Composer and musician Richard C. Schrei shares his life’s mission

Richard C. Schrei is an eclectic flutist with great musical experiences that mainly delves around the healing music he composes. He not only plays the flute but makes them and heals through the music and positive spirit within his flutes. I was recently blessed with an opportunity to feature this musical gem on TheAfricanDream.net which is also my blog.

Richard is known for being versed in Classical, New Age, Ambient, Blues, Jazz, Chinese Modal Music, Tibetan & Sanskrit Chanting, and Native American music of which he masterfully plays on flutes. It is not hard to realize the amazing depth of his music which easily permeates one’s spirit and mind. I highly recommend this kind of music for meditation, relaxation, and concentration.

I hope you enjoy my July 2019 chat with Mr. Schrei, who is normally based in Gentryville, Missouri, in the United States. I ask that you connect with him to find out more about his music after reading this. Tell him Oral Ofori sent you. I started my interview by asking what the inspiration behind his project was. It became obvious that I had used the wrong word as his response was…

“I lay in the dark and opened my eyes. Through the mist, I could see the Elders were there. I asked them ‘why am I here?’ And a voice answered, ‘You were chosen.’ Then Grandfather and a small boy came to me with folded wings and in the dark of night said to me ‘This was given to me many, many, years ago. A beautiful golden-hone flute lay in my lap. And they left with folded wings.”

Just being told this was enough to get my rapt attention, at this point I was excited to hear the other part of this vision which Mr. Schrei humbly went ahead to share with me: “the second simply said, ‘You must go play for the Hopi Elders.‘” Almost half a decade after these visions the healer was in 2007 invited to the Hopi Reservation to play for their Special Needs Day, the opening of a Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit honoring the Codetalkers, and for the Hopi Elders.

While there, he was sitting at Third Mesa playing for the land and the following vision was given to him as he recounts in his own words: “We have given you a gift we rarely give; the ability to look into the hearts of others and to hear their songs. Now is the time to play those songs and bring harmony back to the homelands.“

Fascination! That was the only word that took hold of me upon hearing Mr. Schrei share his visions. It made me ask who the target audience for his music is, he explained that “everyone is my target audience. My music is currently used by bodyworkers, alternative healers, mental health counselors, meditation leaders, and yoga teachers.“

Before I sat down to write this piece, I gave my eardrums a good listening to the soothing music of Mr. Schrei and couldn’t help but notice how soft and yet deep it is, it felt as though it was made just for me at that very moment I sat listening to it, and so I paused typing and listened to another tune, and another. Let me just say they are absolutely healing music, do visit richardcschrei.bandcamp.com to find out for yourself.

He humbly defends the fact that there was nothing “peculiar” about what he does, but I knew for sure that this very special man with his very well-kept and carefully-twirled handlebar mustache is a gift to humanity. This became obvious when he told me that he is able to connect in some way to the universal music that is always present and to make it audible to others in a way that brings visions, healing, and a sense of profound peace to those who hear it.

For those of you already hooked and the new initiate like myself, Richard wants all to know that he is “currently composing a Concerto in G Minor for Native American Flute and string orchestra — The Morning Sun Salutation.” He is also working on several 45 min – 1 hr long meditation pieces, a few shorter pieces, with the anticipation of at least 2 CD releases in 2019. “I’m also planning a free healing concert for the fall in Mt. View, Arkansas,” said the healer.

So, how does a healing music composer gets in the zone for their purpose? Richard answers by saying “one thing I’ve found out from experience is, you can’t go into a patients room with a negative heart. You have to go into a patient’s room with a positive heart. Your heart is like a bucket of water. If the water is dirty, you can only pour out dirty water. If the water is clean, you pour out clean water.

When asked to talk a little about the spiritual and/or psychological impacts of his mission, the musician healer took time to explain with the following instances based on sacred ancient culture…



Spiritual aspects:

Krishna is pictured in Hindu symbology with a crown of peacock’s feathers, playing the flute. Krishna is the ideal of divine love, the God of love. And the divine love expresses itself by entering into man and filling his whole being. Therefore, the flute is the human heart, and a heart which is made hollow will become a flute for the God of love to play upon. When the heart is not empty there is no place for love.

Song of the Reed by Rumi:

In this poem, Rumi tells us that the pains and sorrows the soul experiences through life are like holes made in a reed flute, and it is by making these holes that a player makes the flute out of a reed. This means that the heart of man is first a reed, and the sufferings and pains it goes through make it a flute, which can then be used by God as the instrument for the music that He constantly wishes to produce. But as every reed is not a flute, so every heart is not His instrument. As the reed can be made into a flute, so the human heart can be turned into an instrument of God for Love. No earthly instrument can produce that music which the heart produces, raising the mortal soul to immortality.

Sui Zen:

The idea of Sui Zen is to become one with the music so that you experience no other distractions, worries, problems, illnesses, or stresses. Both player and listeners enter into a trance state through this music.

Hopi Indians:

The flute clans of the Hopi were originally responsible for bringing rain to their land by playing their flutes. Today, they still have blessing ceremonies at the springs on their lands.

“You can only release what is in the heart, negative or positive energy. Negative has no healing energy,” Mr. Schrei points out. A cool paradox to all this is that he is a white guy who plays the Native American flute.

Future activities planned around the Healing Music composer this year include brief healing concerts. At these concerts will be a meet-and-greet afterward where flutes and CDs will be available for purchase. Stay tuned for venue, dates and more details. For now, keep your hearts positive as Richard prepares to introduce some of his healing music to all.