Sherry Finzer

Websites:
Heart Dance Bandcamp
Heart Dance Records
Heart Dance Linktree

Voics of the Wild
by Sherry Finzer

Resonance and Responsibility: A Conversation with
Sherry Finzer on the Language of the Land

Sherry Finzer is an award-winning flutist, composer, and the founder of Heart Dance Records, a label dedicated to music for well-being. With a career spanning over three decades, she has transitioned from the rigid structures of classical performance to becoming a leading voice in the ambient and New Age genres. As a performer, she is known for her mastery of a wide array of instruments, most notably the Native American-style flute, which she uses to bridge the gap between human breath and the natural world. As a label head, she has overseen billions of streams and built a "family" of artists focused on the healing power of sound, establishing herself as a vital executive and creative force in the instrumental music industry.

This latest chapter of her journey, Voices of the Wild, Vol. 1, is a "musical postcard" captured during her travels across the American West in a Class A motorhome. Recorded within the legendary, 40-second reverb of The Tank Center for Sonic Arts, the album represents a profound shift in her creative process—a "ceremonial dialogue" with the land that favors silence and resonance over technical density. In the conversation that follows, Sherry explores the unique acoustic conversation she held with the steel walls of a converted cistern, the challenges of maintaining a healing mission in a data-driven industry, and why she views herself as a conduit for the pre-existing energy of the American landscape.

As those reflections overlap, layers of harmonics and overtones are created, and they respond differently depending on the nature of the flute I am using. A Native American-style flute made from a harder, denser wood tends to create a more intense response, while a flute made from a softer wood produces a gentler one.

Before playing and recording a new idea, I will choose a certain arpeggio structure and sample it to hear how those notes respond back to me. I especially love working with minor and dominant seventh arpeggios. 

I do need to leave more space between phrases to give the Tank a chance to speak. If I were to play without that space, the chamber would become a cacophony of sound, never giving the listener a chance to reflect or contemplate, and the music would not have the calming quality I intended it to have. 

AV:  The album is described as a "musical postcard" of your travels through the American West in a Class A motorhome. Could you share how the physical reality of a nomadic life—waking up in places like Glacier National Park or the rolling lands of Goldendale—influences your improvisational process compared to a traditional studio setting? 

SF:  I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel in my motorhome and to see and experience so many beautiful places. The world we live in has a lot of darkness, but it also holds so much beauty and light. It is one thing to view photos and videos of places, but there is nothing like experiencing them in person. Watching stunning sunsets against different backdrops, noticing how a gentle rain looks and smells different in the Pacific Northwest than it does in the desert—or in upstate New York, where I grew up—creates a wide range of impressions, feelings, and emotions. 

I love having those scenes in my memory to draw from when I record. One might imagine what it would feel like to stand on a mountaintop and play a flute, but going to that mountaintop and playing your instrument, getting to hear and feel what that is like, is such a moving and memorable experience. 

My real-life experiences inspire me, and I am always seeking new ones, whether they are here in the desert where I currently live, or encountered while traveling in my motorhome. One of my most memorable moments was when I ventured down a dirt road in my Jeep in Big Bend National Park in Texas. I set up my camera to record me playing one of my Native flutes, and as I was ready to hit the record button, I stopped, because everything was so still, and there were absolutely no sounds to be heard. It was complete silence – no birds, no voices, no overhead planes, no sounds of automobiles, and that was something that I had never experienced before. 

Although I love traveling, the nomadic life is not all fun and adventure. It comes with its challenges as well, and I try to look at each one as an opportunity to learn and grow. It has also given me the ability to travel with many instruments, so I am able to perform in both concert settings and sound healing environments while connecting with listeners and fans who use my music to help bring a moment of peace and calm into their lives. 

AV:  You have mentioned in the past that moving from classical performance to composing your own music required "learning not to play so many notes" and letting the space have its own voice. How do you maintain that discipline of simplicity when you are recording in a legendary space like The Tank, where the temptation might be to fill every corner with sound? 

SF:  Learning to keep things simple in the recording studio took time. One day, while recording my first New Age album, Sanctuary, my engineer, John Herrera, kept telling me I needed to do another take because I was playing too many notes. I was immensely frustrated because I had been trained as a classical flutist to play very fast and to play a lot of notes in a short span of time - I felt that every moment needed to be filled. As my aggravation grew, John suggested that I go home and “think about it,” which made me even more frustrated. 

