fifth generation, live in quaint clapboard houses. The village, on 167 wooded acres, has about 100 year-round residents— ALL of them Mediums and Spiritualists. This means a belief that spirits are able to communicate with the living by agency of a medium. ... Adherents of spiritualistic movements believe that the spirits of the dead survive mortal life, and that sentient beings from spiritual worlds can and do communicate with the living.
Definitions from the National Spiritualist Association of Churches:
A Medium is one whose organism is sensitive to vibrations from the spirit world and through whose instrumentality, intelligences in that world are able to convey messages and produce the phenomena of Spiritualism. (1914)
Spiritualism is the Science, Philosophy and Religion of continuous life, based upon the demonstrated fact of communication, by means of mediumship, with those who live in the Spirit World. (1919)
What will you do there? And why?
My work has always been about honoring the Mystery, the hidden worlds that lurk all around us. My piano is my portal. Frequencies, resonant tones, music, and sound have long been used in psychic communication. Music (which is merely a collection of selected frequencies) is a bridge to realms we may never fully comprehend or master— but they surround us. I’m fascinated with what I call “sonic residue,” echoes, and impressions that remain in environments, buildings and objects. Much like a ghost. For me, uncovering the hidden music within these spaces is the closest thing to time travel or channeling. The thought of being alone at the grand piano in the 1883 Lily Dale auditorium at night, unearthing music on the instrument played during actual spiritualism services and séances is chilling. I plan to set up a series of microphones to capture the ambience, the room— the aural energy of being inside this place is as intense as the music I uncover.
And I will share it all with you for donating!
I will be working with the great folks at Lily Dale’s Marion H. Skidmore Library, which houses the largest collection of Spiritualist books in the world. They have been saving rare 1800s Spiritualist sheet music and audio-related materials for me for over a year! Much never-before-seen. So I will be spending a lot of time in the stacks.I plan to conduct interviews with historians and those who communicate with the dead—and even experience readings myself from the mediums, and attend mediumship workshops.
I approach this project as neither a believer nor non-believer, but open in expanding my mind to possibility. I do believe in other realms and energies far beyond human comprehension. There is so much we don't know.
Why should I donate?
Your donations make this project exist. The closer I can get to the goal and beyond means I get more accomplished during my stays in Lily Dale to create new art, music, and content I am proud to share with you.
NOTE: I am paid NO money for these research trips, make no other income during the time invested — and still responsible for my monthly bills and living expenses during my travels. It’s a tough constant slog for artists and researchers— countless hours unpaid, but the process is the most vital part of the creation!
Knowing you value my work and efforts means the world to me.
Budget includes separate 2017 and 2018 trips to Lily Dale —airfare, transportation, lodging, workshop fees, meetings, food, daily expenses.
Cost of audio/video gear, microphones, cases, accessories, hard drives, SD cards, batteries, etc. Post-production: audio/video editing software, plug-ins, computer upgrades, monitors, lighting, additional mastering, etc.
Please remember that this equipment is not "one-use only," but an investment enabling me to continue and expand my work ongoing. My future goal would be to use this material to finally launch my web series of strange, sonic explorations, which could also be edited into a podcast with interviews and stories, as well as releasing the Lily Dale music! This experience could also become a memoir, lecture/ live concert event. Ahhh, think of all the spellbinding possibilities!
Your contribution is the launchpad.
I am driven to do this project now, and celebrate these enchanting, hidden gems while they still exist. Lily Dale is such a place. There is belief and beauty here, a welcome respite from the current state of much of the world. It’s important to acknowledge this.
I embark on this project with the utmost respect.
I hope you will come with me...
For more info about my work and music, visit JILLTRACY.com
Follow JILL TRACY on Instagram .
Follow the hashtag #jilltracyinlilydale to keep up wth my otherworldly adventures!
Greetings beyond the veil… a juicy, exciting update!
(NOTE: This campaign will close MARCH 31. So please read on for further instructions.)
Since we last connected here, I have been culling through hours of piano and field recordings, plus hundreds of photographs I have taken since beginning this project in the private Spiritualist community of Lily Dale, NY in 2017.
Last month, I began working in the studio with renowned audio mastering engineer Gary Hobish to assemble the album, which will have 17 tracks.
The biggest difficulty was whittling down what to use because I love so much of it! It casts quite an alluring spell, and it's thrilling for me to be able to finally hear it coming together as an actual cohesive thing!
“The Secret Music of Lily Dale” was created in complete Vérité style. I am so proud of this fact.
Over a series of visits, I recorded spontaneous compositions alone at night on an antique grand piano inside the famed 1883 auditorium, site of spirit communication services and séances for over a century. I captured field recordings in powerful vortex points including the Leolyn Woods, Inspiration Stump, chilling nighttime thunderstorms, winds, Lily Dale’s indigenous birds, geese and crickets— creating an elegant, never-before-heard sonic journey.
During my late nights alone at the piano, you’ll witness mysterious sounds that appeared on the recording that defy explanation. I could definitely sense that I was not alone in that space, and have done NO editing of unusual instances I experienced during my solitary sessions. You’ll hear it all! It’s chilling (and beautiful) to say the least. These recordings are not only stunningly authentic, but make a emotional connection with the environment and the listener, a depth of which I am only now beginning to comprehend.
And the best part: the piano music is gorgeous. Some of the best work I’ve ever created. It’s ambient and cinematic, transporting, dark classical. Mystical, yet meditative.
This recording is a much needed respite from our now contrived and phony world. What a joy to have created that for you.
