Discussion guide Shodekeh's first engagements as a professional "Breath Artist" took place as a musician-in-residence in the Towson University Department of Dance & the Peabody Dance BFA program @ Johns Hopkins University in the Fall of 2018.

“Some of the sounds that you heard throughout the film, sparrows, ocean waves, overtone breath, thunder, maybe some crickets, I recorded them as stems at the Monongahela National Forest with Elaine and her team,” reveals Talifero at the film’s post-premiere Q&A before asking everyone in the room to close their eyes. What followed was a succession of sounds — wind, water, crickets, birdsong — all produced by Talifero’s own breath." - The Sundance Film Festival. Film still by Curren Sheldon.

Reading list "Two excerpts from KING COAL featuring performers, Shodekeh Talifero (breath artist), Lou Maiuri (flatfoot dancer), Jesse Milnes (fiddle) and Emily Miller (vocals). Shodekeh records a library of breath art for KING COAL at Gaudineer Knob in the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. His work is used throughout the film as part of the sound design and score. Lou, who has been flatfoot dancing for most of his life, performs with old time musicians, Jesse and Emily, in Lost Creek, West Virginia." - POV / PBS.

Read the exhibition catalog online "Virion Breaths is a “Breath Art” / creative breathing compositional exercise of myself exploring all of the possibilities of when the human breath becomes isolated as a musical instrument for Rebecca Kamen’s Silent Spread. As defined and described by the National Institutes of Health, “The virion, that is the complete infectious virus particle, includes a genome comprising one or a few molecules of either DNA or RNA, surrounded by a morphologically defined protein coat, the capsid. While attempting to understand better a musical world of “Breath Art,” and recording 28 unique micro-compositions at the recording studio of Dr. Erik Spangler for each and every Silent Spread sculpture, I also find myself trying to imagine a more illuminated zeitgeist and understanding of “Breath Culture,” where many of our “social virions,” from economics and politics to education continue to persist even as they are impacted by the virus in a world that has been so greatly challenged by the ongoing pandemic." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

Reimagining scientific discovery through the lens of an artist "In experiencing the musical breath pieces while taking in the visual representations of the COVID-19 virus, you may find yourself on a linear timeline from when the pandemic first emerged in late 2019 or early 2020; or you may find yourself in a more non-linear timeline reflecting recent developments; or perhaps, you’ll find yourself at a place of a much larger “time sphere,” when a larger convergence of tragedies began to manifest, following the death of George Floyd. No matter what your aural experience may be in this exhibition, allow your relationship to your own “breath narrative” serve as your guide. See yourself, or maybe a part of yourself, in the breath compositions that you hear." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. 

Ideations of Potential Breath Art in the Form of Music "Created in collaboration with the Social Impact Initiative of the Kennedy Center, 2023. "Ideations of Hope, a 60-minute concert testimonial and master performance, is about Dominic Shodekeh Talifero’s personal and professional journey through time. A survivor of ideation trauma from when he was at the age of nine years old, hip hop entered Talifero’s world as a form of cultural intervention and saved his life. Now as an adult, Sho’ is using his platform as a professional Beatboxer, Vocal Percussionist, and Breath Artist to share his story, with the goal and lifelong mission of hopefully inspiring those who may be struggling." - The Kennedy Center.

Social Impact Shodekeh's past performances at the Kennedy Center includes collaborative work for "Witness" with VT Dance (2008), Shen Wei Dance Arts (2009), Prudence Mahbena (2010), the REACH Center Opening Festival with Baltimore Boom Bap Society (2019) & the 18th annual Page to Stage New Play Festival (2019).

Shodekeh Talifero Gives a Master Class on Breath Art Final Classroom Assignments for Spring 2025 - Block(s) 5 "This is the last week of classes for my Breath Art course here at Colorado College, & on the very last day I'm taking my students to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Center here in Colorado Springs to become familiarized with the wide variety of breath control + management techniques used by some of the best athletes in the world. I'll try not to ask about 15 billion questions..." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

Shodekeh Talifero "For the last few years, I’ve been exploring the possibility of something much deeper taking place at the core of my practice as a Beatboxer and Vocal Percussionist and found that breath is at the very center and foundation of what I do. This has inspired me to go deeper into how breath has been and can be used creatively beyond the functional necessity of it all, in music, dance, art, speech, meditation, and so on." - "Breathing Is Universal" by Shodekeh, TU Innovator-in-Residence for the Towson University College of Fine Arts & Communications' "Silver Lining," 2020.

