Peter Kater

Peter Kater, a highly productive pianist and composer, gained recognition for creating music for TV shows, movies, and stage productions, in addition to issuing his own collections of light jazz and instrumental new age pieces. His prominence grew during the 1980s and 1990s through multiple recordings issued by Silver Wave, a label based in Colorado, with some notable joint efforts alongside Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai earning praise. Establishing his personal imprint Earth Sea along with a studio in Virginia, he achieved further accomplishments in the 2000s via several albums nominated for Grammys, such as Red Moon (2003), Faces of the Sun (2007), and In a Dream (2009). In those years, Kater also provided compositions for cinematic projects like the 2006 documentary 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama and the 2010 animated feature The Legend of Secret Pass. His consistent productivity continued throughout the following ten years, bringing more Grammy nods for releases including Light Body (2014) and Inner Passion (2016), a joint effort with Tina Guo, before securing consecutive Grammy awards for Dancing on Water in 2017 and Wings in 2019.

Born in Germany, Kater relocated from Munich to New Jersey at age four. Piano instruction commenced three years afterward, with classical training persisting until he embraced rock & roll during his early teenage years. Upon reaching 18, he settled in Boulder, Colorado, engaging in improvised performances and residing there for more than ten years prior to shifting to rural Virginia, where he constructed Earth Sea Studios. Exclusively affiliated with Silver Wave until Earth Sea's launch in early 1997, Kater began with the 1983 debut Spirit. Over 20 albums followed on that imprint, encompassing successful partnerships with R. Carlos Nakai such as How the West Was Lost, Vols. 1-2 and the 1992 Migration, which garnered the NAIRD Best New Age Album Indie Award. Various Kater and Nakai works reached the Top 20 on Billboard's new age chart, with select solo Kater outings—spanning solo to quintet configurations—appearing in the Top 25.

Following the inception of his Earth Sea label, Kater issued items like 1998's Compassion and the Nakai collaboration Winds of Devotion (1999). Heart's Desire emerged via Source Music in early 2001, succeeded by Inner Works: Piano & Strings in 2002, and Silver Wave put out Red Moon in 2003, securing his initial Grammy nomination in the Best New Age Album category. Later Grammy-nominated efforts encompassed 2005's Piano from the four-part Element Series, 2007's Faces of the Sun, Ambrosia from the five-part Healing Series, and In a Dream, a 2009 pairing with Sting guitarist Dominic Miller. For the score to the 2010 animated film The Legend of Secret Pass, Kater collaborated with a 70-piece orchestra and 50-voice choir.

Grammy nominations arrived annually for Wind, Rock, Sea & Flame: Aloha Au Ia 'Oe, Light Body, Illumination, and 2014's Ritual alongside Nakai. Additional screen scoring included the 2014 documentary miniseries Civil War: The Untold Story, co-authored with Bobby Horton and featuring vocal sections, folk instruments, plus atmospheric keys. Further joint projects involved 2015's Heart of Silence: Piano and Flute Meditations with Michael Brant DeMaria and the 2016 duo recording Inner Passion with cellist Tina Guo. Kater put out the piano improvisation collection Dancing on Water in September 2017, claiming a Grammy for Best New Age Album the next year. Wings followed in 2019, yielding his second Grammy win.