More About Tim Janis
With over one million
albums sold, four National Public TV
Specials, and 10 Billboard Charting CDs,
composer Tim Janis has worked with some
of the top artists in the music and
entertainment business -- from Paul
McCartney, Billy Joel, and Ray Charles,
to George Clooney and James Earl Jones.
Janis creates what many in the media
have called Music With a Mission, music
projects which aim to advance important
causes through music. It started in
1999, when Janis teamed up with the
People's Princess Foundation to create a
children's charity fundraising album to
accompany the internationally touring
exhibit of Princess Diana's Dresses.
Then Janis teamed up with McCartney and
Joel to create Music of Hope, a
fundraising CD for the American Cancer
Society.
Soon he took his mission overseas,
recording the first CD with Sinikithemba,
the all-female, all-HIV+ choir from
South Africa, who went on to tour the US
four times to spread an uplifting
message of unity in the Africa AIDS
crisis. The US State Department got
involved and began inviting Janis to
lead music fundraising concerts in
Eastern Europe as an example of the
American culture of goodwill and
philanthropy. Then Janis teamed up with
George Clooney to create the Beautiful
America Public Television fundraising
special, which raised over $2,000,000 in
donations during its broadcasts.
In 2005, Janis embarked on one of his
most ambitious Music With a Mission
projects yet -- with blessing of Chinese
government, Janis performed a series of
concerts in mainland China, including a
Chinese televised stadium performance,
to promote the beauty of America --
concerts that featured his uplifting
instrumental compositions combined with
images of America's natural monuments
and parks projected on giant screens. In
doing so, Janis hoped to expose the
Chinese people to a beautiful side of
America they might never have seen
before, and potentially pave the way for
further cooperation between the two
countries. This project followed a trip
to Kenya, where Janis recorded over 500
students as part of a fundraising
project for African public education.
Janis built his music career from the
ground up, following an intense grass
routes path. From over 500 performances
at the beginning of his career, he grew
a fan mailing list of more than 70,000
people. His listeners sent him literally
thousands of letters and emails
describing how Janis's uplifting
instrumental music helped them cope with
difficult circumstances. It was this
moving response from his audience and
the inspiring stories of his listeners
that in turn inspired Janis to devote
his career to directly helping people
through music.
He has received tremendous support from
the retail community in spreading his
benefit albums. From Barnes & Noble and
Borders to Walmart and QVC, Janis's
Music with a Mission projects have
reached a wide audience – for example,
the American Cancer Society Music of
Hope album reached #1 on the Billboard
Classical Chart in 2001.
With millions of dollars raised and many
lives changed, Janis truly believes that
music can help heal some of the
challenges of the world.
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