When There Are No Words "Two years ago, I received the news that my abuelo’s fifth cancer had returned, and that it would ultimately end with a procedure that removed his ability to speak. The last thing I wanted to do was film something so painfully personal. Still, I knew that this is what I had to offer as a filmmaker. That I could try to preserve the memory of his voice. I sat with Abuelo for hours to hear everything he wanted to tell me while he still had his voice. It began only as an interview I would share with my family—a gift. Originally, I was hesitant to continue, to make a film. I didn’t think that I had the strength to capture it. But I thought of my Abuelo’s own strength and wanted to show up for him. I began to understand the powerful story that could be shared. “When There Are No Words” (“Cuando No Hay Palabras”) is a personal short documentary about my abuelo’s journey as he loses his voice. It’s a story of loss and love, and what it means to care about people as they age, and watch the things that define them fade away." - Gabriella Canal. 

Switchboard Magazine "Now on Spotify and Apple Music, this soundtrack EP for my sister’s film “When There Are No Words” will probably be one of the most personally and spiritually significant bodies of music I’ll ever release. When I wrote this music, he was still with us, now with the EP releasing, he is no longer here. This music, particularly the closing track, is my way of maintaining that ethereal connection with him. We were lucky enough to have “Breath Artist”, Shodekeh Talifero, record sounds connected to nature, emotions, and meditations for the score. Within that pool of recordings, I discovered and curated the specific moments I knew would uplift moments of pain and healing in our grandfather’s story. This could include the ocean, or even the sound of stillness and prayer. It was an honor to coalesce his breath art into my music." - John Paul Canal. 

Special Collections and University Archives website "Ashley Todd-Diaz, assistant university librarian for Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA), has been working with Talifero on his collection. The archives staff usually doesn’t get to work closely with a donor, but Talifero was ready to collaborate. “Shodekeh has been very involved and invested in the development, organization, description and promotion of the collection,” Todd-Diaz says. “This lays the foundation for a richer collection since it allows us to combine our archival expertise with his subject expertise.” - Towson University.

Arts Without Boundaries 10 – Shodekeh "Dominic Shodekeh Talifero is entering his last term as the College of Fine Arts and Communication's innovator-in-residence. In that time, the professional beatboxer has provided music for hundreds of classes and is the first Maryland hip-hop artist with special collections archive. Now, on December 11, 2021, he makes his debut at Carnegie Hall." - Towson University.

Faces of the Frontline "When presented with the opportunity to create a collection for Shodekeh Talifero, a multi-faceted beatboxer and musical scholar, we knew that a traditional finding aid couldn’t properly convey the gravitas of his work. By reimagining naming conventions, organization, and creating a nexus site for his oeuvre, we were able to realize his vision as a cohesive whole. This poster will discuss the issues we identified and the solutions we implemented." - John Esh & Allison Fischbach.

Shodekeh's "Anti-Racist Artist-in-Residence" 2025 pilot @ The Butler Center of Colorado College, it's items, & his "2068: Anti-Racism Time Capsule" will be archived in Shodekeh's collection "Ideations of Potential" @ TU Special Collections, 2026.

Towson University: Transforming digital learning | AM "The collection also lets the library continue adding diverse and unique viewpoints to its archives. And what better way to celebrate the upcoming  50th anniversary of the creation of hip-hop than to host the first archive in Maryland dedicated to a hip-hot artist. “Our department has been looking to diversify our collections and Shodekeh’s partnership with TU makes us ideally suited to host his body of work and to provide access and reference for students, researchers and the public,” says John Esh, processing archivist for SCUA. “His collection will exist as a living entity and we can’t wait to see what we can accomplish in collaboration, outside of the traditional archival model, to showcase it for the world.” - Towson University. 

Maryland Traditions Archives - Guides "Do you or your community have cultural heritage items that you don’t know how to care for? Do you want to ensure their longevity but don’t want to give up control? This webinar presents shared stewardship, a collections management model in which communities and individuals can ensure the long-term care of their cultural heritage items and retain control of those materials. Lumbee community artist and scholar Ashley Minner and Hip Hop artist Shodekeh discuss with archival professionals Beth Saunders (UMBC) and Ashley Todd-Diaz (Towson) how shared stewardship has made their respective archival collections possible, ensuring cultural heritage items receive long term care while being maintained in their community contexts." - Maryland Traditions of the Maryland State Arts Council.

