The Rod of Nature (2025)

“The Rod of Nature” is a piece for performer, trombone, sax, and two percussion. It was originally perfomed by myself, Mikayla Frank-Martin, Erin Rogers, Angel Florido, and Brant Roberts in Salisbury, Vermont.

The primary reference point for this piece is the book Early Mormonism and the Magic World View by D. Michael Quinn. Dowsing was common practice in the early LDS church (the site of the Salt Lake Temple was selected by dowsing) and persists through today in folk practice (my grandfather, born in central Utah, practiced dowsing to find good sites for digging wells and to prevent lightning strikes), however dowsing isn’t endorsed by the church and references to it have been removed from church scripture. The piece invites a variety of perspectives on the physiological/ psychological/ spiritual experience of dowsing.