Music From The Woodland

Dryad also offers a purely instrumental sound, blending the etherial voice of Sabina's Celtic harp sonically dancing like a woodland stream with the primal song of Jon's branch flutes made with the spirit of the tree, remembering, revealing and restoring the enchantment of life.

"What a pleasure it was to have you at our event. I heard so many wonderful things about your music from those who were there. I hope you are available to join us again next year."
- Stephanie Bidegain, San Diego Brain Injury Foundation

Jon Sherman's bond with the natural world was kindled at the age of two when the meadow behind his Idaho home shimmered with a welcoming life force. That early seed memory became a guiding light, shaping his path through landscapes both wild and wounded. When his family relocated to Southern California, Jon was drawn to the natural areas of this wondrous yet abused bioregion listening for the enchantment that still sang around the scars.

Jon's talents in the performing arts led to a stint as a professional actor at South Coast Repertory Theatre where he performed for two seasons in their hit production of the musical Godspell, and toured Orange and Los Angeles Counties with SCR’s mime and children’s theater troupes. He has also toured Italy as the lead tenor in a choral group. And during that tour, when his choir was visiting the town of Assisi, Jon experienced a heart-opening epiphany about the spiritual dimension of nature while meditating inside the Porziuncola, the little chapel that St. Francis had restored.

In 1987, yearning to merge his love of the natural world with the performing arts, Jon designed and built an outdoor wooden stage under the oaks at Descanso Gardens, another tansformative event in his life. Inspired by the oak trees that lent their beauty, life force and shade to his stage, Jon started writing and performing songs of ecological wonder and concern — and the oak trees became his muse. Embracing his new purpose as a musical voice for the natural world Jon wrote from an ecocentric perspective expressing the ecologically inclusive natural Self he knew himself to be. After writing January’s June in 1987, a song about environmental imbalance and global warming, Jon pioneered the use of a solar-powered sound system for his performances, to better walk his talk. He has shared this system at hundreds of Earth-friendly events over the years. And, to round our his knowledge of the natural world, Jon recently certified, through the University of California, as a California Naturalist.

In 2006, Jon began crafting flutes from tree branches — his Dryad Flutes highly sought after now for their quality of craftsmanship, unique natural beauty and ecological integrity. When Sabina Kurz reached out to request one of his branch flutes, their shared reverence for nature sparked a deep connection, and their kindred spirits eventually joined in musical partnership and marriage, harmonizing their talents in service to the natural world.

Sabina Kurz-Sherman has nurtured a lifelong love for music and nature, beginning with classical piano studies as a young girl enchanted by the green forests of Germany. Her early scientific work included biotope mapping as a field biologist and electron microscopy research. Excelling academically, Sabina earned her PhD in biology from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, graduating magna cum laude. As a scientist, Dr. Kurz published fourteen peer-reviewed articles and presented her research at twenty-two national and international conferences.

When her scientific career brought her to the States, Sabina’s heart opened to the beautiful yet increasingly endangered ecology of California — her home for the past twenty-six years. Transitioning to the teaching profession, professor Kurz-Sherman has taught biology, micro-biology and environmental science at the college level for over two decades. She also leads free interpretive walks at the Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve where she blends scientific insight with sensory engagement, inspiring participants toward deeper awareness and respect for their natural community. Certified in yoga instruction and shinrin-yoku (“Forest Bathing”), Sabina invites you to walk with her on the third Sunday of each month at Elfin Forest and open your mind and heart to nature.

Musically, Sabina performed for eleven years with the Latin jazz band Cadencia, contributing lead vocals, keyboards and percussion across three recorded albums. Inspired by the beauty and the deep, primal spirit of old-growth forests, she took up the Native American flute to better express her love and concern for the natural world. Upon discovering the branch flutes crafted by Jon Sherman, a musical collaboration blossomed — one that has grown into a shared life and creative partnership.

Sabina also shares the peaceful, healing voice of her Celtic harp on Sundays at Elfin Forest, on Mondays in the beautiful lobby of the Kaiser Permanente San Marcos Medical Center, and potentially at your very special event!