Kori Linae Carothers

- PEACE IN MUSIC -

A musician's path to her/his muse is sometimes an easy one. Other times, it is filled with potential pitfalls or unexpected obstacles. Kori Linae Carothers faced just that when, during a kindergarten health screening at the age of 5, it was discovered she was deaf in her left ear. Her young peers found out and the teasing began. In addition, throughout elementary and high school, Kori was constantly told she would never become a musician. Undeterred, she kept learning and practicing, never surrendering her dream. Despite these discouragements, Carothers was passionate about her calling and now, years later, she is an acclaimed pianist and keyboard player with four albums to her credit. Clearly, she is an example of a person following her muse with courage, humor, and determination.

Another of Kori Carothers' "tipping points" most likely occurred when she discovered the Windham Hill label, featuring (now legendary) artists such as George Winston, Liz Story, Alex DeGrassi, Scott Cossu, the Celtic-fusion band Nightnoise, et al. Upon hearing the label's music, Carothers recounts "I thought I had died and gone to heaven." If the label's music had that effect, one can only imagine how it was to meet the "founding father" himself. In 2008, while working with producer and musician Jeff Silverman in Nashville, an opportunity presented itself and she was introduced to the Grammy-winning guitarist and founder of Windham Hill Records, Will Ackerman. Upon hearing her music, Ackerman invited her to his Imaginary Road Studios in Vermont to record her next album, Trillium. The two kindred spirits hit it off and Kori revisited the IR studios in 2014 to record her first solo piano album, Fire In The Rainstorm.

A full-time musician and stay-at-home mother of four "very creative and rascally children" Kori continues to be influenced by sources as disparate as nature, people (including past boyfriends!), and even the fantasy works of noted author Anne McCaffrey. When she mulls over why she continues to record and release music, she admits that more commercial success would be fantastic but in the end "…the true goal… is to touch people’s lives. Letting them know…when they hear it, it's authentic, real, and speaking to their souls."