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When we hear the
music of Tim Wheater, something stirs deep inside us.
Something powerful evoking emotions, stirring memories, and
healing. This dynamic impact is the result of a lifelong
journey, a marriage combining exceptional experience as a
musician with a shaman's knowledge of the healing effect of
music.
Unwavering in
his insights on the power of music to penetrate our souls,
Tim approaches his music -- whether composing, performing,
recording, producing or lecturing on its healing abilities
-- with the respect and wonder of a child and the clear
intent that only a true virtuoso attempts.
A prodigy born
to the flute in his native England, Tim studied at the
Guildhall School of Music in London. News of his brilliance
reached across the English Channel to Paris where the French
government provided a scholarship to study with such musical
notables as Marcel Moyse, Jean-Pierre Rampal and Roger
Bourdin. His formal education then led him to New York where
he studied solo technique at the Eastman School with one of
the world's greatest wind instrument masters, James Galway.
Returning to his
homeland, his performing career began in earnest with
appearances with the London and Birmingham Symphony
Orchestras and with notable ensembles led by conductors
Simon Rattle and Sir Adrian Bolt, among others. He also
played at musical events throughout Europe with his former
teacher, James Galway.
Yet in the early
1980s, this brilliant, world-class flautist with classical
training made a move which foreshadowed his eclectic musical
insights and evolving career direction. Joining Annie Lennox
and Dave Stewart, Tim became a founding member of the
alternative rock band, Eurythmics. Over the next three years
he played keyboards and wind instruments for the band, while
learning first-hand the thrill of successful recording and
the rigors of performance touring on both sides of the
Atlantic.
Tim's experience
playing keyboards provided profound insights into how the
versatility of the synthesizer could be combined with the
naturally sweet sound of the flute to create beautiful
melodies containing hidden, almost mystical power.
Inspired by the
creative liberation provided by contemporary music, Tim left
Eurythmics to explore his singular form of musical
expression and composition. The release of his first solo
album, Awakenings, attracted critical acclaim and a powerful
response from an unexpected quarter. He suddenly became
deluged by psychologists and other healing professionals who
wanted to share their observations on how his music had
produced a healing effect on their patients.
At once shaken
and intrigued by these stories of music and healing, Tim
began a journey, a pilgrimage really, to explore the origins
of human musical expression. Through this personal search he
discovered a rich, ages-old tradition of music serving a
pivotal role in healing the mind and body.
Ironically, just
as his interest in the therapeutic power of music was
awakening, Tim was stricken with aluminum sulfate poisoning.
This substance numbed and partially paralyzed his lips and
fingers, making playing the flute impossible. Even in the
face of this painful situation, he pressed on in his quest
for knowledge.
Traveling the
world -- from ancient and mystical India where he
encountered the richness of the voice as a musical
instrument, to studies with American Indians and other
indigenous musicians who, like the didgeridoo playing
Aborigines of Australia, often enlisted eons-old instruments
to contact wisdom deep within the soul -- Tim gradually
increased his understanding into how sound and music can tap
into a deep healing energy. In the process of cultivating
his own voice as an instrument, he gradually healed himself
and recovered the sensation in his lips and hands.
Soon Tim was in
demand as a speaker, giving voice to the concept of sound
healing. As his ability to play the flute returned, his
compositions took on new meaning as he expressed the
profound insights gained from his pilgrimage. During this
period he also wrote musical scores for film and television
and entered into a multifaceted artistic collaboration with
author and philosopher, Julia Cameron (The Artist's Way). In
audio projects with Julia Cameron, his composing and flute
expressions were joined by a new skill, recorded narration.
Tim is also
recognized as an emerging master of overtone chanting,
having taught the technique to literally thousands over the
past decade. Through this work, he encourages and supports
each of us to find our true voice and to express it freely
and fully.
Tim's more than
20 original albums present a broad pallet of sounds,
variously combining synthesizers, a selection of traditional
and/or ancient instruments and, often, instrumental or
chorus-like use of human voices.
Tim Wheater's
latest album project, Incantation, represents a mystical
quest into the soul. It is also his debut album with Real
Music, the Sausalito-based recording company dedicated to
music which awakens the spirit and comforts the heart.
"Incantation is an exploration of my inner journey to a
place of open-heartedness," says Tim, "celebrating a
multi-faceted faith in the world and all its mysterious
beauty."
Incantation is a
dynamic expression of Tim's deep knowledge and experience as
a musician, combining his musical craftsmanship with his
exceptional abilities as a sound healer. Of the music, James
Redfield, author of The Celestine Prophecy, says:
"Incantation evokes the deepest sense of the mystical." |
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