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.