Roma Waterman
-- Images on the Left click through to albums on iTunes --
About Roma
Growing up in an Italian family, it was normal practice to sing ancient songs from her parents homeland around her grandfathers piano accordion. At the age of three, she was already being taught how to play the piano by her Uncle Joe. From an early age, it was evident Roma was destined to live her life with a passion for music and the arts.
Five albums and two books later, a major songwriting deal and many years of touring the globe, it's hard to imagine her simple beginnings within a struggling immigrant family. But this is what makes Roma's music and message so unique -its her simple love of life, faith and a genuine heart to touch people with her songs that have made an impact.
CHRISTIAN ARTIST
Most well known for her involvement within the Christian Music Industry, Roma's has had extensive radio play and success with her albums. From her first major hit, -More than Ice cream-, to -Lifting me up-, award winning song -I was carried- and -Wings of Love-, it is no surprise that Roma is one of the most played artists on Christian radio in Australia.
The success of her music has led her to tour as support artist for some of the best bands in Christian Music. DC Talk, The Newsboys, Jars of Clay, Margaret Becker, David Meece, Rebecca St James and Michael W Smith just to name a few. Often performing just on a piano, her music is considered by many to be captivating and soul moving. A mix stylistically between Jewel, Tori Amos and Sarah McLaughlin - it has been described as simple melodies and production, with poetic lyrics and an acoustic -gypsy-pop feel.
After being diagnosed with a mystery illness and vocal problems, Roma was told she may never sing or tour professionally again. After several years out of the limelight, she describes her complete healing as -the undeserving and overwhelming grace of God-. Her songs are now her story, and it seems that after her 'wilderness experience' she has a deeper connection as a writer and communicator. This has led her to a surprising twist - she not only sings, but is a sought after speaker and communicator at conferences, womens events, churches and similar events. She is passionate about seeing lives changed and feels completely overwhelmed to be given a second chance.
Conference Speaker/Minister
Roma is a story teller, and loves sharing her testimony and heart through her song and testimony. She also often runs workshops and training for worship teams and bands, teaching songwriting, vocal techniques, worship and the prophetic.
She has been a guest speaker and artist at New Zealand's Sistas Womens conference, Hillsong Conference in Sydney, Christian City church events and other denominational churches in America, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia. She is easy going relaxed and funny (or at least she thinks she is!)
She is also an experienced Worship Leader with a focus on the prophetic and encouraging people to have a revelation of who God is in worship
Vocal Coach
Roma is a very experienced vocal and songwriting coach. Due to her busy schedule she has limited places and her lessons are by audition only.
She recently started the Roma Waterman Music Academy, which is held at the Nunawading Community Centre in Nunawading, Melbourne. She has trained some already experienced teachers and can recommend someone who would be right for you. The academy also includes piano, guitar, bass, songwriting and theory tuition.
Having written 'The Working Singers Handbook', her focus is mainly on technique and correcting vocal problems. She has completed Grade 7 AMEB Classical singing, Grad 5 AMEB Classical Piano, Grade 3 Musicianship theory and has a Cert IV in workplace training and Assessment.
The Academy also has regular open mic nights, gospel choir sessions, and runs The Melbourne Gospel Kids choir.
Songwriter/Author
SONGWRITER
Roma has won several songwriting awards and has written and co-written many songs - for herself and others. She recently signed a major publishing deal with First Company Publishing, a new US based publishing house formed by four Australian music industry veterans - Paul Bootes (Managing Director of Koorong Books), Dale Bray (President of Inpop Records), Wes Campbell (Newsboys' Manager), and Peter Furler (Newsboys' lead singer).
AUTHOR
Roma has discovered a love for writing books. Her first book "The Working Singer's handbook", is released worldwide via Music Sales UK and has currently been re-released as the new edition renamed as "The Handbook for Working Singers". She has just completed a new book entitled "The God Artist", and is currently writing "I was Carried", which is the story of her journey of her illness and miraculous healing.
Some of her songwriting awards include:
- •1st place 2007 Unisong International songwriting Contest I was Carried - Christian Category
- •Honourable mention 2006 USA Songwriting competition Wings of Love - Christian Category
- •1st place 2004 USA CCMNNI (contemporary Christian Talent Search - music network International) Talent Search
- •1st place 2004 Song of the Year Feb winner I was Carried
- •2nd Place 2003 International Songwriting Competition I was Carried - Gospel Category
- •Finalist 2002 USA Songwriting Competition Voice of Freedom - Gospel Category
- •1st Place 2001 Musicoz awards (Australia) I am What - Hard rock category
MELBOURNE GOSPEL CHOIR/AUTHOR
Roma is also the founder and director of the Melbourne Gospel choir which performs regularly on television shows and recordings. The author of the best selling -The Working Singers Handbook-, she has several new books that will be released in the near future. An award winning prolific songwriter and vocal coach, she is also a worship leader with a keen sense of the prophetic - something she has just began to step into with much authority.
