Grammy-nominated Fire & Grace and Nightbirds join forces on Musica Sierra's "Garden"

Based in rural Northern California, Musica Sierra is an arts organization dedicated to bringing high-level performance and much-needed arts education to rural and under-served communities. Led by Juilliard graduate and arts entrepreneur Lindsay McIntosh and her husband, three-time Grammy-nominated and Gramophone Award-winning tenor, Owen McIntosh, Musica Sierra proudly announces today's release of Garden.

The fifth installment in its Musical Headwaters series of albums, Garden is intended to deepen children’s understanding of themselves and nature, with a goal of helping them become stronger environmental stewards.

Garden brings together for the first time two powerhouse, Grammy-nominated ensembles: Nightbirds (Ashley Hoyer, Samantha Harvey, and Jade Hendrix) and Fire & Grace (William Coulter and Edwin Huizinga).

Fusing a Celtic/folk sensibility with soul-tinged vocals, and bringing fiddle, accordion, mandolin, guitar, bodhran, and pennywhistle into the mix, Garden's songs revolve around the seasons, from planting seeds in spring to summer's growth, fall's harvest, and winter's rest. It’s about the cycles of life in the soil beneath our feet, the air we breathe, and the food that nourishes us.

The music for Garden was written and workshopped by Owen McIntosh, who, in addition to being Musica Sierra’s Co-Artistic Director, serves as the K – 12th grade music teacher for the Loyalton, California public schools. The songs were designed to be accessible for young children to sing along with, blending seamlessly into classroom settings and at-home learning. Owen refined the tunes in real time with students to make sure they were not only singable, but also meaningful and memorable.

If Owen McIntosh’s lyrical and musical sketches were the “soil” for this thriving garden, then the “plants” – the arrangements and additional music – grew from the creative mind of Ashley Hoyer. The essential nourishment of “sun and water” was provided by the voices, musicianship, and production skills of Nightbirds, Fire & Grace, and Musica Sierra’s Executive Director/Co-Artistic Director/album producer Lindsay McIntosh.

“Dawn,” with its simple, hummable melody, offers a cheerful prelude to what lies in store on Garden. “Grow” explores how seeds, like children, require love and nurturing to fully realize their potential. The upbeat fiddle tune, “Fly the Coop,” is a down-home jam depicting chickens getting loose and a gardener chasing them out of the garden! On “Sunflower Sky,” the eponymous flowers happily embrace the biological diversity of their pollinators, modeling acceptance, tolerance, and friendship. “Drought” reflects the farmers’ worry about when the rains will come and whether their crops will return. Other highlights include “Give,” which shows the rewards of hard work through the metaphor of a bountiful garden; “Dream On,” a lullaby for a sleeping garden as it rests through the winter; and “Waltz,” a sweet Irish waltz that might be casually played among friends. “Dig It” is an anthemic, gospel-jazz call to “dive right in,” get gardening, and live life to the fullest! Garden concludes with “Harvest,” a spritely instrumental tune, perfect for dancing in the garden.

Garden is also part of a companion book-and-album series, Musical Field Journal. This vibrant, multi-sensory learning experience and teaching aid combines song lyrics, beautiful illustrations, and space for children to journal and reflect. These journals provide a unique, arts-driven pathway for students to explore science, creativity, and self-awareness.

“We dream of a world where every child has their own Musical Field Journal,” says Lindsay McIntosh. “A world where music and art aren’t extras – they’re essential tools to foster empathy, environmental stewardship, and self-awareness. We aim to create a movement where children not only learn about nature but feel it, sing it, and carry those lessons into the future.”

ABOUT MUSICA SIERRA:

“Reimagining California cowboy country as a sanctuary for cultural innovation.” – Tahoe Weekly

Lindsay McIntosh, Executive Director and Co-Artistic Director of Musica Sierra, is a Juilliard-trained historical oboist, arts entrepreneur, and advocate for new music. In 2013, while completing her graduate studies at Juilliard, she founded New Vintage Baroque, an innovative period instrument ensemble dedicated to performing 21st-century repertoire on historical instruments. The ensemble received critical acclaim for its imaginative, cross-temporal programming and vibrant energy – hallmarks of Lindsay’s creative leadership.

After relocating to rural Northern California, Lindsay McIntosh created Musica Sierra as an extension of New Vintage Baroque’s programming, with a focus on bringing much-needed music and arts education to rural and underserved communities. Blending her experience in historical performance with a passion for environmental literacy and youth empowerment, Lindsay has grown Musica Sierra into a regional leader in arts integration, offering performances, educational residencies, and community programs across Sierra County and beyond.

Together with her husband, Musica Sierra Co-Artistic Director Owen McIntosh, Lindsay launched the Musical Headwaters series – a visionary seven-album commissioning initiative rooted in the belief that music can deepen empathy, eco-literacy, and environmental stewardship. Through this lens, composers, songwriters, and ensembles are invited to create original music that reflects the natural world and supports children’s social and emotional development. Since 2021, Musica Sierra has premiered four albums aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards for primary education in California, featuring acclaimed collaborators such as Majel Connery, Fire & Grace & Ash, Time For Three, and The Red Hoop Singers, exploring themes like watersheds, trout, mammals, and birds. In 2025, Lindsay McIntosh led Musica Sierra in commissioning a fifth nature-inspired album, Garden, for which she served as producer.

Owen McIntosh, lyricist/songwriter for Garden, is a three-time Grammy nominee and Gramophone Award-winning tenor known for his expressive range, vibrant stage presence, and deep musicality. The New York Times described Owen as a “lovely, tender high tenor” and “appropriately brash.” For over fifteen years, he performed internationally as a soloist and chamber artist with leading ensembles across the early and contemporary music worlds.

Owen holds a Master’s degree in Opera Performance from New England Conservatory of Music, as well as a second Master’s in Education with a focus on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). These two fields of study uniquely inform his dual passions for high-level performance and transformative, arts-integrated education. Owen Mcintosh has played a pivotal role in shaping the Musical Headwaters series, with his leadership and educational insight guiding the integration of SEL into each narrative. Having grown up on his family’s sixth-generation homestead in rural California, Owen’s early life was intimately tied to the land and the rhythms of nature. This rich heritage and hands-on experience profoundly inspired Garden.

Garden will be available digitally on all major outlets and on CD through Bandcamp and the Musica Sierra website.