Flautist, Composer,
Vocalist

There are musicians who master an instrument, and there are musicians who use an instrument to open doors into entirely new worlds. Tim Wheater belongs firmly to the latter. Flautist, composer, vocalist, recording artist and sonic explorer, his extraordinary career has taken him from jazz clubs and classical concert halls to rock stages, film sets, orchestras, global festivals and the outer reaches of sound, consciousness and healing.

His story began at fifteen, when an old wooden flute discovered in a junk shop became the unlikely catalyst for a lifetime in music. Teaching himself to play, Tim soon encountered legendary saxophonist Sonny Stitt, who over the course of a week introduced him to the fundamentals of jazz and improvisation.

Formal study followed at Winchester School of Art and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, alongside private tuition from flute masters Marcel Moyse and James Galway. A French Government Scholarship then took him to L'Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris, where he attended masterclasses with Jean-Pierre Rampal and encountered the musical visionary Nadia Boulanger. Her emphasis on the tonal colour and emotional character of sound, would profoundly influence his later work.

Returning to Britain, Wheater composed for theatre, film and commercial radio, worked as a session and orchestral player, and became a founding member of Eurythmics, invited by Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox to tour and appear with the group during its formative years alongside producer Conny Plank. Although he ultimately chose not to remain a permanent member of the band, the experience led to an extraordinary international career.

Wheater went on to perform for the King of Sweden and the Dalai Lama, appear at Montreux Jazz Festival and Glastonbury, share a stage with The Grateful Dead at Oakland Coliseum and perform with Al Di Meola and Donovan. He has performed and presented with Alan Dargin, Babatunde Olatunji, Gabrielle Roth and Deepak Chopra, while his recording collaborations have encompassed Bronski Beat, Jamiroquai, Johnny Hates Jazz, Robin Scott, Belinda Carlisle and Ugly Kid Joe. He has also worked with Rusty Egan, Martyn Ware, Charlotte Church, Steve Howe and Andy Mackay, among many others.

His years in America opened an important new chapter. Working in Los Angeles and New York with composer Michael Hoppe and infamous African drummer Babatunde Olatunji, Wheater encountered Ram Dass and Timothy Leary, whose conversations about music, consciousness and altered states helped propel his growing interest in the therapeutic potential of sound. He toured with Julia Cameron, acclaimed writer, artist and author of The Artist's Way, while also undertaking an intensive study of mantra with Shyamji Bhatnager, following his own personal illness from the Camelford Water Disaster and the chanting of mantras effectively curing him.

His growing reputation brought him into the orbit of Jerry Moss, co-founder of A&M Records, who became a mentor and signed him to Almo, his then newly established record company.

Wheater's work has continually crossed boundaries between popular, classical and cinematic music. He has performed opposite Anthony Hopkins in Red Dragon, composed for film with David Lord on Stanley, starring Timothy Spall, and Tell Tale Heart, featuring Steven Berkoff, while his White Lake became a long-running feature of Channel 4's The Art of Landscape. His Whale Song, arranged by Craig Pruess, saw him perform as soloist with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also composed an oratorio with Stuart Wilde, co-created a musical with Sarah Miles, and directed an ensemble performing his music at the Montreux Jazz Festival.

His lifelong exploration of sound eventually led to the founding of the Academy of Integrated Sonic Medicine with Cherub Sanson, followed by Quantum Sound, where live performance, consciousness and contemporary electronic music converged. Collaborating with EDM artist Daniel Avery, they held a residency at Fabric and performed in Albania, Berlin and at Glastonbury. Alongside global healing events with Matthew Manning, Wheater's work has earned the inaugural Lifetime Services to the Power of Sound Award from The Future is Sound and Kindred Spirit's readers' poll for Best Mantra.

For Wheater, music is not a category but a language of emotion, connection and possibility, and after a lifetime spent exploring its boundaries, he is still discovering new ways to speak it.