It seems like a lot, but the key to Roma's's success is that everything she does is focused on one theme -to help people be all they can be and experience a real authentic connection with God. In the frantic pace of life, this thread holds everything she does together and energizes her to keep reaching for more.
You may have seen The Melbourne Gospel Choir perform on TV shows such as Carols By Candlelight, The Good Friday Appeal, The X Factor, The AFL Grand Final, Dancing with the Stars, It Takes Two and The Logies.
In the last 8 years, the MGC have become a much loved part of the greater music industry in Australia. The group is made up of some very talented solo artists, including Jud Field (Assistant Director), Justin Michael (Compliments of Gus), Derek Bailey and world famous Kylie Minogue impersonator and TV presenter Lucy Holmes. As well as some brilliant voices, each member has a genuine faith in God which makes singing Gospel songs an absolute pleasure. They mean what they sing and they sing what they live.
Among their many performances are TV and studio credits for artists Reba McIntyre, Vanessa Amorossi, Human Nature, Debra Byrne, Marina Prior, Jon Stevens, Australian Idol Guy Sebastian, and Australian Idol judge Marcia Hines.
The choir have just finished a new album titled"For the Children". This album will raise much needed funds for the Royal Children's hospital and boasts special guest appearances by Australian idol's Anthony Calea and Shannon Noll, , Guy Sebastian, Marcia Hines and others. Roma's award winning song "I was Carried" has been re recorded and mixed with the choir and some original songs by Jud Field are also highlights.
They have also released the popular "Our Christmas Prayer" - A Christmas album with other guests Roma and the Queen of Australian theatre - Marina Prior. You can order both these products online through the website.
You can see several of the MGC performances on youtube including their most recent performance at World Youth Day to 30,000 people.
Roma's Website:
RomaWaterman.com
Ministry and booking enquiries for Roma and the Melbourne Gospel Choir:
Anton Bekker
Head of Entertainment Business
Lewis Holdway Lawyers
Address: 20 Queen Street, Melbourne
Phone: 0413 009 629
Fax: (03) 9629 9630
email antonb@lewisholdway.com.au
Orders:
ted@romawaterman.com
P O box 825
Ringwood, Victoria
Melbourne Australia 3134
To write to Roma personally:
roma@romawaterman.com
P O box 825
Ringwood, Victoria
Melbourne Australia 3134
Note:
Due to the large number of emails received, Roma may not always be able to respond personally, but she will try!
The God Artist - New Book by Roma Waterman
When our unique gift to be creative is separated from our burning desire to know the Creator, we begin to lose ourselves. We may still have the capacity to create beautiful things, but the source of all creativity becomes distant to us. To become a 'God artist' is to reconnect with the source of our creativity and become a world changer. To be at the forefront of our artistic medium is to bring about influence on a global scale. As creative people we can choose to model ourselves after God - the greatest artist of all. Or we can choose to simply follow the crowd. When we try to emulate what works in our worldly culture we become followers, not leaders - artists who do not disturb the waters, when we should really be people who make waves. In this book Roma Waterman reveals,
- God’s attributes and how to apply them to our own creativity
- What we can learn from the history of the arts to apply today
- How to become more disciplined in our creative life
- How unforgiveness can affect our creativity
- The power of the prophetic in creativity
- How to be a God artist beyond the church walls
And then here is something from the book "The God Artist - The quest for supernatural Creative influence"
The law of lift -The Power of Worship
The connection between worship and prayer is beautifully explained in Chuck Pierce's book “The Worship Warrior”. In this book he explains the analogy of a plane and natural laws:
“There are two natural laws that oppose each other in the world: the law of gravity and the law of lift. When an aircraft sits stationary, the law of gravity holds it securely to the ground, but as it begins to roll down a runway, the aerodynamics of the wing design causes another natural law to come into play, the law of lift. As the aircraft increases speed on the runway, the two natural laws war until, if the wings are designed right, the law of lift overcomes the law of gravity...As the church ascends in worship, the strategies and direction of the Lord in our services are like the law of lift, enabling us to break the hold of gravity on us and open the corridor through the heavenly places”.
So when we worship him, we begin to rise. As we begin to rise we are confronted with principalities and powers in the air, and we take authority over these things. We clear the way for God’s power to flow freely from heaven onto earth.
