Paul Cardall

Personal life

Paul Cardall pronounced (pronounced PAHL KARR-dahl) was born April 24, 1973. He was diagnosed with congenital heart disease shortly after he was born. He was born with only a single functioning ventricle or half-heart. At birth, doctors did not believe Cardall would live more than a day. His cardiologist performed a temporary corrective surgery that allowed Cardall's life to continue, but doctors still weren’t sure how long he would live. Cardall's parents initially didn’t know what to expect of their son. Despite Cardall's lack of oxygenated blood, his father, Duane, said they never discouraged their son from being active. "We chose to not be overly protective or restrictive," Duane said. "We felt that with the defect that he had, the best thing for us to do would be to just let him pace himself. Our philosophy was to let him figure out what his own limits were instead of us telling him what they were."

Cardall first played the piano when he was 8 years old. His early experience, however, did not demonstrate his true potential. "Paul didn’t have a very good experience taking piano," Duane said. "He lasted about six months as an 8 or 9-year-old. His piano teacher just said it wasn’t worth her time or our money to have him pursue that. So he no longer played."

After two more heart surgeries at ages 13 and 14, the soft-spoken Cardall became an accomplished pianist, showing a gift for harmony and precision. After a close friend died at age 17, Cardall began writing music to express his emotions.

In high school, Cardall became serious about composing and performing music. With the encouragement of another talented friend, he wrote a piano concerto he described as "Russian polka meets a Nintendo game soundtrack" and performed the piece at his high school's annual Concerto Night. "I had never felt so nervous and so alive. I knew I wanted more of this," Cardall said.

Cardall was recruited by Salt Lake Community College (SLCC). He served as the Fine Arts President and Public Relations Vice-President at SLCC while enjoying a full-ride leadership scholarship there. During the summer season he worked as a youth counselor for the Especially for Youth camps at Brigham Young University.

While attending college, Cardall played piano for tips at a Nordstrom department store and local restaurants. He recorded his first album, "Sign of Affection," in 1994. Richard Paul Evans, author of the best-seller The Christmas Box, heard the album and asked Cardall to create a musical adaptation of his story. Cardall was able to travel to national book signings with Evans during the release of the CD and the book, he was able to sell tens of thousands of copies of his album and developed a supportive fan base.

While Cardall continued to compose music part-time, he worked at Richard Paul Evan's book distribution company as the music executive. He worked with Disney, BMG, and others, and became interested in making piano performance his career. Cardall's early compositions are influenced by Mozart, pianists David Lanz, George Winston, and Yanni.

Cardall knew that one day he would likely need a heart transplant. He lived with congenital heart disease for over thirty years. He was born with only a single functioning ventricle or half-heart. In August 2008, with his heart failure, Cardall was listed for a heart transplant. After waiting 385 days, he received a donated heart via transplant on September 9, 2009.

Career

In early 1999, Cardall founded Stone Angel Music, an independent record label intended to produce, market, and distribute Cardall's recordings.

That same year, Cardall signed a multi-album deal with Narada, an affiliate of Virgin Records. Cardall said he signed with Narada to help further distribution routes for his album "The Christmas Box" inspired by Richard Paul Evans #1 NY Times bestseller, which was originally released independently in 1997. Narada expanded upon the distribution channels Cardall had begun with author Richard Paul Evans. "The Christmas Box" album debuted #22 on Billboard's New Age Chart. That same year, Cardall also debuted a new album entitled The Looking Glass. In December 1999, both records were listed on Billboard's Top 25 New Age Charts. During his association with The Christmas Box, families of victims in the Oklahoma City bombing requested the music be played during the memorial ceremonies as families placed flowers on the empty chairs representing their lost loved ones, covered by news channels including CNN.

This tragic event inspired Cardall to release Miracles: A Journey of Hope and Healing.

In September 2005, Cardall released a new CD called Primary Worship, inspired by the innocence and spiritual development of childhood. The album debuted at #12 on the Billboard Magazine Top 25 New Age Chart, spending 11 weeks on that chart.

Cardall released a collection of hymns arranged for piano in 2008 titled, "The Hymns Collection" which debuted No. 4 on the Billboard New Age charts.

That same year, Cardall released a two-disc titled Living for Eden. Which is considered extremely personal and insightful as Eden is the name of his daughter, and music is his Eden-place; the way he finds his own peace and comfort.

In 2009, when Cardall's health was at its lowest, he recorded a CD called Sacred Piano, putting together some of the most meaningful things he had done up to that point. The album debuted #5 on Billboard's New Age Chart.

In 2011, Cardall's album "New Life" notably debuted as the number one Billboard New Age album in February 2011. "New Life" held its high rank in the top 5 albums for more than 30 weeks.

In 2013, the film Ephraim's Rescue was released with the music composed by Cardall.

In 2015, Cardall's album "40 Hymns for Forty Days" (2015), debuted as the number one Billboard New Age album in March 2014. "40 Hymns for Forty Days" held its high rank in the top 10 albums for more than 50 weeks.

Paul Cardall's A New Creation was released September 16, 2016 by Stone Angel Music. The album debuted #1 on Billboard's New Age Album Chart, #2 Classical Album Chart, #12 Christian Album Chart, #34 overall Independent albums, and #7 Heatseekers Chart. The album features soloists Nathan Pacheco (Disney Pearl Records; Yanni Voices tour) and Patrice Tipoki (Fantine, Les Misérables international Broadway tour). The album is distributed by CDBaby, Alliance Entertainment, and Deseret Book Distributors, and is available on streaming services and internet radio.

In, "A New Creation," Cardall explores a deeper level of spirituality by introducing lyrics and full orchestration to his catalogue for the first time. "Each song on the album is designed to invoke deep spiritual feelings," Cardall notes. "The album represents a journey from innocence at birth, through the ensuing brokenness of the human condition, culminating in mankind's ability to rise above that broken state to their full potential."

Albums

Charitable Activities

Paul Cardall served as a board member of The Saving tiny Hearts Society from 2010-2016. "After receiving a heart transplant, I created my own foundation from concert proceeds to help others. My family created an endowment and scholarship at our local Salt Lake Community College for students affected by congenital heart disease. After this was established, I was invited by the Saving tiny Hearts Society to host the 5th Annual Gala. After meeting and learning more about this society I was convinced I needed to focus my charitable attention there because they are the most effective privately run organization that is researching solutions and solving key problems within the CHD medical community. They truly are saving tiny hearts."

The Paul & Kristina Cardall Scholarship was established with the help from Salt Lake Community College (SLCC), for students with congenital heart disease.

Paul Cardall has performed at benefit concerts for individuals who, like himself, are fighting for their chance to receive a heart transplant. In the beginning of summer 2014, Paul Cardall performed locally in Salt Lake City for a young boy who suffered from heart illness.

Stone Angel Music

Stone Angel Music is an independent record label founded by Paul Cardall in 1999.

One of the artists signed to the label, Jason Lyle Black, had his album Preludes debut at No. 2 on the Billboard Top New Age Albums Chart in June 2016.

Cellist Steven Sharp Nelson's first album Sacred Cello (2006) with Stone Angel Music was atop the Billboard Charts.

Pianist Jason Lyle Black's "Piano Preludes," released May 6, 2016, recently debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Top New Age Albums chart. According to Black, the honor is rare for an artist's first album and is a testament to Black's producer, Paul Cardall, and record label, Stone Angel Music.