Take a Sound Bath to Welcome the New Year

Attendees are invited to set an intention, spark creativity and welcome the new year with a transformative sound bath at The Church. Musician and meditation DJ Daniel Lauter will return, by popular demand, on Friday, January 2, at 11 a.m. to lead an immersive session designed to ease participants into 2026 with grounding sound and restorative focus.

Guests will be welcomed into the space with a take-home midwinter sachet of pine, cedar and cinnamon before embarking on a calming sonic journey. Lauter’s sound bath incorporates an array of hand-selected instruments, including crystal bowls, symphonic gong, Himalayan bells, bansuri, yidaki (didjeridu), shruti, vocal toning and healing mantras, tongue drum, rain sticks and ocarina. His performance blends phrasing, melody, and harmonic balance to create a rich tapestry of global sound traditions.

Participants must bring their own yoga mats, cushions, blankets or other items for comfort while sitting or reclining. Attendees are welcome to bring sketchbooks or journals to explore new ideas inspired by the meditative environment.

Daniel Lauter, known as Meditation DJ, is a classically trained musician, composer, and saxophonist recognized as a pioneer in modern sound healing. He was among the first artists to incorporate the transformational qualities of crystal bowls into sound-journey recordings and helped produce the genre’s earliest digital releases.

Lauter and his wife, Donna, founded Modern Rites/Ancient Waves, an interdisciplinary performance gallery in Northern California that was among the first to exhibit and curate Aboriginal Dreamtime and Central Desert dot painting. The gallery also presented storytelling and music events featuring artists, elders, and wisdom keepers from the Bunjalung, Pomo, Lakota, Yoruba, Huichol and other nations. During this period, Lauter developed the “dream work” practices that continue to shape his performance style.

More than four decades, Lauter has crafted an extensive palette of global sounds for his sound-alchemy performances, featured in galleries, yoga studios and music venues. A graduate of a New York music conservatory, he studied clarinet with principals of the New York City Ballet and New York City Opera before training at the Center for Experimental and Interdisciplinary Art in San Francisco. He has performed with jazz and funk groups, tribal swing and ambient ensembles, and the San Francisco punk band Tx. He has lectured internationally on integrating sound and mindfulness.

Tickets are $25 ($20 members) at thechurchsagharbor.org. The Church is at 48 Madison Street in Sag Harbor.