Rob Whitesides-Woo, also known as Woo Du-An and Robert Woo, combines a classical music background with World music, resulting in evocatively beautiful, profound healing music. His best seller, Miracles, launched the Serenity record label; Mountain Light climbed to #14 on the Billboard chart. Rob’s film scores are heard nationally in venues including Johnson Space Center (Houston), Biosphere II (Tucson) and Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

MIRACLES 1985

My first album, Miracles, has a history of, well, Miracles. I had come off of an intense job scoring the soundtrack for the pilot episode of a new TV series called The Master, starring Lee Van Cleef and Timothy Hutton. The producers from Viacom were impressed by my work and I had an interview with the head of their music division. She told me that they needed to see a long format work to feel confident about having me in their stable of composers. I knew she was right and I was in no rush to start that sort of project.

A year later I was contacted by a man named Jim Moeller to produce an album of music and spoken word from The Course in Miracles. I hired a friend, actress Leigh Taylor-Young for the narration. Two albums came out of that assignment, one of spoken word and music, and another of just the music. The music album became so successful that Jim Moeller was able to quit his day job and start a record label. And that began my run as an album composer.

The backstory to that is Jim, a former US Marine pilot that had done three tours in Vietnam, was working in the Aerospace industry when I met him. Before he contacted me, he had been having these recurring dreams and would hear this music in the dream, the same music every dream. The dreams were frustrating because he had no sense of the meaning and he had no experience with music. At some point, he had a consultation with his mentor at the Crystal Cathedral in Southern California. His mentor suggested that maybe the dreams were not symbolic but literal.

With that idea in mind Jim asked the media producer at one of the companies he worked with if he knew of any music like Jim heard in his dreams. The producer gave Jim a cassette album of music I had written and donated to my church. The music in my album was the same Jim was hearing in his dreams.

So, he called me to write the album that became Miracles. It became a small hit, started the music label Serenity Records, and the album composer part of my career.

All performances and all compositions by Rob Whitesides-Woo

MOUNTAIN LIGHT 1990

I have a special love for mountains. When Jill, my former wife and I lived in the Venice Canals of Venice, California, one block from the beach, rather than go to the beach I would drive an hour and a half to hike in the mountains.

From the old liner notes: “Mountain Light is an tapestry of instrumental songs celebrating the beauty of Earth and Sky. Spanning all cultures, this is chamber music of the heart. Exotic flutes, bowed and plucked strings, acoustic and electronic instruments from many lands, create a compelling and graceful world.”

Mountain Light achieved number 13 on the Billboard charts for a stretch of months.

Amy Shulman-Concert Harp. Peter Kent-Violin. The un-named Extraordinary Cellist. All other performances and all compositions by Rob Whitesides-Woo

SOJOURN 1986

Sojourn is the music of Scott Fitzgerald. I was the producer and co-orchestrator. Halfway through the project Scott took a week off to climb El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. He nearly died during the climb when a brand new and thoroughly tested harness started to slip when he was in the lead at around 1,000 feet. He managed to stop the slipping an inch before it let loose. He told me he screamed a lot before he got it together. When he got back to my studio I noticed an extra intensity in his compositions, and he was already an intense guy.

Scott Fitzgerald: Keyboards and Composition
Rob Whitesides-Woo: Keyboards and Orchestration

FROM HEART TO CROWN. 1986

When From Heart to Crown was already at the duplicators I decided that I couldn’t release it the way it was. I felt the music was pushier than I liked. So, I recalled the album and worked to soften the energy more. A lot of people like this album, but I’m still ambivalent. But then I remember that most artists are rarely completely satisfied with their work. After all, Beethoven said of his Opus 13: String quartet No. 14 in C# minor, written towards the end of his life, something like, “I think I may finally have gotten it right.”

All performances and all compositions by Rob Whitesides-Woo

TRAVELER 1990

This was a time that, in retrospect, led to my present work as a healer and shaman. My music career was doing well, and to not implode from the pressure, When I was writing Traveler, I spent my days hiking for 4 to 6 hours in the San Gabriel Mountains above Pasadena, California, and 4 to 6 hours in my music studio informed by what the mountains told me and did to me. And I meditated a lot. On a much-needed two-day solo back-country exploration in the Canyon Lands of South-West Colorado, I was able to have the space and time to… rather just “being in nature,” get to that place of being nature.

For me, that state of being nature is mandatory for my creative process, and being nature is how this Shaman can sense the paths that may heal.

From the original liner notes: “The music of Traveler comes out of almost three thousand miles of walking the mountains and wilderness of the American West. Exotic flutes, guitars and harps, the sounds of instruments from around the world, tell a story of passion and healing. These instrumental songs transport the listener upon a journey of the wild soul.”

All performances and all compositions by Rob Whitesides-Woo

WINTER’S DREAM – VISIONS OF CHRISTMAS 1993

Winter’s Dream captures the spirit and beauty of Christmas with original songs and new interpretations of classic carols. Using instruments from cultures around the world, these instrumentals are a rich blend of ancient and new. From the earthy and exotic “We Three Kings” to the graceful and sublime “Oh Holy Night” you’ll experience an evocative journey through the stillness of winter to the wonder of Christmas. A beautiful album!

Jon Clark on oboe, English Horn, flute, recorder, tenor recorder, sopranino recorder
All other performances and all compositions by Rob Whitesides-Woo

RAIN DANCE 1995

Rain Dance marked a change in my musical approach. I wanted my music, and myself, to be more relaxed, earthy, and acoustic instrument performance based. I Instinctively knew that I needed to embody with the lower parts of my body more organically, the parts that move and dance. Rain Dance is about living through the seasons of nature and of life, and returning to the stillness of the heart.

Robb Boswell on Acoustic Guitar
MB Gordy on all percussion
Laura Knox on Celtic Harp
All other performances and all compositions by Rob Whitesides-Woo

MOONTIDES 1997

Moontides is a collaborative work with my good friend Laura Knox. Laura is a T’ai Chi and Kung Fu San Soo master as well as a Celtic harpist. Laura was going through a very difficult time with her two sons in jeopardy when we were working on the album. I learned that when she came to my house to work she was mostly in a dissociated trance, not in any place to be conducted. So, I set up the microphones to record her harp and had everything ready to go before she arrived. When Laura arrived, she would sit down at her harp and began improvising. She had no idea what she was playing. I just recorded what she played and edited the improvisations later to give me a framework to orchestrate. Life-Love-Sorrow-Strength-Peace.

Laura Knox on Celtic Harp
All other performances and all compositions by Rob Whitesides-Woo, except the Grenadier and the Lady (Traditional)