OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS, the music of both MICHAEL STEARNS and ROBERT RICH has earned the highest respect from long-time listeners to this program, as well as serious ambient fans around the world.
Beginning in the 1970’s, STEARNS in Los Angeles and in the 1980’s RICH at Stanford, were among the first to create important original work in those formative days of popular electronic music. Even when the early instruments were frustrating and difficult to work with, they persisted — because electronics opened up vast new realms of creative expression.
Later, they both integrated acoustic instruments and wordless voices into their music, enriching and deepening their sound. In time, Stearns moved into scoring and music supervision for immersive IMAX films and multi-channel theme park rides, and traveled the world recording natural environmental sounds, while ROBERT RICH became a prolific recording artist, collaborator, and mastering engineer for other independent musicians, created high quality sample libraries, and consulted on the design and development of electronic instruments.
In 2026, with Stearns 77 and Rich 63, they´re at the peak of their powers individually, and the only thing left undone was their first full collaboration as mature ambient masters, the mysteriously titled “REUNION OF BREATH AND WAVES.”
Today, the career of an ambient musician is impossible to predict. The old gatekeepers are gone, replaced by powerful personal studios and a digital distribution system that connects composers and performers with a worldwide audience. Success is not guaranteed; you must be motivated, persistent, innovative, and impressively talented. But for those who can live with the uncertainty, time and practice can bring “maturity, ” and with it, the possibility of “mastery”— levels of excellence sought by many, achieved by few.
On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, we celebrate the expansion of creative space and artistic freedom, with electro-acoustic music by MICHAEL STEARNS and ROBERT RICH from “REUNION OF BREATH AND WAVES;” by DREAMSCAPIST from “EREMITISM;” by KELLY DAVID from “ILLUSIVE;” and by JEFF PEARCE from “SKYWARD.”
The art of creating value with skill, and doing it perfectly. A program called “MASTERY”…on this transmission… of Hearts of Space.