Worship and Revelation
The beautiful thing about worship as intercession and warfare is that the very thing we are praying for will become revelation if we persist and do not give up until we receive a breakthrough. It is often when we have broken something in the spirit that we receive revelation for it. For example we can regularly pray for a situation and not really understand what is happening or what the answer is. But once we have a breakthrough and an answer to our prayer we receive a revelation of how to fight in the spiritual realm and win. Once the prayer has been answered, that becomes the spring board for the next time you warfare in worship. Worship is training ground for being an undefeatable warrior.
When we worship we receive revelation. Worship lifts us up into the presence of God. When we are lifted up into His presence we will see things from his perspective. When we see things from his perspective, we will pray with His heart in mind. When we pray His heart, His will is released on the earth and is manifest in our situation.
[We would love you to support Roma and purchase her new book. For those of you in Australia you can buy it from her website, www.romawaterman.com, in Asia through integrity music Asia, and from the UK through integrity music UK.
- Matthew Dahlitz]
WHAT I WAS BORN FOR (An Honest Reflection) - Roma Waterman
This is a hard blog for me to write, but I want to share something with you that has touched me recently.
This past week I was in my car listening to a beautiful song I was going to be singing at a Christmas concert. I don't normally sing songs that aren't my own, but this one had captured my heart and I was looking forward to singing it. Only problem was, every time I tried to sing it I was brought to tears.
As I was driving along, I wondered why this song kept making me cry.
The song is about being the best mother, wife and friend you can be. As I pondered why I was so emotional, I had a conversation with God (or God had a conversation with me more like it), that turned me on my head. It went a little bit like this:
"Roma, you cry in this song because you think you were born to be a mother".
"Oh, OK. That's why".
"But you're not born to be a mother."
"WHATT??? Is this God talking?? Are you serious? Being a mum is the best thing that has ever happened to me!"
"Honey, you are always telling me you were born to be a mother, or you were born to sing. But that's not why you were born".
"Okkaaaay...so what was I born for then? God this is a weird conversation.... "
"YOU MY CHILD, WERE BORN FOR MY PRESENCE. YOU WERE BORN FOR ME. Everything else comes second".
Now, this may already be a revelation for some, but in that moment, I finally understood that because my purpose is to know the Creator, all the other challenges that come with motherhood, or a career, a ministry, friendships, marriage - everything else, comes secondary to the role I play in being His kid.
You may know that we have struggled for many years to become pregnant with a second child and at times, it has been all consuming. We have lived in an environment where healing is an everyday occurrence, and I personally have prayed for people who could not conceive and they have fallen pregnant. So the pain of not being able to have another child has sometimes been confusing. My faith has not wavered but confusion has certainly been paramount at times. I understand the pain of not seeing dreams fully realised, even though my life is full and blessed, and I am grateful for what I have.
But that conversation with Daddy has changed my heart. When we have a revelation that our FIRST calling is to be with HIM, everything else comes second. It does not mean that our dreams and passions are not important, but it does make it easier to cope with. This is because His presence changes everything. Our perspective bends when we are with Him, as He changes and rearranges our priorities. In a strange way it actually took the weight off my shoulders as hope for the future poured into my heart. Seeking Him first has a way of doing that.
So, I guess in this blog, I want to ask you - what were you born for? Is it the thing that is consuming your thoughts right now? Is it the job that is so important? Is it the marriage that is falling apart? Or the sick parent or relative who is nearing death? God cares about what we care about, and these things are all still important. But I believe if we focus on Him, it changes our perspective and mindset in difficult times. We can enjoy the journey. Let's spend more time ministering to Him and let Him take care of the rest.
Me, Jesus and a piano - The percentage ratio - Roma Waterman
I remember when I was on staff as worship pastor at my church we did an excercise that has proved valuable even to this day. We were asked to write down in percentage form how much we spent doing what each week.
It came as a shock to me that 85% of my whole role was spent on the platform - worship leading, playing keyboards, rehearsing, speaking. I was quite surprised. I had become so used to spending my life on a stage that it had become a normal and acceptable way to do ministry. Without realizing it, most of my 'moments' with God were on the platform. This was not intentional, but as a young mother, traveling in ministry, it was often hard to spend alot of alone time with God away from platform ministry.
What also came as a surprise is that another 10% of my role was administration - emails, rosters, phone calls. (don't know if that will ever change, but it doesn't mean I can't hate it!!!) The remaining 5% of my time was spent on the creative elements - songwriting, advancing my prophetic gifting, brainstorming. This 5% was the reason I was intitially employed by the church, but it had the least of my attention! I'm sure it is no surprise to you that I became quite stressed and empty.