Archival Collection About Shodekeh "The Maryland Traditions Folklife Area & Stage will feature 16 performers and craftspeople from the Maryland State Arts Council’s Maryland Traditions Apprenticeship Awards Program. The Maryland Traditions Folklife Area will open at noon on both Saturday, Sept.8, and Sunday, Sept. 9, and continue until early evening each day along Salisbury’s downtown Riverwalk. The Chesapeake Traditions program will feature: Shodekeh & Ian Hesford of Baltimore (Tuvan throat singing) with special guest Bady Dorzhu Ondar of Alash." - The Maryland State Arts Council / Maryland Traditions.

Sō Percussion with Dominic Shodekeh Talifero "Dear Dominic Shodekeh Talifero, On behalf of the Library of Congress, I am pleased to accept and to acknowledge the Library’s receipt of your gift on April 23, 2024. This gift consists of your print score for "Vodalities: Paradigms of Consciousness for the Human Voice", composed for Sō Percussion, who performed this work (among others) at the Library of Congress in March 2024. I am happy to report that the score will be cataloged for our General Collection where it will be available to researchers on your music, percussion repertoire, compositions for Beatboxing and other creative applications for voice and breath, and the programming of the Music Division’s Concert Series." - The Library of Congress. 

Sō & Sho' at Library of Congress "Music Division's Claudia Morales sits down with members of Sō Percussion; Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, Jason Treuting, and Eric Cha-Beach. They engage in conversation prior to their performance at the historic Coolidge Auditorium. Together, they discuss their musical journey, their music experience in Africa and the creative process with composers such as Angélica Negrón and Dominic “Shodekeh” Talifero." - The Library of Congress. 

Shodekeh's "Vodalities" was supported by the Alice M. Ditson Fund Recording Program Award @ Columbia University, 2021.

Photo: Shodekeh performing | Albert S. Cook Library "I've always wanted to help create one of these READ posters. If you didn't already know, I have a thing for books & libraries as an autodidact, & a healthy pre-occupation with reading & learning, particularly if a constructive feedback loop can be cultivated between my practice as an artist, researcher & avid collector of literature. I'm so happy about this I can barely contain my curiosity about the universe & all of its mysteries. The journey continues..." - Shodekeh, Innovator-in-Residence of the Towson University College of Fine Arts & Communication.

Fellowship Class of 2023-2024 "Dear Mr. Talifero, Congratulations on your selection to the 2023 - 2024 class of fellows for the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. We are able to offer you a one-month residential fellowship, which you can complete between September 1, 2023 and August 31, 2024. You will receive a research stipend and can reside at the Library’s DeVos Scholars’ Residence. The fellows selected for this class represent a broad range of scholarship on the life, leadership, and legacy of George Washington as well as the broader mission of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. We are honored and excited to have you as an integral part of this community of scholars. Over the coming weeks we will be in conversation with you regarding logistics and arrangements of your fellowship and targeted dates of residency, and I will introduce you to our Library staff, who can begin facilitating access to our resources in the Library and across the Mount Vernon estate. Congratulations again, and we look forward to what will be a longstanding relationship with the Library and Mount Vernon." - George Washington's Mount Vernon. 

Shodekeh Remixes National Anthem | Reginald F. Lewis ...In the Wake of Drexciya with Ayana V. Jackson "Using a touchscreen, visitors can play clips of a variety of performances, including Jimi Hendrix’s famous 1969 instrumental version of the national anthem, which he played at Woodstock. Visitors can also watch a television interview with Hendrix, explaining why he didn’t feel the performance was controversial or wrong. Shodekeh says he wanted to build on that legacy by linking other performances together in the exhibit." - WAMU 88.5 FM, American University Radio.

George Washington's Mount Vernon to Commemorate ...George Washington Papers "A dear friend & unique confidant of mine once told me that I'm the kind of artist who's obsessed with the truth. Yes, this is definitely true, which also means that I'm quite sensitive to the truth as well. This dynamic certainly manifested on the day of the Slave Memorial & Commemoration that I was invited to share a "Breath Art" invocation for on October 5th, 2023 during my fellowship. I went out to the burial site that early morning & saw that there were colleagues placing flowers on the specific burial site locations of the enslaved human beings of the estate that were identified by the archaeology division. So I asked, or rather politely insisted that I also partake in this tradition, & helped with placing flowers on the burial grounds of these enslaved women, men, children, families & ancestors." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. 

