Early years Ackerman was born in
Germany. His adoptive father was a professor of English at
Stanford University. He grew up in the
San Francisco Bay Area and attended
Northfield Mount Hermon School in
western Massachusetts. He returned to
Palo Alto to study English and History at
Stanford University. His life took a turn when he discovered he had a fondness for carpentry. He was five credits short of graduating when he left
Stanford to work as an apprentice to a Norwegian boat builder. In 1972, he founded Windham Hill Builders in
Palo Alto while playing music for Stanford theater productions and performing impromptu concerts in town.
Windham Hill Records With money borrowed from friends, he recorded his first album, ''The Search for Turtle's Navel
, later changed to In Search of the Turtle's Navel, on his own label, Windham Hill Records in 1976. His second album, It Takes a Year
, he released in 1977. Shortly thereafter, Will recorded and produced an album entitled Turning: Turning Back
by his cousin, guitarist Alex De Grassi. This was followed by Robbie Basho whose music had inspired Ackerman for years. He left carpentry to pursue music full time in 1980. During that year, the label received national attention via the success of a piano album by George Winston titled Autumn''. He then discovered guitarist
Michael Hedges at a concert in
Palo Alto and immediately signed him to the label. Other musicians in the catalog were
Darol Anger,
Mike Marshall,
Liz Story, and the band
Shadowfax. In time, the genre associated with Windham Hill was christened
New-age music. In 1982,
A&M Records became Windham Hill's distributor. The label was selling millions of albums, and Ackerman became a wealthy man. Despite outward signs of success, he was diagnosed with depression. By 1984, Ackerman no longer wanted to run a large corporation. He left California for Vermont. He built Imaginary Road Studios in
Dummerston, Vermont and has continued to work as a producer. The walls of his studio are covered in more than 20 Gold and Platinum records from US and overseas sales.
Awards and honors Grammy Awards • Best New Age Album,
Returning, 2004 • Nominated, Best New Age Album, Brothers, with
Jeff Oster,
Tom Eaton, 2021
Zone Music Reporter Awards • Album of the Year,
The Gathering, 2012 • Best Contemporary Instrumental Album,
The Gathering, 2012 • Lifetime Achievement Award, 2013 • Album of the Year,
Flow by Flow with
Fiona Joy, Lawrence Blatt, and Jeff Oster, 2017 • Best Contemporary Instrumental Album,
Flow by Flow with Fiona Joy, Lawrence Blatt, and Jeff Oster, 2017 == Discography ==