soundscape

John Paul’s interest in the arts involves a deeper understanding of the power of vibration and the way that sound and music touches the human spirit. Over the years with colleagues, he has explored sound and vibration in various ways and in various forms. John Paul has taken his classrooms into recording studios so that people could experience the potential and power of the recorded voice. He has produced live performance and recorded albums that were imagined to encourage social change and peacebuilding. He has also co-created multi-year initiatives to  inquire into the connections between the arts, compassionate presence, renewal, and the gathering of artists, activists, and students in conversational retreats.

Stories and Songs for the Road, Live at the Guild

Songs and stories recorded in a ceremony for graduates of Eastern Mennonite High School.

Dream the Light: A Story and a Song

A story and accompanying song co-written by Herm Weaver and John Paul proposing a generative response to the events of September 11.

In Your Song I Hear My Voice

A two-track album comprised of a story and song that together uplift the unifying power of music.

She, Rose

A poem in memory of Kenyan peacebuilder Rose Barmasai.

Beautiful Men

A film made during a class on the moral imagination at Eastern Mennonite University's Summer Peacebuilding Institute in 2008.

The Below and the Beyond in Peacebuilding: Aspen Art

A video emergent from a conversation retreat reflecting on the metaphors of trees and wood working in relationship with conflict and peace.