Create an Adventure with Copyright "While copyright might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about taking an adventure, copyright and adventure actually go hand in hand. Have you seen a photograph of a beautiful location and then gone on your own adventure there? Or have you written a song about an incredible place you have visited? The event will celebrate the role copyright plays in inspiring adventure and how adventure promotes copyright, with a focus on the impact copyright has on photographs, travel books, music, TV shows, and movies. Guest presenters include Jeanne M. Fink (National Geographic Society), John Hessler (Library of Congress), Andrea Sachs (The Washington Post) and Shodekeh (Johns Hopkins University) - The U.S. Copyright Office @ The Library of Congress.

Music of Early Black Virginians "Breaths Along the Potomac" was commissioned by "The Music of Early Black Virginians" of the Sound Justice Lab in collaboration with George Washington's Mount Vernon, with grant support from 4-VA: Advancing the Commonwealth. 

"As an artist he has had a transformational impact on George Washington’s Mount Vernon with his unique voice, compelling perspective, and effective ability to communicate. I don’t know anyone else who has so successfully navigated this space between the past and the present by isolating the shared human experience of taking breaths. He successfully achieved what those of us in the public history field strive to do daily, with such grace and beauty and starkly expressed truth. I met Shodekeh in 2022 when George Mason University (GMU) commissioned him to write a new piece of breath art to be performed at Mount Vernon. I had been working with GMU to bring musicians to our historic site, a plantation that was the home of George Washington and hundreds of enslaved people. The initial idea was to recreate the music of enslaved people from the 18th century. However, over the three years of the partnership, we decided to program a concert that didn’t recreate the past, but built on it to look into the future. Mr. Talifero met that challenge and exceeded our hopes for impact, creating a lasting experience that has shaped how broadly our institution can think about historic interpretation through the arts." - Allison Wickens, Vice President of Education, George Washington's Mount Vernon.

2023 Annual Report "For moments when spoken words proved not enough to express the gravity of the day, performances filled the space. Djembe drumming opened the ceremony, providing a heartbeat that gave life to the day's events. George Washington Presidential Library Fellow Dominic Shodekeh Talifero performed an original piece during the ceremony that marked the culmination of his fellowship, exploring the histories of the enslaved community through breath." - "Slave Memorial Commemoration: Teaching America's Story / 2023 -2024 Research Fellows: Dominic Shodekeh Talifero's "Breaths Along the Potomac," Mount Vernon Ladies Association 2023 Annual Report, pgs. 30 - 33.

Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés: Home "The Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés (NLJR) is a student-operated journal of law founded on the mission of uplifting nontraditional voices and embracing the legal avant-garde. Inspired by the Paris Salon des Refuses which imbued the art world with a democratic multi-style system subject to the review of the general jury of the public, NLJR publishes intellectually diverse and interdisciplinary articles which span a wide breadth of disciplines and schools of thoughts. With an eye towards accessibility to the public, interdisciplinary and intersectional academic inquiry, and thought diversity in all forms, NLJR seeks to capture the authentic relationship between the letter of the law and the ways in which it governs in practice. We publish one print issue of legal scholarship each Spring, as well as online articles throughout the year. We are actively seeking articles that can be meaningfully engaged with by the general public, whether on their face or with the help of practical guidance that will be published in each issue." - The Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés. 

Law | Open Access Articles | Digital Commons Network™ American Numismatic Association "A very important development has recently occurred in the continued evolution of my "Breaths Along the Potomac" article as a living, interactive document. My friend Tonika Berkley, the recipient of letter #3, who holds the title of "Africana Archivist" at the Sheridan Libraries of Johns Hopkins University, has responded brilliantly to my "breath letter" by adding her own creative + scholarly annotations to what I originally wrote and designed. Not to mention the fact that all of the "digital easter eggs" I embedded into the article were retained within her additions to my letter." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

Journals, Faculty & Research - Northwestern Law Visual Resources Center (VRC) + Art Lounge "Dear Reader, Welcome to the second print issue of the Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés! We are so excited to put forward an issue that uplifts marginalized voices, questions the status quo, and explores the intersection between art and law. Consistent with the goals of our journal, we were intentional about picking pieces, voices, and ideas that had been rejected in legal scholarship. In putting together this issue, we aimed to ask (and answer) the question of “who is the law for?”—who does the law protect? Who does it serve? Who makes the laws? Who is impacted by them? Each piece in this issue answers at least one aspect of the question, furthering and developing our conversations about law, accessibility, and humanity. We end our issue with a piece by Dominic Shodekeh Talifero, a breath artist. Utilizing letters and artwork, he explores the history of racism and slavery in the United States. He thoughtfully approaches each recipient and topic to create an “art gallery” for readers to walk through as they simultaneously walk through history with him." - The Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés.