What I came to realize was that I had to let go of the fear that I had, which was that the classical world would judge me for creating music built around simple, repetitive melodies. I stepped away for a few weeks and spent that time listening and thinking about what a listener seeking soothing music might want to hear, and finally arrived at the conclusion that yes, a simple phrase or melody followed by silence would give the listener the space to contemplate and reflect on the statement that I had just made with my flute. I had to learn to let go of what others might think or say and instead play what I truly felt in my heart. In many ways, it became easier to express myself through my flute than through my speaking voice, and I believe that many of my fellow musicians may relate to that. 

AV:  Voices of the Wild specifically features Native American-style flutes. What is it about the specific tonal quality or the "timeless language of breath and wood" in these instruments that makes them the right vessel for capturing the spirit of the American West, as opposed to the concert flutes from your classical background? 

SF:  I love that you asked this question. 

During my live concerts and performances, I typically begin with my traditional classical flutes, including the concert C flute, alto flute, bass flute, and sometimes the contrabass flute if I can travel with it. But when I begin to play a composition on a Native American-style flute, I often hear audible sighs from the audience. People are drawn into the natural beauty of these instruments. 

There is something about breathing through wood that feels deeply connected to the earthiness of the American Southwest. For me, these flutes evoke the imagery of canyons, open skies, and wide landscapes while opening my heart. At the end of my performances, I often ask the audience which flute was their favorite, and very often, it is the Native American-style flute. 

Listeners have told me that they feel more peaceful and calmer when I play these flutes, and many ask at performances if I have an album recorded entirely of Native American-style flutes. Until now, my albums had always included a mix of flutes, so I decided to release Voices of the Wild, Vol. 1 in response to those requests. 

AV:  Shifting to your role as the founder and CEO of Heart Dance Records, you have led the label through a decade of massive growth and billions of streams. As a woman running one of the few prominent labels in the instrumental and New Age space, what have been the most significant challenges in maintaining a "healing" mission while navigating the often cold, data-driven nature of the modern music industry? 

As I continued to gain a better understanding of the healing benefits that this music provides, my mission became to help the public recognize how ambient and relaxing instrumental music can help reduce stress, promote relaxation, and support well-being. I also wanted to connect artists who were creating music with these same intentions in mind, with listeners who were seeking music to use as a healing tool. 

When I first began growing the label in 2015, I worked 12 to 15 hour days learning how to submit metadata, how different distribution platforms worked, listening to submission screenings, communicating with artists, calculating royalty splits, and building relationships with radio programmers and playlist curators. By 2020, I no longer had the time to do it all myself and finally found the right people to create a team to help me. 

The music industry is constantly changing—sometimes overnight—so navigating it is an ongoing process. Physical sales have become almost nonexistent as the world has shifted almost entirely to streaming, and royalties remain infinitesimal per stream. That means it takes a tremendous amount of work to create meaningful income for artists. Today, we are also facing the rapid rise of AI, and we still do not know exactly where that will leave us in the future. 

What keeps us grounded having the desire to create is hearing from listeners who tell us that our artists’ music has made a real difference in their lives, and from artists who are grateful for the support and exposure we are able to provide. That is what makes the work worthwhile.

AV:  Heart Dance Records has a very specific ethos centered on "peaceful music for well-being." When you are wearing your "label head" hat, how do you evaluate new artists to ensure their integrity and mission align with the HDR brand, and has that criteria shifted as the market for functional and ambient music has become more crowded? 

SF:  Honestly, we receive so many submissions that are good - but we are looking for the exceptional artists who can truly connect deeply with the listener with the story they are telling through their music. We also want to understand what drives the artist to create the music they do – are they creating something that is genuinely meaningful to them and, ultimately, to our audience? 

As the ambient and functional music space has become more crowded, that authenticity has become even more important. We are not simply looking for music that sounds relaxing—we are looking for music that carries depth, sincerity, and intention. 

AV:  You have managed to find success on "lean-back" platforms like SiriusXM Spa and the C.A.R.E. Channel in hospitals, yet you also maintain a strong presence on Bandcamp. From a label perspective, how do you balance the need for high-volume streaming visibility with the desire to encourage listeners to actually "own" the music as an investment in the artist? 

SF:  There are different platforms for both passive and active listening, and both serve an important purpose. In this new AI era, I feel it has always been important—but now more than ever—for artists to build real connections with their audience. Bandcamp provides a wonderful opportunity for artists to do that via direct messages and listening parties, which in turn helps to build a stronger artist-fan relationship. 

