Tiny Temple is a fundraiser benefiting Clouds in Water Zen Center.
$45 per ticket per event
Gather Close. Listen Deeply.
The Tiny Temple Concert Series transforms Clouds in Water Zen Center into an intimate music venue for four unforgettable evenings of live performance. Inspired by the power of deep listening, each concert brings audiences and artists into close connection, creating a shared experience that feels personal, present, and meaningful.
More than a concert series, Tiny Temple is a fundraiser that helps sustain the center's mission of fostering mindfulness, justice, and compassionate community care. Every ticket purchased supports programs that help individuals and communities cultivate wisdom, resilience, and belonging.
October 3
November 21
December 19
January 23
7 pm at Clouds in Water Zen Center
Featuring Davu Seru & Matthew Rahaim, Rachel Kurtz,
Brent Weaver & Maja Radovanlija, Renkyo Heather Demetrios Fehst,
Mikey Marget and more.
October 3
Davu Seru & Matthew Rahaim
An evening of jazz percussion and vocals, improvisation, presence, and deep listening
Davu Seru is an acclaimed multidisciplinary artist, avant-garde jazz drummer, composer, and literary scholar based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Known for his improvisational agility and "big ears," Seru is highly respected both in the Twin Cities music scene and internationally for his creative attention to sound, silence, and melody. Alongside his musical achievements, he serves as an educator and a prominent curator of African American literature. Davu is an active practicing Buddhist and board member at the Clouds in Water Zen Center.
Matthew Rahaim is a vocalist and creative musician grounded in the Gwalior lineage of raga music, trained under Laxman Krishnarao Pandit. Matthew's recent compositions and installations have appeared at the Modulus Festival, the Wakpa Triennial, Drone Not Drones, and The Great Beyond. Matthew's recent project, Resonant Transmutations, features a suite of newly composed pieces for instruments crafted by sculptor Pedram Baldari out of decommissioned rifles. He is currently working on close readings of the individual song repertoires of American Robins and a suite of astrological pieces drawing on the cosmic music theory of Johannes Kepler. He is Professor of Music at the University of Minnesota.
November 21
Rachel Kurtz
An evening of story, song, laughter, and connection
singer:songwriter:speaker:storyteller
Rachel Kurtz has been touring and singing for almost 20 years. She speaks frankly about love, God, parenting, heartbreak and her infectious laugh is peppered throughout her concerts. Her songs are rife with emotion and can make you get up and dance. Whether she is singing in a bar or church, her voice can cut through the noise and gives the listener a place to rest.
December 19
Brent Weaver & Maja Radovanlija
An evening celebrating the richness, intimacy, and expressive possibilities of the guitar
Brent Weaver has been teaching classical guitar for 50 years. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in music from California State University Sacramento in 1980. In 1996, Brent received his Master of Music in Music Education degree with a Kodaly emphasis from Holy Names College in Oakland, California. Soon after, he moved to Minnesota where he taught for 24 years at MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis. Brent has studied guitar with Jose Rey de la Torre, John Majors, Jim Flegel, Jason Vieux and Maja Radovanlija. He performed in master classes with guitarists Eduardo Fernandez, Carlos Perez. Juan Mercadal and Abel Carlevaro. Brent completed training in Suzuki Guitar Books 1-7 with David Madsen. Currently he teaches guitar at the Midway Guitar Studio in St Paul.
Maja Radovanlija is a versatile guitarist and musical explorer. Born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, she brings nearly two decades of classical guitar training from University of Belgrade and Jacobs School of Music, where she earned Masters of Music and Doctor of Music Degrees (JSM, IU Bloomington). Her musical path has been defined by a rich tapestry of collaborations that traverse diverse genres, from Balkan traditional music to Early music, jazz, and intuitive free improvisation. Radovanlija is an active member of multiple distinguished ensembles, including the Szilard Mezéi ensemble, Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, Ensemble Studio6, MM Guitar duo, Pajunen/Radovanlija duo, Musika Medica trio and trio with Brothers Teofilović. Her innovative approach to music-making reflects a deep commitment to cross-cultural musical dialogue and creative expression.
January 23
Renkyo Heather Demetrios Fehst & Mikey Marget
A night of sound healing, poetry, ritual, and art
Close out the Tiny Temple Concert Series with an evening inspired by the funky, free-spirited spirit of the 1960s counterculture. Experience powerful local musicians, poetry, soulful grooves, and beatnik-inspired artistry, woven together with a Japanese tea ceremony–inspired ritual, storytelling, and live visual art.
The evening culminates in an immersive sound bath with Renkyo Heather Demetrios Fehst, accompanied by a live artist creating in response to the sounds.
Renkyo Heather Demetrios Fehst (she/her) is a sound healer, writer, psychotherapist, and the former Executive Director of Clouds in Water. Her work centers on supporting artists as they navigate the unique mental health challenges of the creative life and working with women and girls to empower and heal themselves through story after experiencing gender-based violence. Her sound experiences create a communal container for reverent encounter with one's self, the cosmos, and an opportunity for catharsis, release, and homecoming. You can find out more about Ren's therapeutic approach at pneumamentalhealth.com.
Mikey Marget is a cellist, poet, soundscape artist, dog lover, and active community member. In their improvisational life, they create spaces of ambient gentleness, connection, and exploration. Their band, SpectacleCase, floats between Nordic folk, rock, ambient, and jazz-- all centered around community connection, queer experience, ancestral tradition, spirituality, and the natural world. Mikey takes advantage of grant funding to support music rooted in togetherness, and has been awarded the Cedar Cultural Center Commissions, a MN State Arts Board Creative Individuals Grant, Artists Respond: Weathered Together Grant, Springboard’s Growth Fund, and an American Scandinavian Foundation Fellowship.