Painting image of "Washington's Kitchen" courtesy of the Mount Vernon Ladies Association.

Community Journey Into the Deep "Our maiden voyage—Chapter 1 in this new series—was developed in partnership with Baltimore beatboxer, breath artist and vocal percussionist Dominic "Shodekeh" Talifero. The auditory adventure of Voyages: Chapter 1 led guests through the Aquarium's array of aquatic habitats for an interactive, after-hours experience designed to inspire and intrigue. After months of research at the National Aquarium, Shodekeh created a unique breath art soundscape that emulated the sounds of the natural world and served as the underpinning to a narrative about the intersection of the biodiversity on display within our buildings and conservation bioacoustics—the study of the many layers of sound present in any ecosystem." - The National Aquarium. 

K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Cornell University "As a major part of my work as a composer, researcher & music-based science communicator for "Voyages" at the National Aquarium, I was given the rare opportunity to not only partner with & use the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics of Cornell University as a resource of information, context & inspiration, but to also conduct an extensive interview with Ashakur Rahaman & Dr. Aaron Rice of the Cornell Bioacoustics Lab." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. 

Sound Art (Studio MInor) Erik Spangler "Yesterday I had a compositional awakening @ the Maryland Institute College of Art while working on my piece for the "Voyages" commission for the National Aquarium, & completely surprised myself with some new melodic discoveries as I figured out how to make my voice sound like an actual wind instrument. Extra special thanks & major shout outs to Erik Spangler, aka DJ Dubble 8 for hosting the studio time through the MICA sound art program, & the amazing friendship of encouragement. The world of Sound Art continues to make my creative life very interesting these days, let's see where this all goes..." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. 

BIMS - HOME "Dear Black in Marine Science, thank you for being an incredible & indispensable resource for my ongoing journey for Voyages at the National Aquarium, particularly in helping me illuminate & thread the deeper connections between the paradigms of biodiversity & cultural diversity..." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. 

K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics DolphinWatch Dolphin Discovery "I'm currently setting up a second meeting with "Dolphin Watch" @ the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, based on my second enrichment activities session for the dolphins which took place just before the premier of "Voyages" at the National Aquarium, which included vocalizing for them from a "Breath Art" perspective, a "vodality" / construct of vocal communication that may be potentially less anthropomorphizing than vocal percussion or beatboxing, as it could be argued that "music", as universal at it may be within our own species, may also exist specifically as a human concept. I owe a huge thanks to the marine mammals unit for such a unique opportunity, and especially to Bailey, Chesapeake, Jade, Spirit, Beau & Foster, the extraordinary & brilliant resident dolphins of the National Aquarium." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. 

Photograph of a humpback whale, courtesy of the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics @ Cornell University.

Sounds and the Ultra-Sounds of the Bottle-Nose Dolphin Download Liner Notes (LP) "Dolphins are known to have a highly complex system of communication, combining clicks, whistles and ultrasound. Sample these sounds and ultrasounds (frequencies have been lowered to a range audible to the human ear) recorded in the Virgin Islands and Miami, which also include vocal exchanges between human and dolphin. Expert John Lilly narrates." - Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. 

Planetarium DarkSky International "I'm getting ready this week for a very special classroom screening of my National Aquarium Voyages commission-piece "Vymatics," which will take place this Wednesday afternoon at none other than the Towson University Planetarium for the "Live Sound Production" course led by professor Mike Franklin & hosted inside the brand new Science Complex by professor Christian Ready. I've always wanted to perform a live interpretation of a visualized work inside of a planetarium, but to do so for one of my own pieces, & to have the brilliant & irreplaceable Science + Arts communicator Erica Hansen's musical cymatics of my Breath Art composition inside the space is just a cosmic dream come true." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. 

