Behind the music

Raphael was born in 1973 into a true music-loving environment. From happy times singing with the family on long car trips, to his father’s harpsichord study, to the ubiquitous presence of multiple guitars during holiday gatherings, there always seemed to be something musical going on. In addition, his father’s sizable jazz and classical vinyl collection, with a particular emphasis on bossa nova and Latin jazz, was central to his childhood experience. With those recordings reverberating in his ears, the alto sax was an obvious choice when he joined the school band in the 4^th grade. As Raphael grew, so did his saxophone preference, and the alto evolved into tenor for grades 7 through 10. He added guitar at age 13, learning basic chords and fingerpicking from his mother and sister. While still in high school, he became immersed in folk music, composing 100+ songs by the end of his freshman year in college, often collaborating with friends on lyrics. Raphael progressed to formal studies at the University of Vermont, where he majored in Philosophy and minored in Music. After his graduation, he launched a ten-piece Latin/jazz/funk ensemble, Saudade. The group performed extensively during the late ’90s in Burlington, Vermont, and released two albums of Raphael’s own compositions. 

Even as Raphael was experiencing success with his band, something began to stir inside him that summoned him to see what he could do to effect a positive change in the world. In 1993, while taking a holistic health class, he met his first shamanic teacher. She re-entered his life as a healer and teacher in 2002 after his four-month-old son was involved in a near fatal accident. Raphael became increasingly aware of the healing power of sound as he played guitar for his son during his first night in intensive care and the following day, when a therapeutic harpist played for his family. It was in these moments that Raphael was propelled to compose, perform, and eventually record intentional healing music. 

Groten credits the beginning of his recording career to his intuition. In 2014, during a nightly meditation, Raphael was guided to email his song “Black River” to Will Ackerman, Grammy winning guitarist and Windham Hill label founder. Acting on this guidance, he emailed the song and requested assistance in producing his first recording of solo guitar for healing. Ackerman responded the next day and a working friendship was formed. Three months later, Journey Home was recorded at Will’s renowned Imaginary Road Studios. In 2019, Will was featured on Star Lullaby, Raphael’s sophomore release. Last year, 10 years after their meeting, Will was featured on Unity, Raphael’s release with violinist Rebecca Kodis. To bring it full circle, Raphael’s song “Black River” was included on Will’s 2024 release, The Gathering: Guitar.