“Evelyn is a true musician in every sense of the word. She can create powerful music wherever she goes using her voice, frame drum, steel drum, rattle, singing bowl or anything at her disposal. I was at a retreat recently and witnessed the effect her singing and playing had on the participants. When it was my turn to unfold my story I called on her to play the frame drum to help open the door. Sometimes sound is the only thing that can do that and Evelyn knows how to connect sound with spirit and intention to create powerful medicine.”
– Brian McWilliams, recording artist, May 2013
“There was just so much that I had learned that day about sounds/music and also sharing in sound with others. It did so much for my entire being. I play music as well, guitar and singing, and it has also had an effect on how I hear myself play and how to offer my own sound to others. The experience truly made such a profound impact that I didn’t even realize how much I absorbed that day until months and months later I am describing the event just as vividly as the day it happened.”
– A Regnier, Windsor, ON, May 2015
“Ev’s voice has an ancient quality to it and gives itself so beautifully to the tones & rhythm of her drum. She has a gift and I know how others are blessed to have her in their lives”.
– The Revd. James A. Roberts, IL, May 2013
“I experienced a sound session with Evelyn and was so impressed and moved by it. Music can and does move us from one place to another; but only in the hands of someone who knows how to shape it’s gentle power. Through her many instruments, including her own voice, Evelyn created a experience that helped me move in and out of my consciousness; touching that place in our minds where creativity lies. I came to the table tired, anxious and unfocused and I left feeling restored, calmer and whole.”
– The Revd. Kathleen Rolenz, Cleveland, OH, August 2012
“The gathering of women, [Sonica Sanctus] was phenomenal, heart-wrenching in the best way, heart rendering in the most tender way and heart opening in the most opulent!”
– Karen Keresturi, Yoga Instructor, Sarnia, ON, October 2012
“I am part of a summer drumming circle led by Ev. At the end of each session Evelyn provides us with the gift of a soundscape using both the HAPI drum and her beautiful voice. It is both therapeutic and healing for one’s soul. The drum provides sounds that are soothing and that resonate within your being; it is the perfect way to end the session. I always leave in a calm and relaxed state. It moves you to a space that is both restoring and beyond words.”
– G. Kreutzer, Valhalla Beach, MB, August 2012
“I found the session to be hauntingly beautiful, relaxing and nurturing. I had an image of myself as a baby, surrounded by pure joy and love.”
– The Revd. I. Veldhuis Hillmer, Hamilton, ON, October 2010
“I was going through chemo therapy when I heard about Evelyn’s music. I was actually quite ill. Evelyn gave me several treatments. I was elevated to a different level. I felt light, freer and much more comfortable. Evelyn has the voice of an angel and once you experience her caring treatment you will be so glad she blessed you with her loving care. I strongly recommend this treatment to anyone who needs comfort. I found Evelyn to be kind, caring and extremely professional.”
– B. Maitland, Petrolia, ON, April 2009
“Our organization engaged Evelyn to lead our leadership group in a sound process just prior to a retreat we were sponsoring. After participating in her soundwork, we all felt relaxed, focused and energized- just what we needed to move into what was a very intense weekend workshop! She set the stage perfectly for us!”
– R.D. Hunting, Massage Therapist, Oak Park, IL, October 2010
“Very often at the end of life, the world shrinks and becomes sterile. Evelyn’s soundwork can bring beauty, relaxation and comfort at such a time, beyond the reach of medicines, beyond the reach of words. In my training for pastoral work, we were told that the last sense to be lost at the end of life is hearing. Sensitive soundwork of the sort Evelyn practices, soundwork that inspires and awakens memory, can provide a ministry of the spirit for the person who is dying and for loved ones.”
– Linda Watson, MRE, MDiv, ThM, author of Facing Death: A Companion in Words and Images
“During my sound treatment I intended to easily, effortlessly and without pain release all painful broken heart emotions and disappointments to the light. I experienced 2 voices at the same time, Evelyn’s and a deeply primal-sound coming from all around me. I knew that the sounds coming from and thru her were intuitively delivered to me, speaking to me on such a soul level that I can only describe it as “I became one with the sound.” After a bad car accident I have been having problems with my jaw. I felt it being physically adjusted even though Ev was clearly singing/chanting and moving around me and no where near my face. My body felt as if it were vibrating during the treatment. I saw many colors; at first pinks, then blues surrounded by green and then to fingers of indigo. At the end of the treatment I saw a peaceful pallet of violet and physically I felt PEACE. Though I feel there is room for both modern medicine and holistic treatments in our society, Ev’s gifts go to the core of ones being to shift and heal people.”
– Lynda Buckland,RM, Meditation Instructor, Sarnia, ON, November 2011
“I had the opportunity of participating in a session from Evelyn. It was like nothing I had ever experienced. Her soothing chanting and gentle drumming allowed me to connect with aspects of my soul. I was able to drift away and feel the vibrations like waves of silk over my body. I would certainly recommend this as a healing tool in the delivery of Palliative Care. Even if the senses are failing hearing and touch are the last to go. It could be a tool for the grieving as well. I am a retired nurse educator who currently teaches Palliative Care and does workshops on the healing power of forgiveness.”
– Claudia Kuryk-Serray, Reiki & Therapeutic Touch practitioner, Winnipeg, MB, August 2011
“A sound session with Evelyn is a safe place to surrender all that distracts, annoys, and preoccupies, and to just “be” for a while, surrounded by soothing tones, vibrations, and elemental sounds. It is primitive and comforting and healing all at the same time…. a truly unique, personalized invitation to pray, relax and regroup. Evelyn’s intuitive and musical sensibilities provide a uniquely soothing setting within which to venture deep within, to tap into your own intuitive realm and reach for whatever affirmation is waiting. I left feeling connected, peaceful and refreshed…. and back “in tune” with myself and the universe. I look forward to future opportunities to be blessed in this remarkable way.”
– The Revd. Nancy Adams, Petrolia, ON, October 2010
“My sound healing session with Ev was incredible. As the music began, and Ev began sounding around and on top of my body, I felt the sound resonances deep within my body. In particular, the drum sent deep vibrations into every part of my body, loosening old tensions, easing my heart, helping me to breathe more deeply. I felt the feathery light touch of unseen hands on my eyelids, urging me to see clearly. I first remembered, brought to consciousness, and finally caught a very old dream fragment of climbing steps made of clouds into a sky full of clouds, feeling liberated if a bit confused. The sounds that Ev made were profoundly authentic, arising directly from her heart – I could hear the authenticity in her voice and with every sound she made – she has found her true calling.”
– Pat Parisi, Psychotherapist, Windhorse Wellness, Toronto, ON, May 2010
“Evelyn’s sound sessions are not traditional therapy in that she makes no claims to heal or read or analyze you. Instead, I think of it as an enhancement. Whether you’re in a mode to meditate, relax, pray, or self-heal, the sound session provides enhancement. Evelyn herself is entirely non-intrusive … and yet the succession of sounds that she creates permeate you, fill you up, turn on your brain, lift your spirit. My goal for the session was to get the work week out of my head and relax. The sound claimed me for the hour, and while it wound around me, it succeeded in unwinding my stress. I came out of the session feeling relaxed, refreshed and yet excited. Something new had happened to me and I had felt myself respond in a most surprising and satisfying way. My goal of relaxation was met and, as the day progressed, I consciously realized that my outlook on the world around me was lighter, buoyant and uplifted.”
– L.T., Sarnia, ON, March 2010
Evelyn Ward de Roo 