Vymatics at the Planetarium Department of Electronic Media & Film Erica Hansen Studios "The Towson University planetarium is an all-digital system that allows for observing the sky at any time, from anywhere on Earth and from any vantage point in space.Land on the Moon and Mars. Get closer to the Sun than you ever thought possible. Check out what the stars look like from Alpha Centauri or other galaxies. See the echo of the Big Bang itself. The sky is no longer the limit at the TU planetarium." - The Towson University Planetarium. 

2024 Recap – American Alliance of Museums "When Science Meets Art: Collaboration and Community," Presented by Sarah Doccolo, Community Programs Manager of the National Aquarium & Shodekeh Talifero, Breath Artist + Chapter I Artist-in-Residence of "Voyages" at the American Alliance of Museums National Expo & Annual Meeting on May 17th, 2024. Looking forward to creating not only more history, but also more dynamic opportunities once again this week. Extra special shout-outs to my cymatic partner-in-creation & fellow Voyages: Chapter I Artist, the one & only Erica Hansen. I can't wait to share what we've been building in the last year..." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. 

TU to host first Juneteenth Art & STEM Showcase "An open panel dialogue on art & STEM, featuring: Aisha Ali-Gombe, assistant professor in the Department of Computer & Information Sciences, Stephany Zetterstrom ’23, electronic media and film and mass communication major, Maliya Baxter ’23, Hill-Lopes Scholar program student, Amerria Casey ‘23, biology graduate student in TU's Bridges to the Doctorate program, Aris Hines ’19, COFAC alumnus and program coordinator at the Young Women’s Project, Henry Jackson, TU Center for STEM Excellence, staff member, Elena Versenyi, Department of Theatre Arts staff member, Emma Wesoloski ’07, National Aquarium vice president of marketing and engagement strategy & Shodekeh Talifero, COFAC Innovator-in-Residence" - Towson University. 

The Neuroscience of Art: What are the Sources of Creativity ..."The Salzburg Global program The Neuroscience of Art: What are the Sources of Creativity and Innovation? that was convened at Schloss Leopoldskron in February 2015 represented a pioneering step to establish a neutral international forum to discuss state-of-the-art findings from a cross-disciplinary perspective, prioritize future research, and expand creative opportunities for learning, innovation and collaboration. Given that most research in this area is taking place in various national and regional settings, SGS felt that more global dialogue is needed between specialist silos in order to catalyze knowledge exchange around the results, implications and potential practical applications of new cutting-edge research." - Salzburg Global.

"Surgeon and beatboxer discuss the Salzburg Global Seminar experience and the anatomy of beatboxing: Johns Hopkins University Professor and session co-chair Charles Limb and professional beatboxer and Towson University Dance Faculty Shodekeh Talifero have worked together before to find out what goes on in a beatboxer's body when they perform. During Session 547 | The Neuroscience of Art: What are the Sources of Creativity and Innovation?, Limb and Talifero discussed the Salzburg Global Seminar experience and the anatomy of beatboxing." - Salzburg Global. 

Music & The Brain "For a guy who has pretty much explored the absolute limits of the sounds a human mouth can make, Shodekeh was remarkably patient with his classroom full of amateurs and beatbox virgins. After going around the room and having each person beatbox a couple bars to the best of his or her ability, often to entertainingly awkward results, he singled out volunteers for specific exercises, emphasizing how much work goes into conditioning your breathing to keep a consistent rhythm." -"The AVAM Gets Visionary With Sound: Music & The Brain @ The American Visionary Art Museum," The Baltimore Sun.

"That’s right. We are traveling to Baltimore for the Maryland STEM Festival opening ceremonies, which take place from 1-4pm ET at the National Aquarium. Our show lineup will be packed with not only science news, but also live interviews! We will be joined by a NASA scientist, a marine scientist, AND world renowned, but local Baltimore beatboxer, Shodekeh…expect musical, conversational, and scientific excitement." - This Week In Science. 

