Princess Meow

“My royal cat” drawn with colored pencil and oil pastels by Sanford Ross Bender on December 9. 2024.
“Princess Meow” was composed and performed with guitar, concertina, and violin by Sanford Ross Bender on December 8, 2024.

A royal cat

“Dorrie Girl” drawn with colored pencil by Sanford Ross Bender sometime in 2023
“A royal cat” composed and performed with guitar and harmonica by Sanford Ross Bender on September 18, 2024.

Volcanic breathing

“Volcanic breathing” drawn with colored pencil in sketchbook by Sanford Ross Bender on June 8, 2024.
“Volcanic breathing” composed and performed with guitar and concertina by Sanford Ross Bender on June 8, 2024.

Dancing bear

“Bear left” drawn with colored pencil by Sanford R. Bender on March 13, 2024
“Dancing bear” composed and performed with guitar, concertina, and glockenspiel by Sanford R. Bender on March 12-13, 2024

Fast Stop

“Fast stop” painted with black ink and blue pencil markings by Sanford Ross Bender
“Fast Stop” composed and performed with acoustic guitar, electric bass, and concertina by Sanford Ross Bender on December 20, 2023

Ring-necked Pheasants are not imaginary

“Ring-necked Pheasant” drawn with colored pencil in sketchbook by Sanford Ross Bender on July 29, 2023
“Ring-necked Pheasant” drawn with colored pencil in sketchbook by Sanford Ross bender on July 29, 2023
“Ring-necked Pheasant” drawn with colored pencil in sketchbook by Sanford Ross Bender on July 29, 2023
“Ring-necked Pheasants are not imaginary” composed, performed, and recorded with solo guitar by Sanford Ross Bender om July 30, 2023.

Piano and Violin Awakening

“Wild Turkeys in the audience” drawn with colored pencil in sketchbook by Sanford Ross Bender on April 23, 2023.

“Piano and violin awakening” improvised and recorded with guitar, piano, and violin by Sanford Ross Bender on April 23, 2023

Quiet, please!

“Quiet, please!” drawn with colored pencil in sketchbook while living in St. Augustine, Florida in 2017 by Sanford Ross Bender
“Quiet, please! composed, performed, and recorded with guitar, concertina, dobro, and cymbal by Sanford R. Bender on January 26, 2023

Goblin Hot Pot

“Goblin Hot Pot” drawn by Sandy Ross Bender with crayons and colored pencils on red paper a while ago.

Dancing around a fiery cauldron bubbling with delicious goblin cuisine ingredients is in stark contrast to coping with real time global dangers that encroach upon our conciousness. Living in art and music is starlight as darkness and its inky blackness thicken and roll out the last glimmers of the day.

“Goblin Hot Pot” composed, performed, and recorded by Sandy Ross Bender with guitar, banjo, glockenspiel, and concertina on November 19, 2021.

And then there is music for the next morning…

“Beautiful Banjo Morning” composed, performed, and recorded by Sandy Ross Bender on banjo, guitar, and concertina on November 20, 2021.

Creekside

“Creekside” (“My first concertina piece!”) composed, performed and recorded with guitar and concertina on separate tracks by Sanford. R. Bender on July 31, 2021
“Creekside” painted and drawn with watercolor and colored pencil by Sanford R. Bender a while ago

I just bought a 40-button “Anglo” concertina a week ago. Wind instruments operated with bellows and their “old world” sound had intrigued me for quite a while. I was also fascinated by the difference of this instrument from the harmonica and clarinet where I have to rely on breathing and embouchure. Producing the joyful or wistful sound of a concertina would however, require the dexterity and theoretical understanding of pressing buttons on each side while pulling and pushing the bellows in rhythmic time. The painting “Creekside”, seemed appropriate to the music in its depiction of a meandering stream flowing through its carved channel of forested and stone armored embankment.