Since this project is unprecedented and the tales so compelling, I have decided to release the album with an accompanying hard-back book!
I’ll reveal personal stories, rare historical and behind-the-scenes photos, discussing my peculiar discoveries through the process.
I have been in meetings with one of my favorite graphic artists to helm this with me.
The GoFundMe campaign thus far has enabled me to complete the initial recording and research trips. And I thank you greatly!
All of you who donated to the campaign will receive the album and book long before it goes on sale to the public in October!
Now that I am nearing manufacturing stages, and have more of an idea of budget, I am happy to say that everyone who has donated $40 or more to this campaign will be receiving the physical hard back book, CD, plus my unreleased audio commentary and interviews. (This includes shipping.)
If you donated less than $40, you will receive the full digital version of the album and full color PDF of the book.
And all of you will be named in the album as my “Guardian Spirits.”
***And everyone will be entered to win one-of-a-kind Lily Dale spirit collectibles. There will be two final random winners when the campaign ends.
This is truly one of the most intriguing projects I ever done, and I am honored you made it come to life.
You are certainly welcome to increase your donation to $40 or more if you’d like to receive the physical book and CD. (This helps me tremendously with upcoming manufacturing costs and paying the engineer and designers.) Just message me with your new donation that you are adding to a previous contribution so I can adjust.
And of course, donations are welcome in any amount ongoing until March 31.
NOTE: If you’d prefer to donate to me directly so I can save the added GoFundMe fees, please email me at: suspect (at) JILLTRACY dot com and I will reply with an easy way for you to do that.
Your additional support will help make this sonic tribute to Lily Dale as wonderful as it deserves to be.
We’ve come quite far in this otherworldly journey together and I am thrilled to finally share it with you.
It’s been fun getting all your supportive feedback during this time. I appreciate it more than you know.
I will be emailing all donors when the campaign ends (after March 31) with further instructions!
In Spirit,
Jill Tracy
(NOTE: This campaign will close MARCH 31. So please read on for further instructions.)
Since we last connected here, I have been culling through hours of piano and field recordings, plus hundreds of photographs I have taken since beginning this project in the private Spiritualist community of Lily Dale, NY in 2017.
Last month, I began working in the studio with renowned audio mastering engineer Gary Hobish to assemble the album, which will have 17 tracks.
The biggest difficulty was whittling down what to use because I love so much of it! It casts quite an alluring spell, and it's thrilling for me to be able to finally hear it coming together as an actual cohesive thing!
“The Secret Music of Lily Dale” was created in complete Vérité style. I am so proud of this fact.
Over a series of visits, I recorded spontaneous compositions alone at night on an antique grand piano inside the famed 1883 auditorium, site of spirit communication services and séances for over a century. I captured field recordings in powerful vortex points including the Leolyn Woods, Inspiration Stump, chilling nighttime thunderstorms, winds, Lily Dale’s indigenous birds, geese and crickets— creating an elegant, never-before-heard sonic journey.
During my late nights alone at the piano, you’ll witness mysterious sounds that appeared on the recording that defy explanation. I could definitely sense that I was not alone in that space, and have done NO editing of unusual instances I experienced during my solitary sessions. You’ll hear it all! It’s chilling (and beautiful) to say the least. These recordings are not only stunningly authentic, but make a emotional connection with the environment and the listener, a depth of which I am only now beginning to comprehend.
And the best part: the piano music is gorgeous. Some of the best work I’ve ever created. It’s ambient and cinematic, transporting, dark classical. Mystical, yet meditative.
This recording is a much needed respite from our now contrived and phony world. What a joy to have created that for you.
Since this project is unprecedented and the tales so compelling, I have decided to release the album with an accompanying hard-back book!
I’ll reveal personal stories, rare historical and behind-the-scenes photos, discussing my peculiar discoveries through the process.
I have been in meetings with one of my favorite graphic artists to helm this with me.
The GoFundMe campaign thus far has enabled me to complete the initial recording and research trips. And I thank you greatly!
All of you who donated to the campaign will receive the album and book long before it goes on sale to the public in October!
Now that I am nearing manufacturing stages, and have more of an idea of budget, I am happy to say that everyone who has donated $40 or more to this campaign will be receiving the physical hard back book, CD, plus my unreleased audio commentary and interviews. (This includes shipping.)
If you donated less than $40, you will receive the full digital version of the album and full color PDF of the book.
And all of you will be named in the album as my “Guardian Spirits.”
***And everyone will be entered to win one-of-a-kind Lily Dale spirit collectibles. There will be two final random winners when the campaign ends.
This is truly one of the most intriguing projects I ever done, and I am honored you made it come to life.
You are certainly welcome to increase your donation to $40 or more if you’d like to receive the physical book and CD. (This helps me tremendously with upcoming manufacturing costs and paying the engineer and designers.) Just message me with your new donation that you are adding to a previous contribution so I can adjust.
And of course, donations are welcome in any amount ongoing until March 31.
NOTE: If you’d prefer to donate to me directly so I can save the added GoFundMe fees, please email me at: suspect (at) JILLTRACY dot com and I will reply with an easy way for you to do that.
Your additional support will help make this sonic tribute to Lily Dale as wonderful as it deserves to be.
We’ve come quite far in this otherworldly journey together and I am thrilled to finally share it with you.
It’s been fun getting all your supportive feedback during this time. I appreciate it more than you know.
I will be emailing all donors when the campaign ends (after March 31) with further instructions!
In Spirit,
Jill Tracy
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