Johns Hopkins Voice Center at GBMC "Comprised of an expert team of nationally recognized, fellowship-trained laryngologists and credentialed speech pathologists, the Johns Hopkins Voice Center specializes in the care of the professional voice. Using state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment technology, including laryngeal stroboscopy and acoustic and aerodynamic assessments, we focus on designing optimal medical and therapeutic interventions to address the unique needs of performing artists. Our unique facility offers a fully equipped music studio with Fender® acoustic and electric guitars, a baby grand piano, amplifiers, microphones, and recording capabilities to meet the needs of performers. The movement education studio is designed for body-centered therapy to enhance body awareness and promote the physical freedom necessary for vocal flexibility." - The Johns Hopkins Voice Center @ The Greater Baltimore Medical Center.

"Participants were encouraged to meet throughout the Spring semester, many visiting each other’s labs and studios to learn about their respective work. For the 2015 edition of Research Remix, all of the resulting artwork was displayed in the lobby of the Mattin Center below the DMC, while the project’s increased scope in 2016 necessitated a juried exhibition in library’s Gallery Q. Jurors included Marnie Benney (interdisciplinary curator, SciArt New York), Jennifer Fairman (Professor of Art as Applied to Medicine at JHMI), and Shodekeh (Interdisciplinary performer and faculty at Towson University). For the exhibition of selected work in 2016, the three jurors each presented short presentation of their work, including a beatboxing performance by Shodekeh that accompanied pre-recorded video from inside the performer’s larynx." - The Johns Hopkins Digital Media Center.

Research Remix Exhibition | Digital Media Center "In seeking to share JHU research throughout the Baltimore community and create new connections, Research Remix brought together undergraduate and graduate students form JHU and MICA, faculty and staff from JHU, MICA, Towson University, and Loyola University, and individual artists from the greater Baltimore area. Some artists chose to abstractly interpret imagery or concepts from their selected research, while others directly illustrated the work, or even processed datasets into unique visualizations." - The Johns Hopkins Digital Media Center.

"In Reveal, Rebecca Kamen unlocks curiosity as a creative link between the arts, humanities, and sciences, exploring the symbiotic relationship behind scientific research and artwork’s development. From her extensive collaborations with scientists and philosophers at American University and beyond to her own life experience, the selection of painting, sculpture, and installation harnesses the emotive power of abstraction to humanize scientific breakthroughs in novel and unexpected directions. In the process, the exhibition becomes a laboratory of possibilities, shedding light on the many and disparate connective threads of her own artistic progress in the last two years." - American University Museum. 

OneBeat 2018 "The OneBeat 2018 mixtape takes inspiration from Carl Sagan’s famous 1977 Golden Record, sent into outer space aboard two Voyager spacecrafts, setting a human record for the farthest flung human LPs. Our OneBeat Golden Record record was produced by an international cadre of sonic explorers, and features all 24 of the OneBeat Fellows, who hail from 17 different human countries. And while we don’t have the funds to launch physical copies of this record beyond the stratosphere, we do hope to circulate it widely within the known world." - One Beat.

"Pioneers 10 and 11, which preceded Voyager, both carried small metal plaques identifying their time and place of origin for the benefit of any other spacefarers that might find them in the distant future. With this example before them, NASA placed a more ambitious message aboard Voyager 1 and 2, a kind of time capsule, intended to communicate a story of our world to extraterrestrials. The Voyager message is carried by a phonograph record, a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth." - NASA.

Golden Record Overview "Reading Books" Written by Samah Boulmona, Zsolt Bartek, Yen-Lin Goh, Salma Soltan, Shodekeh Talifero, Jeremy Thal and Christopher Botta." - One Beat.

"To the makers of music, all worlds, all times..." - The Voyager Golden Record, NASA.

Vocal-Only Embody Show Returns to WTMD "I first started the vocal arts series Embody in 2010, and I was able to sustain it partially up to 2019. The pandemic of course first emerged in the winter of that year and changed everything, and I have not been successful in bringing it back ever since, and it's now 2024. So I feel it necessary to say goodbye to this series for now, and with that said, I really need to keep this post short, because it breaks my heart in too many ways to count. I'll be sharing photographs, memories & my infinite gratitude all this week. Hopefully, with the right resources, support and full-time commitment, Embody can return one day to experience its Second Vocal Renaissance..." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. 

Photograph by Wendel Patrick.

"There is no other show in Baltimore like Embody. It strips away other instruments to push the boundaries of the human voice. In the past, performers have incorporated opera, beatboxing, throat singing, whistling and human trumpet – solo and as part of a larger group – into their sets. The fourth wall between the audience and the musicians frequently comes down, with vocalists in the audience often joining performers on stage." - Thomas Kessler.