Now, I make sure those percentages are in the right balance. If I am spending more time on a platform than I am with the Lord, I know I need to make changes. This is a constant balancing act because the demands of ministry and travel are high for me at the moment. But I no longer have a problem saying no. For me, the time I spend writing etc is prayer time. It fills me up when it's just me, Jesus and a piano. He talks to me - my songs become my prayers, and sometimes even my answers because He has the space to speak. I know it wont always be easy to live this way and it will demand will power and discipline, but I believe it is absolutely necessary to my growth as a God-artist.
It does not matter what creative endeavors you embark upon. If you are a lover of God, it does not matter whether you are a worship leader or a professional musician, a painter, dancer, poet, editor, journalist. To be effective as a public person you need to always be investing in the private person.
Psalm 46:10 "Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything."
Update - Roma Waterman
Apologies for the delay in getting this blog out. I have spent most of the past six weeks traveling and not had much time for anything else!
The last few months have been incredible. I am so excited to be a part of a community of revival worshippers who are invading the earth with amazing songs and creativity. I keep having to pinch myself and ask "Am I really allowed to have this much fun?". I thought I would share with you some of the things that have happened these past few months.
Singapore was a wonderful time. Spending time with Church of our Saviour, teaching in their college, and working with their songwriters for a week, and then leading in all their weekend services was an honor. I was SO impressed by the quality of song writing. Most of the time I just sat there with my mouth on the floor, eating up every new song that was being played. What amazed me the most about these new writers, is that their songs had great theology in them, got straight to the point, were melodic, easy to sing, and came from such a heart to see God glorified. I was humbled by this. The school was an amazing experience too, the students were so kind and open, and way too generous! I went to give, but came back with so much more. And the food! We had too much of it!
Then the last 5 weeks was ministering both in worship and preaching at several conferences. Phew! It was a crazy time, but every minute of it was wonderful! It was a joy to see other worship teams lead us in worship, hear what the Lord was doing through them and through their songwriting, and to be a part of the weekends. In the most recent conference I was a part of, I witnessed many people being healed of ear and eye problems during the service as I shared about my own journey of healing. I am finding more and more that just stepping out and giving people the opportunity to experience God's healing power opens up a door for His Spirit to work miracles. I never get tired of seeing people with long standing conditions be touched and healed in an instant. Like I said, I can't believe I get to have so much fun!
In the midst of all that, I fell in to being a vocal coach for the X Factor (the TV show) for their Melbourne Auditions. It was really wonderful to hear all the talent come through and spend time with some of my peers in the greater music industry. I love the diversity of what I do and have learnt to never put anything in a box - to just go with the flow and let the wind take me where it leads me. Living life this way allows some amazing encounters that I have not expected. It is sometimes scary not knowing what lies ahead, but its always so much better than if I had tried to plan it!
Whatever you are doing, whether it is big or small, delight in the moment. I heard a great quote this week by T D Jakes that went something along the lines of 'while you are complaining about your life, there is someone in the hospital wishing they had the same opportunities that you have now'. Let us appreciate what we have, without stumbling on what we don't have. Let us savour the moments we are in RIGHT NOW, instead of wishing we were somewhere else. And if you really don't like what you are doing - I pray you will grow the COURAGE inside of you -to CHANGE your destiny and make those hard decisions that will reshape your life. Don't settle for anything less than the best dream you can think up.
I am back on track now and will write more in the coming weeks! XX Roma
Songs in Heaven - Roma Waterman
I once heard a beautiful story preached about a worship songwriter who had a vision of Heaven. In his story, he came into the presence of the King and a myriad of angels singing worship. To his surprise, they were singing a song he had written and was popular on earth. He turned to an Angel and said something along the lines of: “I am amazed that you are singing one of my songs here!” The angel turned to him and said: “What do you mean 'your song'? This is one of our songs – we just let you hear it one day so you could bring it to earth”.
What a humbling thought – songs we are writing here on earth were penned in Heaven and that 'thin place' between the realms opened up for a moment to allow its sounds to permeate our spirits and be reflected through us. Then, together, we join as one to sing in unity praises to our glorious King.
Yet, what I find even more intriguing is the idea that songs we write here on the earth would capture the attention of all of Heaven. Could something created here on earth be a new melody sung by the saints and all of the angels? Imagine that! Imagine writing something today expressing your heartfelt love and adoration to our Father, and before you have even had the chance to record it or arrange it properly, an angelic choir, with the great cloud of witnesses, those who have died and gone before us – mothers, fathers, grandparents, dear friends – join with us to sing praise!
Could this be? Could this really happen?
There is a scripture in the book of Revelation that unraveled this thought in my mind. Describing a moment in Heaven Paul writes:
Revelation 15:3 “And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: "Great and marvelous are your actions, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations.”.
As my friend Dan McCollam puts it – Moses had a hit in heaven!
Do you?
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