Yesterday we celebrated the First Year Anniversary of the UNITY CENTER of the VALLEY  "Spiritual community is a powerful opportunity. There are many levels addressed with it.  On a level that is very subtle, souls come together that need to see each other again. Perhaps they have been apart for a very long time and have a contract to fulfill. On a social level, there are opportunities for fellowship, enjoyment, laughter and creativity. On a human level, there are opportunities for support and relief from feeling alone, a place to connect and to feel loved. On the level of awakening, there is spiritual principle and spiritual law that is considered as a map of guidance to open the spirit within to intuitivelyshow the way. Spiritual community is about many things -- many needs and requirements are addressed. Unity Center of the Valley is just beginning to be its potential. It is a malleable idea of love and creativity that is taking its first steps. Your love and support have contributed to this beginning. Your consciousness has played a valuable part in the love that is has been and continues to be expressed. We are truly grateful. This Sunday, we will explore community and how it is a powerful expression of love that can change your world. "  - Rev. Bruce https://www.unitycenterofthevalley.com/   The celebration included a special performance by William Eaton and some of  his collection of hand made musical instruments. He played a TREE HARP, You can see several photos at this link and the interview about him that was featured in the Newspaper. PLEASE check it out. This tree harp is HUGE and the fact that he turned it into a harp I was so amazed to see it and listen to him play it. Mr. Eaton is the host of the Old Town Center for the Arts.https://www.oldtowncenter.org/ PLEASE SEE THIS INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS of the TREE HARP HERE >>https://verdenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=99&SubSectionID=1479&TM=34421.35

By Jon Pelletier Staff Photographer William Eaton provided a retrospective look at four decades of his music and instrument making on Friday at the Old Town Center for the Arts. A co-founder and the current director of Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery, a school for guitar making in Phoenix, William is acknowledged as one of the world's great designers and builders of harp guitars and multi-stringed instruments. His Friday concert provided insights into the inspiration, ideas, and construction of his instruments that, one reviewer said, "resemble ancient artifacts from the planet Pandora in Avatar." For Eaton each instrument is a journey, requiring six months to 10 years to construct. From conception to completion to composing new music and playing these instruments, a story is revealed. As in oral tradition the story continues to unfold with each telling. Among the instruments that William played Friday included: ElysianHarmonium, koto-harp guitar, lyre, O'ele'n Strings, Spiral Clef, vihuela, lyraharp guitar, Havasupai Harp, Tree Harp and double neck harp guitar. Each instrument is one-of-a-kind; unique in form, tonal qualities, woods, and materials. The designs draw inspiration from a diversity of world cultures and instrument families, and are as simple as the one string shaman's bow to the technically complex double neck synthesizer harp guitar, complete with an onboard computerized Transperformance system, that allows strings to be tightened or loosened to predetermined pitches, instantaneously .

William
Eaton .  Acknowledged as one of the world’s great designers
and builders of unique guitars, Eaton’s instruments have been featured
in books, magazines, video, luthier conventions and at international
exhibits. As an apprentice to John Roberts he built his first guitar in
1971. Along with Roberts and Bob Venn, he co-founded the Roberto-Venn
School of Luthiery in Phoenix in 1975, where he continues as director of
the school and creator of new instruments. 

https://www.william-eaton.com/luthier.html

An innovative artist Eaton’s musical composition is an
evocative style that captures the spirit of the Southwest. Combining
structure with improvisation he has written scores for chamber orchestra
and Sonoran desert ensembles, ambient landscape music, lyric folk
songs, indigenous trance music, and sound track scores including the
Emmy award winning video “Beyond Tradition.” He has composed and
co-composed ten albums for Canyon Records including the Grammy nominated
Ancestral Voices and In A Distant Place.

William has performed
and recorded as a soloist, with Native American Flutist R. Carlos Nakai,
percussionist Will Clipman, Tibetan flutist Nawang Khechog with the
Nouveau West Chamber Orchestra, the Nebraska Chamber Orchestra, and with
ensembles he has formed, including musicians: Clipman, Claudia Tulip,
Allen Ames, Mary Redhouse, Edgar Meyer, Udi Arouh, Arvel Bird, Robert
Tree Cody, Rachel Harris, Keith Johnson, Vusi Shibambo, Fitzhugh
Jenkins, Zirque Bonner, and the Monks of the Tibetan Drepung Loseling
Monastery.

William’s current project is as
founder and manager of the Old Town Center for the Arts in Cottonwood,
AZ.  He and his wife Christine
have turned an old church into a wonderfully  intimate arts and 
concert venue in the heart of the Verde Valley. 

A
short drive from Sedona this small concert and events facility has the
charm of old world Arizona and brings an eclectic mix of music and
entertainment from Contemporary music to “Poetry Slam” to classical
concerts.  For more info visit www.oldtowncenter.org .

at: livemusicphx.wordpress.com/.../

William Eaton has designed and built many
multi-stringed instruments throughout the years that are considered to
be works of art and have been featured in books, magazines, museums and
art exhibits. While his previous creations are one-of-a-kind, this is
the first time he has produced similar instruments with a group vision
in mind. It is also the first time he has formed a team to help with the
construction. Luthiers Robert Mazzullo, Kris Olsen, and Bart
Applewhite, who are staff members of the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery
in Phoenix, worked with Eaton to complete three of the first ÔquartetÕ
of instruments. The fourth instrument is scheduled to be finished in
September.

While the design of each electric harp
guitar is the same the use of different, rare hardwoods gives each
instrument a distinct character. Vermillion (rust orange), Brazilian
satinwood (yellow), purple heart (purple), flamed maple (blonde) and
ebony give each instrument a brilliant natural color.

The 18-string electric harp guitar has an
extended guitar scale neck that is approximately two inches longer than a
regular electric guitar. This longer scale gives the instrument a lower
range and deeper tone values. A sinewy curve arches from the headstock
to the end of the fret board and flows through the sculpted body to
create harp bows by which to attach two extra sets of strings. Six
strings are attached to the longer harp bow, and provide open plucked
frequencies in the mid and bass ranges. Six strings are also attached to
the lower body of the instrument; with their shorter string length
resulting in higher pitched notes similar to the small Autoharp of the
zither family. The instrument utilizes electro-magnetic and piezo
pickups that allows the guitar and harp strings to be amplified.

William Eaton has performed
and recorded as a soloist, with Native American Flutist R. Carlos Nakai,
percussionist Will Clipman, Tibetan flutist Nawang Khechog with the
Nouveau West Chamber Orchestra, the Nebraska Chamber Orchestra, and with
ensembles he has formed, including musicians: Clipman, Claudia Tulip,
Allen Ames, Mary Redhouse, Edgar Meyer, Udi Arouh, Arvel Bird, Robert
Tree Cody, Rachel Harris, Keith Johnson, Vusi Shibambo, Fitzhugh
Jenkins, Zirque Bonner, and the Monks of the Tibetan Drepung Loseling
Monastery. As a soloist and with the above artists Eaton has completed
ten recordings for the Canyon Records label.

https://www.william-eaton.com/luthier.html

https://verdenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=99&SubSectionID=1479&TM=34421.35

https://www.unitycenterofthevalley.com/