EMBODY Residency FInal Concert: Alash w/ Special Guest ..."One of the main traditions of Embody was to ask specific vocalists to perform their very own solo sets, particularly if they had never done so before. We learned that there were many creative vocalists across a variety of genres who had never embarked on presenting in this way prior to being approached. In the case of Aunty Joyce, she clearly had performed alone as a soloist in the past, which required a deep capacity for vulnerability, synthesized with an untold amount of unparalleled strength. A true master class in cultivating human potential at will." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

Photograph by Michelle Antoinette. 

"That one moment in time, when I as the founding director of Embody, asked MacArthur Fellow, Visual Arts Legend & all around Creative Polymath Joyce J. Scott to perform a devastating solo set at the 6th edition of our unique vocal arts series. Joyce performed her own rendition of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come", without any accompaniment, & brought the heavens down to planet Earth for all of us to experience. Afterwards she led us all into a collaborative all-voice improvisation that was nothing short of glorious." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. 

Announcing EMBODY with Raul Midon, Madison McFerrin ..."Shining on light on extraordinary vocalists who walk the corridors of Baltimore, who others may not be aware of, became one of my favorite things to do at Embody. Like that one night when Rachel Anne Warren stole the whole show from everyone during a magnificent duet with Quinton Randall, & there were already some vocal heavy hitters in the space. You never know where the artistic sleeping giant may lie, or when that force may wake up, but rest assured it's always in the room. Never underestimate anyone, that's what Rachel showed us that night..." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. 

Photograph by Wendel Patrick. 

"One of the main things that we've found at Embody that we were able to cultivate time & time again was a sense of intimacy, not only for the vocal artists, but for the people in the audience as well. I would maintain that one of the most mysterious things about the human voice is that it can't help but to be an instrument of great intimacy." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. 

WTMD Presents EMBODY with Dan Deacon, Shodekeh, and More "At Embody, we've asked many vocalists to perform their first ever solo set with no accompaniment, no loop pedals, no guitars, nothing but their voice & a microphone, & sometimes we've had to really convince some folks to come out & give it their all. The legendary Dan Deacon was one of those people, & damn did he show up & show out. To witness someone move between the boundaries of vulnerability and strength, it's almost indescribable, yet something to truly behold. I believe that in today's world of music & performance, that level of vulnerability is being lost with the continued emergence of technology, but it's always there, waiting, ready to be challenged & then applied to the greatest heights of creativity & beyond." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

Photograph by Steve Parke.

Embody pulls together voices of local artists "In the last few years of Embody, we were able to develop relationships with new partners, which included none other than Sam Sessa & WTMD, 89.7 FM, which at first I was excited for, but also a bit worried about. After our first collaboration my concerns were definitely alleviated, & I saw that Embody had taken on a life of its own, with the integrity of its core mission & identity still in place." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

Embodiments - Bady-Dorzhu Ondar & Shodekeh "It would be tempting to say that on the evening October 10, 2019, something unique and inimitable took place at WTMD studios in Towson Maryland, and in a way, that would be true, but it also doesn’t tell the full story. It was indeed a unique event, in that it was the first and only time in history that this unique group of artists gathered together to create a studio recording in front of a live audience. All of these artists - vocalists, DJs, rappers, banjo pickers, trumpeters, beatboxers, keyboardists, and more, were pulled into orbit for this one night by the two musicians at the center of the project, two men from two vastly different places, with a single vision - Bady-Dorzhu Ondar and Shodekeh. And yet the event was not really so surprising or unique, in that it represented a culmination of nearly a decade of collaboration between Bady, Shodekeh, and very frequently the rest of the musicians from that evening. Since 2011, Bady, as a member of Alash, one of the foremost groups of traditional Tuvan musicians, and Shodekeh, as the founder of the Embody series, a series of all-vocal performances taking place regularly in Baltimore, had been searching artistically for ways to combine their disparate and yet copasetic musical traditions." - Sean Quirk of Alash.

Bady-Dorzhu Ondar w/Alash & special guests – live album ..."So curating for Embody in general was hard, & even more difficult than usual at certain times, & being able to have Alana Hill as a co-curator in the last few years was a tremendous help & blessing. Embody was a vocal arts series that went way beyond the confines of "Acapella", in the sense that it cut across different domains of language, musical genre, cultural tradition, vocal technique & generational identity." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.