WIU in the News

Colleges/Departments

Upcoming Alumni & Friends Events

Popular Links

Board of Trustees Bachelor of Arts Degree

Music, the Mind, and Where They Meet

Board of Trustees Bachelor of Arts degree graduate Paul Adams '99 of Peoria, Illinois, “created a goal specific field of study dealing with the chronically mentally ill” within the student designed degree program.

As a Recovery Specialist at The Human Service Center in Peoria, Paul assists individuals with various mental health issues, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, chronic depression, and issues of concurrent physical illness and addictions.

The treatment of mental health has changed greatly over the last 25 years. When Paul began working in the field, the goal was to deinstitutionalize the mentally ill and simply support clients in order to live independently.

“Today we have evolved into a ‘recovery’ mode. We want to educate the client and introduce effective coping skills that allow for the client to exercise control over and improve the quality of life,” Paul said. “Trumpet player Tom Harrell is considered to be one of the finest musicians in the world and has paranoid schizophrenia. When not performing, he is constantly fighting symptoms, and his communication is slightly hindered. But when he puts the trumpet to his lips, the voices go away, and Tom is in recovery mode.”

In addition to his work in mental health, Paul is taking full advantage of a music revolution that is making it easier for composers to own their own studios and release albums without corporate sponsorship and control of composition based on “market value.”

“We are now free to determine the course of tone, rhythm, melody, production, and instrumentation according to ‘artistic whim’ rather than sales and demographic value,” Paul said. “We can now have music constructed using a wider area of influences. It isn’t uncommon to hear an Australian Didjeridu with a Middle Eastern Dumbec drum, orchestral violins and an Armenian Daduk in global hits.”

Paul has released five titles. His first album, Various Waves, was named a Top Five album of the year by Musical Starstreams Radio, the largest commercially syndicated instrumental radio program in the USA. His music can be heard on MUSIC CHOICE, XM, or SIRRUS Satellite Radio. Listeners can download titles and albums at iTunes, CD Baby, Napster and other such sites. Additional information about Paul and his music are located on his website, http://www.pauladams.org.

Back to top