Ricky Tims - A New Beginning
In April of 2000 Ricky underwent a quadruple heart bypass surgery. He was 44. Following this surgery he moved to Arvada, Colorado to continue pursuing what had become a successful career that blends his passion for both music and quilting. In August of 2000 he produced two more CDs - Heart and Soul, a collection of songs that chronicles his life, and Celebrate the Century, a historic perspective of music and quilts. In 2001, he produced Christmastime, a collection of timeless and traditional seasonal favorites.

In December of 2003, Ricky moved to the small mountain town of La Veta in south central Colorado. He maintains a heavy international travel and performing schedule, primarily associated with quilting events.

In 2005 he produced a recording called Sacred Age that features only his original music. On Sacred Age, Ricky performs eleven original songs that reflect the beauty, majesty, magic and mystery of southern Colorado . From the opening bars of the meditative Dreamcatcher, in the pulsating and hypnotic rhythms of Dance, through the upbeat La Veta Loca and Uptop, and to the quietude of Midwinter Dreams, these haunting and evocative tone poems reflects the many moods of Colorado. Ricky’s music had been described as “George Winston meets Carlos Nakai meets Yanni.”Sacred Age features Native American flute, acoustic guitar, a variety of indigenous percussion instruments, including deer toes, bladder shakers, and the finest session sting players from Nashville, TN. In typical "Ricky" fashion, Sacred Age is neither classical, new age, pop, nor world, however, it could easily fall under any of those classifications.

Ricky Tims - Through the Years
Ricky Tims was born and raised in Wichita Falls, Texas. He has had a life-long passion for music. He began formal piano lessons at the age of three and for most of his life, never desired to pursue any other career or discipline. While his years of formal training helped develop his performance technique, music reading skills, and knowledge of music theory, his ability to play 'by ear' was a result of the frequent family musical 'hootenannies' - popular weekend occurrences during his formative years.

During elementary school, a string program was offered to 5th and 6th grade students. Ricky participated and excelled on the violin. He was chosen as 2nd chair in the citywide youth orchestra. However, upon entering junior high, his dream of playing trumpet surpassed his desire to play violin so he signed up to play in the Barwise Jr. High School band. Playing trumpet came naturally and he achieved rank as section leader and was selected Drum Major of the marching band.

1970 – 1974
At SH Rider High School, he continued pursuing music by participating in as many musical activities as he could. He won numerous musical awards, sang tenor in the Acapella Choir, and played trumpet in marching band, concert band, stage band and orchestra. During his senior year he was selected as conductor of the City Youth Choir and was chosen as “Outstanding High School Senior Musician” by the Music Teacher’s Association of Wichita Falls. He was awarded a university music scholarship by Wichita Falls’ resident and world-renown organist, Dr. Anita Akin, who had followed Ricky’s musical pursuits since first hearing him play organ at the age of five. Throughout all of these years he continued to study piano privately from several piano teachers. In 1973, at the age of 17, he took his first music director/conducting position at a church and helped develop special music groups within the congregation.

1975 - 1983
Ricky pursued a double major in both piano performance and music composition at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas studying under Ivy Boland and Dr. Kent Hughes. On April 10, 1979, nearing the completion of his graduation requirements, a massive tornado devastated Wichita Falls and destroyed his family home, carrying away all of his hand-written compositions. This setback eventually culminated with him leaving his university studies without a degree to pursue other musical interests.

1983 - 1988
Ricky was offer the position of keyboardist for a band based out of Waco, Texas. While there he began working in a recording studio where he was given the opportunity to produce various projects. During this time he produced several commercial radio spots and a few album projects. He also produced several of his own songs and one solo album, a Christmas album called, The True Light, which was published on the Word Music label in 1988.

It was in Waco that he also began transcribing music into piano/vocal folios for Word, Inc. He transcribed the recordings of many popular Christian recording artists including Michael W. Smith, Steve Green, and Cynthia Clawson.

1988 - 1998
In 1988 he moved to St. Louis, Missouri after having accepted a job as music producer for a video/animation production studio. The company closed one year later but Ricky was able to purchased their recording studio and began work from his home as a free-lance music producer.

In his spare time Ricky decided to make a quilt. For the full story, click here. While he had previously explored various visual arts as a hobby, his interest in quilting stuck. Little did he realize at the time just how significant this endeavor would become.

In 1992 Ricky was invited to become the pianist at Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1993, he applied for, and was hired as, the Music Coordinator position. Over the next five years, Ricky composed and arranged many choral/orchestral works. He produced three CDs of the Kirk Chancel Choir. The final one, Five Mystical Songs, was release nationally on the Arkay music label. He co-founded the Covenant Children’s Chorale, an auditioned performing and touring choir of children ages 8-13.

In 1998, Ricky’s avocation as a quilt teacher/artist was escalating. He resigned his conducting position and began pursuing a career as a national quilt teacher and lecturer.

His final musical endeavor as a conductor in St. Louis was an event that he claims to be one of the most significant events of his life. He implemented and conducted a benefit concert that featured Kris Anthony’s When We No Longer Touch along with other sacred songs of hope and healing. This concert was performed by 85 singers from 18 different St. Louis area choruses accompanied by members of the St. Louis Symphony orchestra. Passage, a CD that was funded and produced by Ricky, became the first of his recordings to garner world-wide acclaim.