We truly value our Bandcamp supporters because they understand that purchasing music gives far more direct support to the artist than streaming does. They get it. Oftentimes, they will even donate above the purchase price simply because they want to help support the artist. We appreciate Bandcamp for the opportunities it provides to our artists to connect more deeply with their fans, and for initiatives like Bandcamp Fridays, when the platform waives its revenue share and more of the proceeds go directly to artists. 

SF:  Thank you—that is a huge compliment! In these recording sessions, nothing is composed beforehand. I may have an idea of which flute I want to use and the key I want to record in, but the music itself is channeled in the moment. I do draw on my experiences, feelings, imagination or stored memories, and hold them in my mind before I begin to play and record. 

So, in that sense, I do feel more like a conduit—someone listening for and responding to an energy that is already present. At the same time, I would hope the result may be held in someone’s heart or soul as a piece of art. 

AV:  Looking ahead, Voices of the Wild is marked as "Vol. 1." Does this imply that your travels and your recording sessions at The Tank are part of a larger, multi-year project to map the American landscape through sound, and are there specific regions or environments you are already eyeing for Vol. 2? 

SF:  Yes, there will be additional volumes in this series. Some are already recorded and are planned for release in 2027-2028. 

One of my goals is to visit all the National Parks in the United States, of which there are currently 63. I have only been to 26 so far, so I still have a long way to go—and many more landscapes and environments to experience for inspiration for future recordings! 

AV:  How do you personally manage the dual identity of being "Sherry Finzer the Artist" who needs solitude and nature to create, and "Sherry Finzer the CEO" who must stay connected to the digital demands of a global record label? Does the motorhome life provide a necessary bridge between those two worlds? 

SF:  With a lot of forethought and planning, I was able to create the balance I needed to do both. Sometimes I would schedule extra days at certain locations for work only days, while other times I would spend a few hours exploring and then return to my RV to work for the rest of the day and evening. I set up the dinette area of the motorhome as my office and workstation, and bringing along my desktop PC, two monitors, speakers as well as a laptop with me. 

Having Starlink worked out very well, because it allowed me to stay connected whether I was in a campground, boondocking, or simply stopping somewhere with no cell or internet service along the way. In many ways, I felt I had the best of both worlds—the opportunity to experience and also work in so many beautiful places. 

AV:  Heart Dance Records is frequently described as a "family" rather than just a roster. We often see you collaborating on albums for other artists on your label, such as Greg Maroney, Cass Anawaty, or Brian Fechino. How does this inter-label collaboration strengthen the "Heart Dance" identity, and do you feel that this cooperative approach helps independent artists survive in an industry that often pits them against one another? 

I do believe that this cooperative approach helps independent artists to grow and thrive in an industry that is often highly competitive. When artists genuinely support one another, it creates a stronger sense of community and expands possibilities for everyone involved. 

AV:  As a label head who is also a peer to your artists, how do you navigate the shift from being a collaborator on a track to making the tough business decisions that affect their careers? Is it difficult to maintain that "family" dynamic when the realities of marketing, distribution, and "corporate music machines" come into play? 

SF:  Another great question. 

We never really know how a release is going to be received. Taking on an artist or a project is both a time commitment and a financial commitment for the label, and sometimes it turns out to be a win for us, and other times, a release is just not received well which can either be due to timing, what is going on in the world at the time of the release, how many other releases on major labels happen the same day, or simply just because the music does not resonate with our listeners. Because of that, we are upfront with artists about what we can do, and what we cannot. 

Some artists come in with dreams of a GRAMMY nomination, and there is nothing wrong with that, but it is a very different ballgame. We do submit our releases for the ballot each year, but even when we explain how the game is played as clearly as we can, some artists find themselves disappointed when the nominations are announced. In my opinion, these nominations are not about the quality of the music alone. They often involve years of networking with other voting Recording Academy members, hiring top publicists, and building relationships with artists who already have GRAMMY connections. That side of the business feels very ego-driven to me, and that is simply not my style. I hold nothing against those that do play the game, I am just stating that it is not something that I choose to do as I do not need a trophy on my desk or a plaque on my wall to feel that I belong in this industry. What matters most to me is the healing power of sound and music and finding opportunities for our artists to earn royalties through connections with listeners and fans. Our music makes a difference. That shared purpose helps keep the family dynamic intact, even when the business side requires difficult conversations.

AV:  Sherry, thank you so much for taking the time to provide such deep and thoughtful reflections on your craft. Your insights into the unique acoustic conversation within The Tank, the nomadic inspiration of the American West, and the intentional community you’ve built at Heart Dance Records are truly inspiring. It has been a privilege to explore the "timeless language of breath and wood" through your perspective, and we are grateful for the healing energy you bring to the music community.

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