Constance Demby

Career In 1960, Demby quit her studies and moved to Greenwich Village in New York City. She continued to work as a musician and sculptor, combining these disciplines with her first sheet metal sound sculptures, built in 1966. She was torching a sheet of metal in her sculptural practice when she noticed the low tones and unusual sounds that the vibrating metal produced, which subsequently led to the development of her first handmade instruments. The band toured the East Coast, playing at planetariums in Massachusetts, as well as Lincoln Center, the World Trade Center, and at the United Nations Sculpture Garden in New York City. Demby's co-founder told a reporter in 1974:

In 1976, the CMPMC disbanded and its founders moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. While Rutman went on to pursue directions in contemporary classical and industrial music with the sheet metal instruments that they had created, Demby headed down a quieter path. She studied yoga with Ajaib Singh, known as Sant Ji, Demby performed at the Alaron Center in Sausalito, spawning her Live at Alaron (1984) album which displays themes the in her definitive studio album, Novus Magnificat (1986).

In 2000, Demby left California for Spain, eventually settling in Sitges near Barcelona, where she recorded Sanctum Sanctuorum (2001), a reworked version of Faces of the Christ (2000) with added keyboard parts and choral and Gregorian chant.

Demby returned to the US in 2004, touring the West Coast presenting concerts and healing workshops. Her Sound Currents label subsequently released Sonic Immersion (2004), a vibrational sound healing attunement through use of the Space Bass.

In addition to her studio albums, Demby is best known for creating two experimental musical instruments: the Whale Sail and the Sonic Steel Space Bass. These 10-foot-long sheet metal idiophones are played with a bass bow to create low resonating tones.

Personal life and death In 1961, Eggers married David Demby and they had one son, Joshua. The marriage ended in divorce in 1974.

Demby's nephew is writer, editor, and publisher Dave Eggers.

Discography Studio albums

Skies Above Skies (1978) Sunborne (1980) Sacred Space Music (1982) Novus Magnificat: Through the Stargate (1986) Set Free (1989) Æterna (1995) Faces of the Christ (2000) Sanctum Sanctuorum (2001) Spirit Trance (2004) Sonic Immersion: A Vibratory Tonal Attunement (2004) Ambrosial Waves – Healing Waters (2011) Ambrosial Waves – Tidal Pools (2013) Novus Magnificat: Through the Stargate – 30th Anniversary Edition (2017)

Live albums Constance Demby at Alaron – Live Concert Recording (1984) Attunement: Live in Concert (2000) Live in Tokyo (2003)

Videos Live in Tokyo Meet Constance Demby

Compilations Light of This World (1987)

Appearances Dorothy Carter – Troubadour (1976) Michael Stearns – Chronos (Original Soundtrack Recording) (1984) Stephen Coughlin – Breeze at Dawn (1989) Various Artists – Polar Shift (1991) Various Artists – Illumination Arjuna Ardagh and Constance Demby – Guided Meditations: The Heart Meditation (1998) Arjuna Ardagh and Constance Demby – Guided Meditations: The Beloved (1998) Eterna (Linda Bandino) and Constance Demby – The Journey Home Eterna (Linda Bandino) and Constance Demby – The Master Healing Ray