The Deep Seed is a holistic Music Therapy program designed to nurture and empower each individual’s deep seeds of wisdom and guidance. This uniquely transformational sound medicine fosters loving connection with self, community, and life.

Our individual and group sessions provide an innovative, trauma-sensitive approach to healing at the roots of mental, physical, and emotional dis-ease. We serve intensive outpatient programs, residential rehabilitation centers, transitional living homes, and other recovery programs throughout San Diego County. Flexible formatting available for 60 to 90-minute weekly sessions, ongoing or as a multiweek series.
Research in the field of Music Therapy has shown that music is able to access the entire being. Through the power of vibration, it stimulates a significant portion of the brain, heart, and body in ways that can be harnessed for specific purposes of healing. 

​The Deep Seed taps into the life-affirming energy available in the sharing of our authentic voices, the keeping of rhythm, and the exploration of harmony. Instruments such as handpan, drums, percussion, guitar, and voice guide the group through meditations, journaling, song creation, chanting, and improvisation. We cultivate this musical medicine as a tool, a practice, and a companion.
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Many people feel frightened by the prospect of musical expression in a group setting. However, experience shows that overcoming these blocks gives way to personal liberation that carries into all aspects of one's life. Our facilitators have lived the profound effects of this both personally and professionally. Time and time again, through gentle empowering experiences, even the most timid of participants find themselves releasing, renewing, and rejoicing! 

Participation is always consent-based; beginners are welcome to simply listen and observe. With no prior experience and no external substances, The Deep Seed creates a rich bed of interconnection, solace, and fun. 
Note: The Deep Seed provides supportive wellness programming and does not replace clinical therapy.
We offer a complimentary pilot session so your team can experience our work firsthand!
"The words that I can use to describe my experience include enjoyable, deeply moving, powerful, connecting, safely vulnerable, and life-affirming.  The facilitators support the group in a clearly outlined and profound experience of singing together which opens my heart. Every time I have attended, I’ve experienced a vibration level sensation and heightened awareness of my connection with other people, with nature and Life."  ~Linda Gibbins-Croft, LCSW

“The unfurling and release that happened while you were singing was so significant for me and it allowed me to have a really deep infusion of hope. It gave me that pause where I knew things were going to get better.”  ~Bella Sophia 

"Music carries a strong, transformative medicine, and The Deep Seed holds it with grace, offering a sacred vessel for both personal and collective healing. In moments of darkness, it rises like a lighthouse, calling souls to gather at its shore, where voices weave, hearts soften, and something ancient and creative moves through us all."  ~Bea Alvarez

Gina Tang

​Gina is a poet, song-catcher, musician, and activist. After recovering from eating disorders and drug addiction as a young adult, she spent 20 years working as a project developer, content creator, and group facilitator in the Health & Wellness industry. 

During Covid, Gina moved to an off-grid farm in the mountains of Northern California. Eating from the garden and getting nuzzled by goats on a daily basis reminded her that true wellness comes from connection with Original Design, Mother Nature, Life Itself. In 2021 Gina founded Little Shepherds Nature Lab, providing outdoor educational enrichment to youth with an emphasis on world music, creative literacy, gardening, and nutrition.

Meanwhile, Gina's personal music practice deepened in an unexpected way. She began experiencing spontaneous somatic trauma release while improvising with the handpan drum. Gina then discovered that sharing and holding this vulnerable space with others answered a long-standing call: to advocate for vocal self-expression as a primary healing tool. Nectar Community Song Circles was born in 2024, and has served hundreds of people.

When Gina met Lesley, she recognized a powerful song leader, music minister, and friend. Almost immediately, it was revealed that Gina and Lesley shared complementary visions for innovative approaches to Music Therapy. And so, The Deep Seed was born.

Gina received her certification in Music Therapy for Alzheimer's and End-of-Life from the University of New Mexico. She has published several books of poetry and prose, and is now recording her original songs.

Lesley Kernochan

​Lesley is a heart-centered songbird, multinstrumentalist, and Board-Certified Music Therapist. The calling came early; the path has been deviously eclectic. After two awakening moments in early childhood when Lesley recognized the joyous bliss music brought to her, she vowed in humble reverence to be a part of bringing this magic to the world.

​At age 12, she fell in love with saxophone. In college, she received a B.A. in Music Composition at Lewis & Clark College. Then Lesley joined a host of wild Portland-based bands including March Fourth Marching Band and Vagabond Opera.

In her early 20’s, Lesley studied opera singing and took up the musical saw. Songwriting then beckoned on piano, guitar, and ukulele, leading to six original music records, signing to a European label, recording with brilliant musicians, and touring extensively in the USA and Europe.

Lesley then heard the call to become a Music Therapist: a three-year process of schooling, internship, and passing the board exam. This path has led to deeply powerful experiences offering music wellness in hospice, hospitals, special needs schools, senior homes, veteran programs, and community centers. 

Lesley’s own personal mental and physical healing journey continues to deepen this work through holistic practices such as meditation, yoga, chanting, inquiry, Internal Family Systems therapy, somatic movement, breathwork, and nature immersion.
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Lesley currently creates, offers, and prayforms music as the callings arise, guided by gratitude and joy.
Contact us to schedule a complementary session for your team!